Brown Sugar | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Rick Famuyiwa |
Produced by |
Magic Johnson Peter Heller |
Written by | Michael Elliot (story and screenplay) Rick Famuyiwa (screenplay) |
Starring |
Taye Diggs Sanaa Lathan Mos Def Nicole Ari Parker Boris Kodjoe Queen Latifah |
Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release date
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October 11, 2002 |
Running time
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109 minutes |
Language | English |
Budget | $8 million |
Box office | $28,316,451 |
Brown Sugar is a 2002 American romantic comedy film written by Michael Elliott and Rick Famuyiwa, directed by Famuyiwa, and starring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan. The film is a story of a lifelong friends, A&R Andre and Editor-in-Chief Sidney. The two can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to a single, seminal childhood moment - the day they discovered hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, as they lay down the tracks toward their futures, hip-hop isn't the only thing that keeps them coming back to that moment on the corner.
The movie was released in the US on October 11, 2002 and ran for 16 weeks, grossing $27,363,891 domestically and $952,560 in the foreign sector for a worldwide total of $28,316,451.
Brown Sugar is a film that follows the evolving relationship between Sidney (Sanaa Lathan), an attractive young woman who has just been appointed the editor-in-chief of the hip-hop magazine XXL, and Dre (Taye Diggs), an A&R for Millennium Records. They have been bound together since their early childhood. The news that Dre is preparing to be married to Reese (Nicole Ari Parker), a successful entertainment attorney, sends Sidney into a subconscious tizzy.
Suddenly, she doesn't seem to know how to behave around Dre anymore, and an impulsive kiss on the eve before his wedding sends fissures of doubt cracking in every direction. Dre gets married and begins to settle into his life when a decision to sign an untalented but commercially viable rap group forces Dre to choose between his love for true hip hop and his job. He decides to quit his job and start his own record company, focusing on bringing back the real hip hop that his generation fell in love with. Reese, however, is not understanding and thus not supportive of this venture. Additionally, as Sidney draws closer to Dre due to their partnership in the label, jealousy develops over Dre and Sidney's friendship.
Sidney, who also has begun to live her life with a budding relationship with Kelby (Boris Kodjoe) receives a proposal from her boyfriend which she accepts. Turmoil ensues when Dre finds out Reese has been having secret liaisons with a man from the gym (who texts Reese to confirm a rendezvous). Dre brings Sid to bust her in the act. This leads to a night of shared passion between Dre and Sid and opens Sid's eyes to the fact she is not prepared to get married to Kelby. She calls off the engagement and while searching for Dre sees Reese and Dre in a parting embrace that she misconstrues as more.