Cast: Tisha Campbell, Rusty Cundieff, Paula Jai Parker, Joe Torry
Director: Rusty Cundieff
Producer: Darin Scott
Screenplay: Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott
Cinematography: Joao Fernandes
Music: Stanley Clarke
U.S. Distributor: Trimark Pictures
If you take When Harry Met Sally and cross it with Booty Call, then throw in a little Strictly Ballroom for good measure, what do you end up with? Improbably, Rusty Cundieff's first attempt at a romantic comedy, called Sprung. With this, his third directorial effort, Cundieff reinforces an impression that he has given viewers in his two previous movies (Fear of a Black Hat, Tales from the Hood): he knows how to make audiences laugh but is unwilling to try something truly ambitious.
Sprung starts out like any number of raunchy sex comedies, with a couple of horny guys (Cundieff as Montel and Joe Torry as Clyde) on the make at a party. The women they eventually zone in on are a fine pair of specimens: Brandy (Tisha Campbell) and Adina (Paula Jai Parker). Clyde quickly gets Adina into his Porsche, then into his bed. And, while the two are engaged in a bawdy night of sex, Brandy and Montel are doing everything possible to prove how much they despise each other. Next up, Clyde and Adina have big fight, and he ends up under arrest for deviant behavior. What follows is a hilariously outrageous (not to mention homophobic and potentially-offensive) lineup scene that promotes all sorts of unsavory stereotypes.
It's then that Cundieff rather abruptly alters his film's direction. Suddenly, Sprung shifts gears and becomes an unexpectedly sweet romantic comedy. Stereotypes start to give way to real (if only partially-developed) characters. The brashness and least common denominator humor are replaced by kisses, ballroom dancing, and romantic music. Brandy and Montel fall hard for each other and Clyde and Adina call a truce in order to figure out a way to break them up. Predictably, in the process, those two discover just how fine a line it is between love and hate.
It's impossible to deny that parts of Sprung are very funny, but the jokes really don't amount to much. Likewise, the formulaic romances, developed in parallel, are a little flat (Clyde and Adina's moreso than Montel and Brandy's). Cundieff seems to believe that if he puts together two attractive couples with decent chemistry that we'll readily accept all of the clichés that litter the road to the obvious conclusion. There aren't any of those special, little "character moments" that elevate many similarly unoriginal romances, primarily because Sprung has to juggle two relationships. Each leeches time from the other, and, as a result, neither gets the development it deserves.
The actors, who are all appealing, arguably do better jobs than the material warrants. Cundieff and Campbell are effective as the low-key couple, even though they're saddled with a falling-in- love music montage at the heart of their romance. Meanwhile, Torry and Parker are lively enough on their own or together to make the pairing of Clyde and Adina work. Clarence Williams III, Sherman Hemsley, and a few other familiar faces dot the casting landscape with amusing cameos.
At one point, Montel, who is a photographer with aspirations of becoming a director, states that he would like to make a movie with "no gangstas, no drugs, and nobody getting shot… A love story, because everyone loves a love story." This is, of course, exactly what Cundieff has done, and it's easy to hear the director speaking through his character's mouth. Ultimately, Sprung is probably a little too uneven and familiar to be worth taking a trip to a movie theater for, but it is solid enough to provide an evening's diversion once it makes its way to your neighborhood video store.
© 1997 James Berardinelli