The movie is an updated version of Taming of the Shrew that focuses on a young woman, Eva (Gabrielle Union), who is the center of her 3 sisters lives as well as of their boyfriends/husband's ire, and a young man, Ray (LL Cool J), who is hired to seduce her. Eva is a headstrong, ruthless leader of her family who will not allow her sisters to settle for second best. That she is also beautiful, intelligent, and lacking in the social graces makes her invulnerable to attack from the husbands/boyfriend who consider her meddling the primary thing standing in their way to enjoying eternal happiness with their lovely, but Eva influenced, wives. Ray, a player who could sell ice cubes to Eskimos, accepts their money since Eva is a challenge, even to a skilled lover like himself. Can Ray win over Eva? Can he keep her if he does? Considering the movie starts off with him narrating "from the grave", one shouldn't expect too much but it's all good in the end.

Okay, I stated earlier that I liked the movie and that I was in a minority in that regard. I've watched it three times in the last few days, once with the commentary, and my opinion holds fast. I didn't care that the movie centered almost exclusively on Black people-people are people in my book-and I don't think that was one of the criticisms the movie received. I also didn't think the few stereotypes shown in the movie were all that off mark-let's face it, men are dogs and women do hang out and tear them down on a regular basis. I suppose the thing I liked the most was that the acting, particularly by the leads, which showed real chemistry and the humor that hit it on several levels.

The humor ranged from the verbal play between the cast to the numerous sight gags that showed various actors at their best. For me, even the handful of groaner jokes wasn't too far off mark but when they hit, which was often, I laughed out loud. Comedy is not easy to get right but the director seemed to know the characters (beyond the original material) and I couldn't help but wonder if he knew a Ray and an Eva in his personal life. The commentary told of some of the improvisational bits too which solidified a few of the supporting cast as up and comers (at least I hope so) in future movies.

Another aspect of the movie, and the criticism it received, was that the screenwriters obviously developed the roles of Eva and Ray far and above the roles of the rest of the cast. I'd suggest that Director Gary Hardwick followed Shakespeare's game plan in that the original play, while full of good roles, does the same thing. Even in Taming of the Shrew, how many of us remember the names of anyone but Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton? The main characters are the painting while the supporting cast is the frame by design, not by default. Gabrielle and LL showed they were exceptionally talented with an ability to handle not only the romance aspect of the movie but the comedy aspects too-a rare combination that entered into the mix of a good director and set of screenwriters. The weakest factors in the otherwise excellent movie were few and far between. One of the premises of the movie was that Eva was perhaps the sharpest tool in the shed. While the movie provided an out for why she'd fall for Ray, it was not as well thought out as most of the rest of the script. A further example of a rough screenplay edge was in how Ray's death was handled. The jealous brothers ganging up on Ray was okay but after his character had been set up as the ultimate player, a guy that is always able to predict how others will react and adjust accordingly, I found it a bit weak that he'd fall victim to their machinations (especially since they were generally portrayed as bumblers).

For a romantic comedy, it also had more than it's share of cynicism too. The stereotypes of men and women notwithstanding, I wondered if a bit more fleshing out of the supporting cast might've been in order too. The husbands and boyfriend were a postal worker, a policeman, and a doctor (granted, this was not a stereotype) and they still acted like ghetto hoods. There was an excellent set up of why they hated Eva in their own ways but I think it'd have been nice to see why each proved so ineffectual against her, given their societal status being higher than hers (she was a city food inspector). I know the emphasis was on family here but making the supporting cast a bit more multi-dimensional might've allayed some of the mostly unfounded criticism. Okay, with high end production values and all the listed positive attributes, I find this one worth a rating of Highly Recommended. Fans of romantic comedies, regardless of race, should be able to enjoy this one for the entertaining fun it provided. The "R" rating was due mainly to the movie's language although I wished each of the beautiful sisters had a shower scene or two in order to earn it.

Picture: The movie was presented in 1.85:1 ratio Anamorphic Widescreen and looked great. The camera angles and composition were all very well handled to further the story and I had no complaints worth mentioning here. The blacks were true black and the flesh tones looked very accurate.

Sound: The audio was presented in a choice of 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS English. I didn't have access to my DTS setup but the Dolby track was very crisp and clear with lots of separation between the channels. The music score was very appropriate and well made too. There were closed captions and optional subtitles in French and Spanish as well.

Extras: The best extra was the Director's commentary. Director Gary Hardwick spoke mostly of the story and kept the technical stuff to a minimum. I've never understood why anyone would care to hear about what lens was used, what framing was used, and all the other technical matters that some directors spend time on when there're a lot more valuable matters to be talked about. I found the commentary to be enlightening and entertaining more often than not-hopefully Hardwick will include them in the future.p> The next best extra for me was the deleted scenes section. It showed some of the minor character development that I wanted and expanded on a few matters although I could see why some of them were cut. The music videos were good as was the Behind the Scenes feature. Good extras increase the value of a dvd.

Final Thoughts: In terms of opinions, we are all a majority of one. The movie's humor, romantic angle, and technical matters combined with a good script, solid acting and direction make this worthy of being Highly Recommended as a date movie as well as a much more accessible version of the Shakespeare classic. Deliver Us From Eva is an enchanting look at modern day relationships with enough levels of humor to satisfy even the most jaded of viewers.