It’s too bad that the two lead actors in
”
Deliver Us From Eva
”
are provided with such a substandard, cookie-cutter script
because they really are charming and likable and both have
considerable talent. LL Cool J really wraps himself around his
character of Ray, and he proves himself as a warm, affable leading
man.
It’s too bad that the two lead actors in “Deliver Us From Eva” are provided with such a substandard, cookie-cutter script because they really are charming and likable and both have considerable talent. LL Cool J really wraps himself around his character of Ray, and he proves himself as a warm, affable leading man.
His leading lady, the smart and sassy Gabrielle Union, also is fun to watch, and she commands her role. But her character is one-dimensional, mean-spirited and pushy, and her overall tone is too sarcastic for what’s supposed to pass as a romantic comedy for daters.
“Deliver Us From Eva” suffers from its pedestrian script right from the start, as Ray (LL Cool J) tells his story in voice-over narration. We are facing a funeral setting, and Ray’s picture is sitting in the middle of the shot, as if he were dead and preparing for his own funeral. In the narration, we are told that Eva (Gabrielle Union) is the reason for his death. After the cheery start, we go back in time to meet both Ray and Eva in flashback to see how things got so bad.
“Deliver Us From Eva” has a central theme, and it concerns how Eva changes from a mean spirit to a trusting one, which is a noble change for a character. Unfortunately, Eva’s character is so insufferable, so pushy and difficult that it’s hard to pull for her. Eva has taken on the role of caretaker of her three younger sisters (Essence Atkins, Robinne Lee and Meagan Good) ever since their parents died a long time ago.
Eva is very rigid and protective of her younger sisters, to the point where she’s always trying to run their affairs. The sisters love and depend on each other, but their husbands (Duane Martin, Mel Jackson, and Dartanyan Edmonds) are sick of Eva’s continual control over their spouses’ lives. We get the usual men versus women conflict here, played out for laughs that only come sporadically.
To illustrate the conflicts that play out throughout the first act of the film, I’ll cite an example of the superficiality of the script, which does its actors very few favors. One night, the three guys are sitting at one of their homes, drinking beers and watching a football game, since I guess that’s what men do. Overbearing, mean-spirited Eva comes into the living room and tells the men that the girls’ book club is happening and the men need to make themselves scarce. They are going to read “Beloved” and then watch the film, Eva informs them, and they are to hit the road. After the men try to douse Eva’s fire, she insults them for not cultivating their intelligence and choosing to watch something as mundane as sports to pass their time. Eva’s holier than thou attitude is already starting to wear thin, and we’re only 20 minutes into the film.
After this scene, the men come up with an idea that becomes the plot of the film. At a singles bar, the guys go over to Ray, who’s a cash-strapped ladies man. Wanting Eva out of their business for good, they offer Ray $5,000 to woo her. According to their logic, Ray will take Eva out, have her fall in love with him, and then take her out of the state to eventually dump her. It’s a stupid plan, and it takes some of the sweetness out of Ray and Eva’s eventual courtship, because, of course, Ray and Eva fall for each other, causing all kinds of confusion.
“Deliver Us From Eva” disappoints because LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union are such charming actors, and I wish they would have had a great comic script to read from. Instead, we get a rehash of old films, peppered with clichés from start to finish.
DELIVER US FROM EVA. Directed by Gary Hardwick. Screenplay by Hardwick, James iver Mattson, and B.E. Brauner. With LL Cool J (James Todd Smith), Gabrielle Union, Duane Martin, Essence Atkins, Robinne Lee, Meagan Good, Mel Jackson and Dartanyan Edmonds. Rated R (language, suggested sexuality), 105 minutes. Now playing at Bay Area theaters.
