Brown Sugar

67%

Tomatometer

87 Reviews

90%

Audience Score

50,000+ Ratings

Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) and Dre (Taye Diggs) can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to one single childhood instant ... witnessing the birth of hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, she is a revered music critic and he is a successful, though unfulfilled, music executive. Both come to realize that their true life passions will only be fulfilled by remembering what they learned that day on the corner.

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Brown Sugar

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Critics Consensus

Though predictable and possibly too sweet, Brown Sugar is charming, well-acted, and smarter than typical rom-com fare.

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 2/5

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

BBC.com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 1, 2003

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Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 3/5

Mar 10, 2003

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Justin Brown

Medium Popcorn

I love a good romantic comedy that gives me meat and potatoes. But this just gave me a salad. I wanted to enjoy this more but the script, particularly regarding Dre's character, fell flat for me.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 14, 2023

Full Review

Brandon Collins

Medium Popcorn

It's a solid romantic comedy that doesn't quite hold the main characters accountable for their actions for other love interests. But I absolutely love this soundtrack.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 14, 2023

Full Review

Kat Halstead

Common Sense Media

It's pretty formulaic stuff, but the performances from both leads and the supporting characters -- particularly Queen Latifah and Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) -- elevate this romcom above the usual fare.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 22, 2022

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Audience Member Matched up perfectly with my age was breakdancing in 84 as an 8 and 9 year old Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review marisol m Ever have a movie you've seen bits and pieces of for years and it's all the sweeter when you finally watch it from start to finish? The answer is of course, and, for me, 'Brown Sugar' was worth the wait.I'm harsher on the tired, phony tropes of the rom-com genre, particularly because the 2000s gave us such a nauseating boom of stringent female leads and rewarded the toxicity, bumbling contrivances, and increasing superficiality rampant in Kate Hudson/Katherine Heigl vehicles.'Brown Sugar' doesn't hit many unheard-of plot beats, but the strength of Rick Famuyiwa and Michael Elliot's writing elevates this material a league above its competition. Amid the abundance of charm, there's a maturity with which many of the characters confront their grievances with one another; flaws often birth bridges of understanding between much of the three-dimensional cast. You will feel heaps of sympathy for character types that are vastly underwritten in lesser films.Top it all off with what's gotta be one of the all-time impossibly gorgeous rom-com ensembles ever assembled and you have one of the unsung genre bests of its time. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Beautiful romantic feature I have ever seen. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review adam b Wasn't my type of movie. Terribly edited but a decent story with a good cast Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Hip hop and love all in one movie. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member It's good movie to watch Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Brown Sugar

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Cast & Crew

Rick Famuyiwa Director Taye Diggs Dre Sanaa Lathan Sidney Yasiin Bey Chris Nicole Ari Parker Reese Boris Kodjoe Kelby

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Brown Sugar

Brown Sugar (2002)

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Movie Info

Synopsis Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) and Dre (Taye Diggs) can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to one single childhood instant ... witnessing the birth of hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, she is a revered music critic and he is a successful, though unfulfilled, music executive. Both come to realize that their true life passions will only be fulfilled by remembering what they learned that day on the corner.

Director: Rick Famuyiwa
Producer: Peter Heller
Screenwriter: Michael Elliot, Rick Famuyiwa, Michael Elliot
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Evergreen Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 11, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $27.4M
Runtime: 1h 49m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Brown Sugar | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

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