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Title: The Incredible Jessica James (2017)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Jessica Williams | ... | Jessica James | |
| Chris O'Dowd | ... | Boone | |
| Lakeith Stanfield | ... | Damon | |
| Noël Wells | ... | Tasha | |
| Taliyah Whitaker | ... | Shandra | |
| Will Stephen | ... | Tinder Guy | |
| Zabryna Guevara | ... | Mrs. Phillips | |
| Eric Loscheider | ... | Mandy's New Man | |
 |
Patricia R. Floyd | ... | Mom (as Patricia Floyd) |
| Evander Duck Jr. | ... | Kenny | |
| Susan Heyward | ... | Jerusa | |
| Robert King | ... | Duane | |
| Anne Carney | ... | Mrs. Taggart | |
|
|
Dana Jacks | ... | Clueless Guest |
| Megan Ketch | ... | Mandy | |
An aspiring playwright in New York strikes up a friendship with a guy while on the rebound from a break-up.
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So I came into this as a fan of Jessica Williams from the Daily Show, and hoping I would enjoy the film. It starts out a little rough, as I found Jessica's acting to be a little wooden, but as the movie went on, I felt like her acting really improved, especially with all of her scenes with her students. The beginning of the film is definitely the weakest part, as the character isn't likable, and the dialogue especially with her friend felt very forced. However, similar to her acting, as the movie progressed it greatly improved.
At its core, this movie is a retread of just about every Romantic Comedy cliché, but surrounding this core is the meat of the film examining a modern day artistic black woman that came from a broken family. The movie examines a lot of Jessica's backstory through her teaching of the children in her class, where she's trying to pass on her love of creative writing and acting and helping them realize they can do whatever they want in their lives. One student especially mirrors Jessica, as she's a young intelligent black girl whose parents have recently divorced. The movie examines a lot of interesting aspects here, as Jessica turns very vindictive and mean when the student wants to go to six flags for her father's weekend with her instead of a writing retreat. I really enjoyed how the film resolved this conflict, and all of these scenes were probably my favorite parts of the film.
For the romantic comedy part of this film, it's again an interesting take on common tropes. She has a blind date with Chris O'Dowd, and both of them are still in love with their exes, but in spite of their disinterest in a new relationship it starts to form on its own. I enjoyed that the guy wasn't just some guy for her to date, he also has a lot of problems, and their growing relationship feels real as they have pretty good chemistry. There are some odd dream sequences though, where Jessica meets up with her ex, and the scenes read as they're actually happening, but then something crazy happens and it's revealed to have been a dream all along. I understand the dreams purpose, as they're Jessica working through her relationship in her mind, but I just wish it was more apparent they were dream sequences.
There are some really funny moments intermixed with the relationship stuff, along with some really funny scenes when she goes to visit her family. Unfortunately, the scenes with her family were a little too black and white, unlike the rest of the film. Perhaps it was because the writer/director strongly dislikes his family, and it comes out in the movie. It seems like all they do is judge Jessica, and they don't have any redeeming factors.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film despite its flaws, and I would recommend it if you have Netflix. If you'd like to see my video version of this review, you can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGoBeIuKTyk