# Woo (1998)

### reviewed by
Michael Dequina

    Woo (R) ** (out of ****)

The title of the comedy Woo is a lie. Taking its name from its party girl protagonist, this sporadically amusing lark seems less concerned with Woo than the more oddball characters and situations circling her.

Woo roughly fits the bill of a romantic comedy, and this angle of the film holds some promise. Woo (Jada Pinkett Smith), a fiery, independent young woman who is fixed up on a blind date with square paralegal Tim (Tommy Davidson) by her cousin Claudette's (Paula Jai Parker) boyfriend Lenny (Dave Chappelle). The conflict between Woo's free-spirited, partying ways and the conservatism of the "stuffy" Tim leads to one long, disaster- and embarrassment-filled night for the both of them--but mostly for Tim, of course. In general, the comic complications moderately amuse, but some, like a restaurant fire that Woo inadvertently causes, crash and burn (no pun intended). However, all of this remains watchable, thanks to the two appealing leads. They have a terrific rapport, and Davidson's hilariously high-strung, put-upon straight man manages to upstage the sexy spunk of Pinkett Smith, who never looks less than gorgeous throughout the entire film.

If writer David C. Johnson and Daisy v.S. Mayer had stuck with Woo and Tim exclusively, the film wouldn't have been great, but it would have been better than the often meandering movie the complete Woo is. Too often the film becomes sidetracked by the more eccentric peripheral players, such as Claudette, Lenny, and Tim's trio of obnoxious buddies, Frankie (Duane Martin), Romaine (Michael Ralph), and Hop (Darrel Heath). Claudette and Lenny are given a raucous, raunchy showcase scene that is worth a few laughs, but they disappear completely after that, making its necessity questionable. Frankie, Romaine, and Hop are funny at first, but their broadly boorish antics grow old long before they are shown on a side trip at a drag club. Completely out of place is an earnest, barely developed subplot involving Woo's strained relationship with her brother (Dartanyan Edmonds). It's quite telling that the two most memorable supporting characters only appear in one scene each: Darryl (LL Cool J), Tim's slick ladies' man neighbor; and Crayola (Nicci Gilbert), a gossipy police department desk clerk with an attitude problem.

Adding to Woo's problems is its jarringly abrupt ending. Although I did not particularly care for the film as a whole, I would not have minded the additional 20 minutes or so dealing that the ending point suggests; it would have given Woo and Tim's relationship a more satisfying and well-rounded closure. But perhaps that would not have been a problem if the entire film had focused entirely on the central couple, which would have made Woo a more satisfying and well-rounded movie.

    Michael Dequina
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