Premium DVD Review

by Kam Williams

Bride-To-Be Has Cold Feet in Urban Sitcom New to DVD

Charli (Zoe Saldana) is putting the finishing touches on her planned fairytale wedding to Ed (Hill Harper). But with less than two days to go till the big day when they're supposed to exchange vows, she crosses paths with Cool (Dorian Missick) whose mom, Marva (Tonya Pinkins), has been hired to cater the affair.

Cool just happens to be Charli's ex-fiance, and the two haven't spoken to each other in three years. He doesn't take the news of her impending nuptials very well, because he never got over being dumped by this love of his life.

It is easy to see why Charli had ended their relationship, since not only had he behaved inconsiderately towards her, but he's never held a steady job and still lives at home with his mother. Cool is very lucky that his mom's boyfriend, Phil (Frankie Faison), owns a gas station and lets him work there even though he's totally unreliable.

So, one would think that Charli would have no reason to reconsider this jive playa, except for the fact that females in films always seem to be attracted to such bad boys. However, just such a self-destructive urge is the familiar theme of Premium, a high-stakes romantic comedy which pits a bourgie brother against another from the 'hood who knows how to keep it real.

Shot both in Brooklyn and the Jersey suburbs, the film features an engaging ensemble of crisply-defined characters who end-up enmeshed in an insane situation. For how else could you describe a blushing bride-to-be who would opt to spend most of the 36 hours right before her wedding ceremony with a lazy loser with almost no redeeming qualities?

Which guy will Charli choose, attorney Ed or slacker Cool? Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha' gonna do when they come for you?

Good (2 stars)
Unrated with profanity and ethnic slurs.
Running time: 97 minutes
Studio: Universal/CodeBlack Entertainment