Its very refreshing to see a urban comedy that you can see with your parents as well as with your kids that doesn't have the actors spewing the N-word or dropping the F-bombs every 5 minutes. I mean is that the only kind of comedy we can do ? Anyway I didn't realize that the movie was a musical. The story, an romantic comedy about a black college student whose love life is rocked by the antics of her famous musical family stars the very funny Reynaldo Rey and Shani Bayete (The fine sister from Nothing to Lose) I first heard about the film in April issue of Suede Magazine, as one of their video picks of the month. (Tyra Banks is on the cover) The very talented Bayete is Audrey Mathis. A former child member of a '70's funk band called the 'Neighborhood Gang'. She has been successfully juggling her hidden past, school, and a new boyfriend. That's until her estranged and outrageous family (Reynaldo Rey and Comedienne Retha Jones play her father and mother) arrive on campus for her graduation. Her brother, Damian is the current crown prince/mogul of rap, hip-hop and fashion played aptly by Tre Luv, and her younger sister, Tangie, is an outrageous combination of Lil' Kim (pre-conviction) :)!!! and Little Bow Wow, played by the very sexy Boobie Monroe. Audrey does'nt flow with the current music scene, but is heavy into the arts, culture and academia. She's had it with attitude, ego, arrogance and noise. She tries to hide her family from the new love of her life, who later, to her surprise, becomes the latest rap artist on her brother Damian's record label. Anna-Marie Horsford also makes a hilarious guest appearance as Mama Pearl. Some of music performances are really funny aka Reynaldo's lip-syncing. Junie Hoang, Jalene Mack and Jasmine Montesino round out a solid cast as Janet, Amber and Suzanne, Audrey's some-what neurotic sorority sisters who'll do anything to get into the music biz. Their rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star is really funny. The director does a great job of mixing the musical performances with the into the comedy storyline also. This is a good one. Check it out.
Review of My Big Phat Hip Hop Family
