Brown Sugar (2002)

Friends since childhood, a magazine editor and a hip-hop record executive stumble into romantic territory.

Director:

Rick Famuyiwa

Writers:

Michael Elliot (story), Michael Elliot (screenplay)

Stars:

Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Yasiin Bey

2 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Taye Diggs	...	Andre Romulus 'Dre' Ellis
Sanaa Lathan	...	Sidney 'Syd' Shaw
Yasiin Bey	...	Chris 'Cav' Anton Vichon (as Mos Def)
Nicole Ari Parker	...	Reese Marie Wiggam Ellis
Boris Kodjoe	...	Kelby Dawson
Queen Latifah	...	Francine
Wendell Pierce	...	Simon
Erik Weiner	...	Ren
Reg Wyns	...	Ten (as Reggi Wyns)
Melissa Martinez	...	Meghan
Aaliyyah Hill	...	Young Sidney
Marc John Jefferies	...	Young Dre
Venida Evans	...	Older Woman
Breece Wilson	...	Woman
Brette Taylor	...	Woman 2

Storyline

This romantic comedy centers on a romance between an A&R exec, Dre, at a hip-hop label and a magazine editor, Sidney, who have known each other since childhood.. They find themselves drifting towards being more than friends, even as Dre is engaged, and Sidney starts being wooed by a handsome basketball player.

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Plot Keywords:

hip hop | record company | writer | basketball | rap music | 

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Taglines:

When did you first fall in love with hip-hop?

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Genres:

Romance | Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Used to Love Her

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,738,882, 13 October 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$27,362,712, 26 January 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Evergreen Productions, Heller Highwater Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sanaa Lathan and Boris Kodjoe also star together in Love & Basketball (2000), where Boris plays "Jason", Sanaa's date to the high school dance.

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Goofs

When Kelby is picked up at the airport by Sydney there is a sign for the New York Knicks as he is getting off of the plane. Kelby plays for the then New Jersey Nets.

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Quotes

Dre: It's when you talk like that, that's what makes me think that you're jealous.
Sidney 'Syd' Shaw: What?
Dre: Yes. Jealous!
Sidney 'Syd' Shaw: [throws a cookie on the table] No wonder you two are married, you're both crazy! Look here, contrary to what you and your wife may think, I don't spend my nights thinkin' about you, okay?
Dre: Shh! Lower the voice.
Sidney 'Syd' Shaw: I got a man who's fine, intelligent, successful, and gives it to me on a very, very regular basis and the s**t is the bomb!
Dre: So! I don't care what -
Sidney 'Syd' Shaw: Dre I need you to be happy for me. I need ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Both "De La Soul" and "Method Man" are credited in the opening credits and not in the end credits. Therefore, the IMDb ordering uses the opening credits first and fills in the rest with the end credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Shark Tank: Episode #6.1 (2014)

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Soundtracks

I Used to Love H.E.R.
Written by Common (as Rashid Lonnie Lynn) and No I.D.
Performed by Common (as Common Sense)
Courtesy of Columbia Records
Under license from Sony Music
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Interesting Hip Hop Commentary, Predictable Love Story.

Just watched this movie on DVD. And while I found the hip-hop commentary interesting, the love story seemed to close too to LOVE AND BASKETBALL for comfort. After the cool opening scene (featuring cameos by Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane and De La Soul) I thought maybe the hop-hip angle would dominate the love story, and for a while it seemed like it would, but the opposite occured. The "friend-becoming-lovers" angles has been done better in other movies (LOVE AND BASKETBALL, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY.., etc.) and it's getting old. Don't get me wrong, the movie's not a total waste. The two leads are great, the supporting cast is good too. So if you don't mind a typical love story you just might want rent this one. Not great, but not bad as the other reviewers states.