Technically, the full title of this movie is “Def Jam’s How to Be A Player,” but let’s be honest. No one calls it that. I hadn’t seen this movie in ages, and I mean ages because it’s not in the list of movies I love watching repeatedly. Boy, did I have a grand time watching this with my best friends (one who was on her phone but she was there in spirit.). Let’s start with the synopsis.
Drayton Jackson (played by the fountain of youth that is Bill Bellamy), known to his friends and family as Dray, is an A&R for Def Jam Records (go look it up, kids.) Dray has a problem, and I won’t say that it is a man problem. This is a Dray problem (so don’t @ me, men!). Dray has a beautiful girlfriend named Lisa (played by the gorgeous Lark Voorhies) and he should be planning to marry her or at least spend all of his free time with her. You know what Dray does in his free time? He makes his rounds with several other girls in the LA area. Now, I’m going to say something that is controversial, but I’m going to say it anyway. If this is what he wanted to do with his life, by all means; BUT AND HOWEVER, Dray presented himself as committed to Lisa. Lisa has met his momma and his sister and both love her. So why all of the women? We’ll get to that later…
Here is my commentary on the events in this film. This movie is from 1997, so things won’t age well so I’ll skip the analysis I usually do on a film. To be honest, we all know it’s not the greatest film, but it’s funny! The part that I left out was that his sister, Jennifer Jackson (played by the lovely and truly missed Natalie Desselle), known to family and friends as Jenny, is sick of his behavior, mainly because her man left her and she sees her ex in her brother. So what does she do? She, with the help of her friend Katrina (played by Mari Marrow who I just don’t see enough of) play to expose him to all of his “chickenheads,” as Jenny calls them. I want to pause here. Jenny and Dray are to be at a cookout at their mom’s house later in the day. Jenny came to the house for a pot that Dray took from his momma that needed to be returned I assume to make the gumbo he loves so much. Instead of doing that and leaving Dray’s house, Jenny and Katrina spend the entire afternoon snooping around his place for evidence that could help them set him up. My question here is why? You spend a nice, sunny day in your brother’s apartment just so you could ruin his evening? Plus, the ploy was to invite all of these women to a work party. Remember, Dray works for Def Jam and the party Jenny invited them to was a Def Jam party. You’re not only trying to make him look bad in front of these women but also in front of his peers.
Moving on to his friends. David (played by Pierre Edwards who is a great actor by the way), Kilo (played by Jermaine Hopkins), and Spootie (played by Anthony Johnson) all gather to ride around with Dray which would normally be fine but in this case they are riding around with Dray as he makes his rounds with his other women. I don’t know if this is a common thing amongst the mens, but I would like to ask a few questions here. Why are you riding around with your best friend as he goes from house to house having relations with different women? Not only are you riding around with him, when he gets to the house, yall are just waiting in the car! You all have the ability to drive! He had a cellphone! Dive somewhere and come back and get him! And another thing! Dray, how are you going from house to house with no shower? Again, do what you do under different circumstances, but no shower? The women couldn’t smell perfume on you? Maybe some didn’t care but still.
I want to pivot into Beverly Johnson and Bernie Mac. One, how were yall able to get THEE Beverly Johnson to come play with yall in this movie? I must know! Also, Bernie Mac as Buster with this asthma! HILARIOUS! I always love how when Bernie Mac is in a movie there is a special reveal of his character that no one else gets. We all knew his greatness and I applaud ever film that did that with him.
Now I KNOW, this kids have no idea who Max Julien is but he is a legend and plays Uncle Fred in this film. Julien played John “Goldie” Mickens in the blaxploitation film “The Mack” alongside the legendary and iconic Richard Pryor. His goal in that film was to be in the biggest mack there was. In lay terms, the pimp of all pimps. I say all that to say I loved when films in the 90’s and 2000’s paid homage to those films and the people in them from Julien to Pam Grier to Richard Roundtree and the list goes on. There was something magical about the old and the new coming together. We should do more of that in the films we make now, when we can. (Don’t go around doing it just to do it!)
Anyway, Uncle Fred is the reason Dray believes that what he’s doing is what he should be doing. Uncle Fred planted this seed in his head based on his own lifestyle. So is Dray really having relations with these women because he wants to or because he believes he can because he’s seen Uncle Fred do it in his own life? Is this Dray’s life or is it him trying to be Uncle Fred…questions that need answers…
For all the want-to-be-macks out there, what do you remember about this movie? Did any of what I brought up have the same effect on you that it did me?
