Jada (2008) User Reviews

Good intentions

[rzajac · 9 February 2010]

I loved Dunbar in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and I straightaway went prowling for something else showcasing his obvious talent.

Jada is a flawed movie. It's got some saving graces--of which the presence of Dunbar is one--but it suffers from some poor writing, and shaky pacing and scenario work. It's too bad! I'd love to see a superbly written/directed/edited vehicle for Dunbar. I wish the best for his career.

A side note: I'm not averse to religious messages, but to-date I've only found really satisfactory treatment of faith issues in films with no explicit religious agendas.

Such A Waste

[deedee_2000-985-341635 · 5/10 · 10 March 2021]

Jada had so much potential. it had a lovely story to it, the characters were good. i was really enjoying the movie. but then, out of the blue, a scene was used with very foul language and it was so jarring, so out of place with everything else that had taken place up until that point. i'm no prude, but it just about ruined the movie for me. you can't have a movie with religious themes and use language like that. you can't straddle two worlds. you'll end up being an outcast in either of them.

Her Faith Will Do the Rest

[danceability-1 · 10/10 · 11 December 2009]

Jada is the faith based story of a woman whose life becomes chaotic when her husband is killed in a questionable car accident. Her once-comfortable middle-class lifestyle comes crashing down when an insurance company labels the accident a suicide and refuses to pay her benefits as the survivor.

As a result, Jada (Sienna Goines) and her two teenage children Jasmine and Jamal, become homeless and have to live in their car until the pastor of a local church, the Rev. Terrence Mayweather (Clifton Powell), comes to their aid. The family finds shelter in a low-income housing project, but Jamal becomes entangled in the neighborhood gang. Throughout the ordeal, Jada's unwavering faith in God keeps the family together. An unlikely savior arrives in the person of Simon Williams (Rockmond Dunbar), who has been released from prison on the Reverend Mayweather's strong recommendation.

Simon becomes a mentor to Jamal in an attempt to steer him away from the gang, but tensions are high between Simon and the head of the gang and Jamal is faced with a life changing decision. Will he choose the streets or will he choose God?

danceability-1, Amsterdam Holland