Dave (Morris Chestnut) and Clarice’s (Taraji P. Henson) once-happy marriage hits a rough patch after she’s injured in a car accident and later, after recovering, suspects that he’s cheating on her with her physical therapist.
Not helping things is Clarice’s mom (Jenifer Lewis), who moves into their house and constantly antagonizes Dave.
The buzz: The film is based on the novel by Pastor T.D. Jakes (“Woman Thou Art Loosed”), so viewers can expect blunt messages of faith and fidelity. But at least this is a story in which people actually identify and try to solve their marital problems, unlike the two hours of screaming and unexamined misery that is “Revolutionary Road.”
The verdict: Um, thanks for the lecture. It’s one thing to have your heart in the right place and another to lunge at the audience until they’re effectively devouring your chest. “Broken” constantly double-checks that we get its points, which seems to be that mothers-in-law are a big ol’ pain and women shouldn’t be too independent because it emasculates men.
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NOT EASILY BROKEN (PG-13) ! 1/2
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ALSO OUT FRIDAY
The Unborn (PG-13) !! 1/2
Who’s in it: Odette Yustman (left), Gary Oldman, Cam Gigandet, Meagan Good, Jane Alexander
What it’s about: The spirit of a twin who died in the womb haunts his living sister, Chicago teen Casey Beldon (Yustman). This leads Casey to a skeptical rabbi (Oldman) who agrees to perform an ancient Hebrew demon-banishing rite.
Worth watching? “It’s no worse than most contemporary genre fare, and the film actually has some well-wrought scare scenes and a few good laughs (some more intentional than others).”
Bob Strauss, L.A. Daily News
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ALSO OUT
Virtual JFK: Vietnam if Kennedy Had Lived
Fri.-Thu. at Facets Cinematheque, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave.
House of Sleeping Beauties
Fri.-Thu. at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St.; 312-846-2600; siskelfilmcenter.org
Moscow, Belgium
Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave.
