Guess Who (2005)

A young woman, Theresa, brings her boyfriend, Simon, home to meet her parents and surprise them with the news of their engagement. Another surprise: Simon is white.

Director:

Kevin Rodney Sullivan

Writers:

William Rose (motion picture "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"), David Ronn (story)

Stars:

Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac, Zoe Saldana

16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bernie Mac	...	Percy Jones
Ashton Kutcher	...	Simon Green
Zoe Saldana	...	Theresa Jones (as Zoë Saldaña)
Judith Scott	...	Marilyn Jones
Hal Williams	...	Howard Jones
Kellee Stewart	...	Keisha Jones
Robert Curtis Brown	...	Dante
RonReaco Lee	...	Reggie (as Ronreaco Lee)
Paula Newsome	...	Darlene
Phil Reeves	...	Fred
Sherri Shepherd	...	Sydney
Nicole Sullivan	...	Liz Klein
Jessica Cauffiel	...	Polly
JoNell Kennedy	...	Winnie (as Jonell Kennedy)
Niecy Nash	...	Naomi

Storyline

Percy and Marilyn are renewing their vows for their anniversary, and their daughter Theresa brings her boyfriend Simon for them to meet. Unbeknownst to her parents, the kids plan to announce their engagement during the weekend. The Jones family is Black; Theresa neglects to tell them Simon is White. Race complicates Percy's general mistrust of any boyfriend, so he instigates an investigation of Simon, discovering he's recently lost his job and hasn't told Theresa. Mistrust rears its ugly head, and in the process of Theresa and Simon's argument, Marilyn and Percy fall out. What can the men do to cross the divide between each other and between men and women? Will anyone be exchanging vows?

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Plot Keywords:

engagement | argument | family relationships | embarrassment | white male black female relationship | 

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Taglines:

When he meets his future father-in-law, he may not have a future at all.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sex-related humor

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 March 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Dinner Party

Filming Locations:

500 N Almansor St, Alhambra, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,671,446, 27 March 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$68,915,888

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$103,075,949

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Regency Enterprises, 3 Arts Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) mandated that William Rose be credited for his work on the original Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). However, he is never actually mentioned in this movie.

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Goofs

When Percy and Simon are en route to the hotel, Percy turns on his radio and the clock reads 7:16. After learning that there were no rooms available at the hotel, Percy and Simon return to the vehicle, once again turning on the radio where the clock still reads 7:16.

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Quotes

Polly: Next please.
Percy: Hi, reservation for Percy Jones.
Polly: And that's Jones with a J?
Percy: No Jones with a P. I made reservation last week.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits lists all names with no spaces, but with different fonts for given names and surnames.

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Connections

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Peter Tolan (2007)

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Soundtracks

Somersault
(2004)
Written by Sia, Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker
Performed by Zero 7
Courtesy of Warner Music U.K. Ltd./Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing

User Reviews

Why oh why?

You're right euroman1970: Ashton can't act his way out of a paper bag. He should have never been able to pursue a career after "That 70's Show". Bernie tries to carry the weight of the movie on his shoulders, but it is too much. The movie has its funny moments, but I didn't feel any chemistry between Bernie and Ashton; almost as if they were walking through their lines. In the taxi scene Ashton looks right into the camera! What a sloppy actor! The plot is also in need of some serious repair. I wish I could have paused the movie in the theater so I could announce what was going to happen next.

Overall, I give it a 3/10.