How U Like Me Now?

The story takes place in Chicago with a group of young Blacks who are working to get jobs and get themselves adjusted basically to growing up and being on their own.

The film opens with black and white stills of Martin Luther King, Jr and various black marches that were met with white police using fire hoses on them. The film is from 1992 yet it sort of seems a fair bit older than that.

Salli's character in the movie has a boyfriend (Thomas) but he doesn't like to work and so is pretty much always broke. She works also and earns more than he does. She also ends up with a major promotion at her job. The boyfriend seems to lack ambition totally and has no real plans for the rest of his life. Her relationship with her boyfriend gets worse. He's not only lazy but he's rude and inconsiderate. Their sex life isn't very good, either.

The rest of the film deals with the main three male black characters (one of which is an amazing braggart and liar, one of which never matures at all, and one of which is dead by the end of the film) and Valerie and her effort to find another guy that will treat her right. There's also stuff going on where Thomas works.

The film is really good for variety of reasons:

1. A major point the movie is making is that it is the individual that is important (and can be good or bad). The race of the person is irrelevant.

2. The movie deals with stereotypes of black men. This is shown by a black guessing what certain black men do and she ends up massively wrong over and over.

3. The film deals with how men in general should treat women.

4. The film deals with how some women can get unrealistic ideas of finding a rich man to solve all their problems.(Not many men are actually rich.)

5. The film also deals with racism where a white man (Brandon) is willing to date Valerie (and he treats her well and with respect) but is reluctant to have her around when his other white friends are there. Also that Brandon doesn't truly understand Black culture and has no sympathy for the homeless or people like them.

6. The fact that lives can be turned around if a person is willing to make an effort.

7. There's a strong message about Black on Black violence.

8. Men, both black and white, think being rich automatically can get a woman to have sex with them.

9. Men in power may misuse that power to try to sexually control women.

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