Jumping the Broom

Director Salim Akil makes an impressive feature-film debut with this pleasant little throwback of a movie. Broom has the charm of an old-school Hollywood romantic comedy. Heck, the central character, played by the alluring Paula Patton, is even named Sabrina. You have to be a pretty solid director with a gift for nuance to pull off a scene like the one in which El DeBarge breaks out singing in the middle of Manhattan; Akil has the ability to make something potentially maudlin both cute and entertaining. The story centers on Sabrina’s impending marriage to Jason (Laz Alonso), a man she meets after hitting him with her car. Their families come together at the upscale home of Sabrina’s parents (played by the ever-reliable Angela Bassett and Brian Stokes Mitchell). Jason’s mom (Loretta Devine) is a postal worker with a bad attitude, and she’s angry that she isn’t meeting her daughter-in-law until the wedding weekend. Jumping the Broom is forgettable, but it’s cute.