"You don't have a heart," the restaurant owner tells Eva, a cruelly precise and
anal-retentive health inspector. "You have a hole with an ice pump in it."
DELIVER US FROM EVA, by writer/director Gary Hardwick (THE BROTHERS), is a sweet
piece of romantic comedy fluff that has its moments. You've seen it all before,
usually with a white cast rather than this basically all black one. The
cinematography is bright, colorful and inviting. And the leads, Gabrielle Union
as Eva and LL Cool J as Eva's beau, Ray, are attractive and likeable. The
script, however, works only in fits and spurts. And the supporting cast isn't
nearly as capable as Union and Cool J.
The recycled plot has Eva as the older sister who makes sacrifices for her three
grown, younger sisters. A control freak with a definite distrust of the male
sex, Eva is like a bitter hard candy, which we eventually discover has a soft
center. Tired of having their lives messed with by Eva, the sisters' three men
hire Ray, a smooth talker with the ladies, to seduce Eva and convince her to
move out of town.
A completely disposable movie, DELIVER US FROM EVA does provide a pleasant way
to pass the time. If your significant other springs for some tickets, you'll
probably enjoy it. But if you're the one that has to pay, I'd suggest waiting
for video.
DELIVER US FROM EVA runs 1:35. It is rated R for "sex-related dialogue" and
would be acceptable for teenagers.
Copyright © 2003 Steve Rhodes
