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Printer-Friendly ModeKutcher predictable in Guess Who
April 4, 2005 —
In no way is it fair to put Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher and Judith Scott next to Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn. Yet, in some subtle ways, that's exactly what Director Kevin Sullivan does in Guess Who, his own personal rendition of Stanley Kramer's 1967 classic Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
This time around, circumstances both inside and outside the film are dramatically different. Kramer sent Poitier to San Francisco to meet his white in-laws during the racially sensitive 60s while Sullivan sends Ashton Kutcher to New Jersey to meet the parents of his African-American fiancée, Theresa, during these more open-minded times.
While both films attempt to tackle the complications of racially mixed marriages, the original finds much more success than Sullivan's adaptation. That's not to say that Guess Who isn't a good movie or even that Sullivan is at fault for failing to say something more; it's just that both are completely separate films and should be treated as such.
The premise for Guess Who is straightforward. Kutcher plays Simon Green, a recently jobless stock trader with a big heart in love with an African-American artist named Theresa (played by the beautiful Zoe Saldana). Simon and Theresa are preparing for a trip to New Jersey to visit Theresa's childhood home, where Simon will meet her parents for the first time. Although already apprehensive about the meeting, Simon feels even more stress after meeting Theresa's overprotective father, Percy (Bernie Mac). What ensues is an hour of Simon trying to impress Percy, culminating in the predictable conflict of Simon and Theresa's temporary separation concluding with their reunion and Percy's eventual acceptance of his future son-in-law.
On the surface, Guess Who appears to tackle a loaded issue in racially mixed marriages. However, most of the tension and social issues involved with such a marriage are dodged in favor of putting Kutcher in as many "trying to impress" moments as possible. While these moments provide entertainment (Simon tells Percy that he once raced cars and worked on the engine of NASCAR star "Jay Gordon" while naïve to the fact that Percy is a NASCAR fan and names "Jeff Gordon" as his favorite driver) they come too few and far between to carry this movie into the realms of the more popular comedies.
With that said, Guess Who is not without its fair share of humorous moments. Mac carries a scene towards the beginning of the film where he mistakes Simon for his daughter's cab driver and then later dares Kutcher to tell racially offensive jokes at the dinner table. Unfortunately, scenes like these become scarce during the middle portion of the picture and leave viewers with awkward scenes such as Mac and Kutcher drinking vodka and doing the tango.
Occasionally though, the film does produce sincere moments. Again Mac carries a scene, this time with Saldana where Percy tells his daughter he just wants her to be happy but just doesn't trust Simon Green.
In the end, Guess Who fails to meet its potential when it moves away from being a Guess Who's Coming to Dinner remake and slowly transitions to a new rendition of Meet the Parents. Percy forces Simon to the basement where he chooses to be his bedmate in order to ensure Simon doesn't sneak upstairs to "violate" his daughter. When Percy does sneak away, he finds the door padlocked shut and must instead sneak out the window. Earlier in the picture, Percy the loan agent runs Kutcher's credit record before making some calls and finding out he recently quit his job. At this point in the film, the only thing keeping it from becoming a full blown Meet the Parents spin-off is Robert DeNiro and a cat that flushes the toilet.
While Guess Who isn't able to accomplish as much socially as its predecessor, it's not a bad movie. Mac is at his best and meshes well with Kutcher.
The bottom line though is that this film is what it is. It's cute and funny, albeit predictable. If you want a decent movie that is worth your money, Guess Who is a safe bet.
If you're looking for a film that does a little more than just make you laugh, then you'd be better off looking at its 1967 counterpart.