Inspirational domestic drama anything but 'Broken'
"Not Easily Broken" tells the earnest, heartfelt story of a marriage in crisis, and how an unhappy, estranged couple works diligently and patiently to recapture the love and trust they once shared.
It's a hard and frustrating journey. But the couple perseveres by remembering the words of the minister who officiated at their wedding. He tells them that a successful union is a cord created from three strands: the husband, the wife and God.
I appreciated the film's unvarnished, honest message that successful relationships require lots of work and a little forgiveness. I also greatly admired the actors who did the best they could to give weight and credibility to their stock characters and their stilted dialogue.
"Not Easily Broken" holds up rather well, considering that its director, erstwhile actor Bill Duke, delivers the story's talking points with the force of a jackhammer when the light tap of a physician's mallet would have sufficed.
This movie is based on the inspirational book by Bishop T.D. Jakes, which might explain why Duke treats it like an overripe project for the Lifetime cable channel instead of a standard Hollywood silver screen feature.
Morris Chestnut and Taraji P. Henson star as Dave and Clarice Johnson. After 10 years of marriage, they've slowly grown apart. Following an injury that destroyed his pro-ball dreams, Dave struggles to keep his tiny construction company afloat.
Clarice no longer has much time or energy for sex after putting in a hard day at her super successful real estate office. (Theoretically, the story takes place in 2005, before the mortgage market meltdown.)
One fateful night, a car collision (an extremely effective, realistic shock) puts Clarice in a wheelchair, and the situation drifts into financial disaster when her income stops. The hairline fractures in their marriage become fissures.
Dave slowly becomes infatuated with Julie Sawyer (Maeve Quinlan), Clarice's striking blond physical therapist and a single mom. Dave, who always wanted kids while Clarice put her career first, naturally assumes a father role for Julie's son (Cannon Jay), a champion swimmer.
As if things weren't complicated enough, Dave's white best friend Brock (Eddie Cibrian) puts the moves on Julie, and can't understand why she prefers to hang out with his married pal.
Meanwhile, back at home, Clarice's pushy mom Mary (Jenifer Lewis) has turned her daughter completely against her husband, who, as we find out, was judged by Mom as never good enough for Clarice.
Of course, Mom's wrong. Just like Dave is when he judges the seemingly derelict father of a young boy Dave coaches on his community baseball team.
Don't judge. Forgive. Ignore racial barriers. Sacrifice and work for the things that are truly important. Bounce your pushy mother-in-law out of the house.
I'm not sure all of these lessons are biblical, but "Not Easily Broken" subscribes to them with a full heart.
If Duke's heavy hand robs his viewers of the joy of discovering Bishop Jakes' talking points for themselves, that's OK.
The solid performances by Chestnut and Henson (she also plays a more challenging role as Queenie in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") are the icing on this dramatically coagulated cake.
<p class="factboxheadblack">"Not Easily Broken"</p> <p class="News">2½ stars</p> <p class="News"><b>Starring:</b> Morris Chestnut, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Hart, Maeve Quinlan, Albert Hall</p> <p class="News"><b>Directed by:</b> Bill Duke</p> <p class="News"><b>Other: </b>A Tri-Star Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for sexual situations. 100 minutes</p>