HAV PLENTY (Miramax) Starring: Christopher Scott Cherot, Chenoa Maxwell, Tammi Katherine Jones, Robinne Lee, Reginald James, Hill Harper. Screenplay: Christopher Scott Cherot. Producers: Christopher Scott Cherot and Robyn M. Greene. Director: Christopher Scott Cherot. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (adult themes, profanity) Running Time: 92 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
HAV PLENTY comes from that school of independent film-making that enchants some and aggravates others. Like other recent indy success stories including THE BROTHERS McMULLEN and CLERKS, HAV PLENTY will win admirers for its comic charms and low-budget, can-do enthusiasm, even as detractors line up to fire pot-shots at its gross amateurishness and complete lack of visual style. Think of it as Puppy Cinema: it's so easy to be won over by their cute, slobbery energy that you may overlook how much they need discipline to avoid making a mess time and time again.
Christopher Scott Cherot, the multi-hyphenate creator of HAV PLENTY, definitely has the puppy thing down cold. Cherot stars as Lee Plenty, a struggling would-be screenwriter living out of his car while he waits for his Big Break. The maybe-girl-of-his-unrequited-dreams is Havilland "Hav" Savage (Chenoa Maxwell), a well-to-do New Yorker with whom Lee shares a love/hate friendship. During one New Year's weekend at Hav's mother's home in Washington D.C., with Hav taking time out from her philandering fiance (Hill Harper), Lee becomes an object of interest for Hav's high-maintenance friend Caroline (Tammi Katherine Jones), Hav's sister Leigh (Robinne Lee) and Hav's old prep school chum Bobby (Kim Simmons) -- everyone, it seems, except the one person whose interest he most wants.
Not everyone could get away with a premise that sounds like a film-maker's ego-stroking fantasy. Cherot, however, is so unassuming and self-effacing -- and so doncha-just-love-him puppy-cute -- that all the unsolicited romantic advances actually seem like they make him uncomfortable. Though far from a polished performer, Cherot has a natural screen presence, an eye for wry commentary and the rare ability in the 90s to sell a pratfall. Simply put, it's easy to like him, even when the film's narrative gets a little rough around the edges.
Make that a _lot_ rough around the edges. Cherot has a solid enough sense for how to put together a comic scene, but he hasn't got a clue yet how to unite them. HAV PLENTY amounts to little more than a series of vignettes, ideas for character encounters lined up in a row until they add up to 90 minutes. The characters are little more than one-dimensional, occasionally even grotesque caricatures for the deadpan Cherot to react to. There are even takes included where the actors clearly fumble their lines. In such a makeshift effort, the sly, slick performance of Hill Harper stands out as a hilarious delight. Playing Hav's fiance Michael, a criminally insincere R&B star whose song titles involve such romantic analogies as comparing a woman to malt liquor in "Love Forty," Harper creates one genuinely brilliant scene and one great comic character.
That scene and Cherot's low-key appeal are enough to push HAV PLENTY over the edge as an entertaining diversion. Mostly, however, Cherot will earn plaudits for his good intentions -- for making the film nearly as a one-man show, for creating a romantic comedy with smart, upscale African-American characters, etc. HAV PLENTY ends with Lee finding success as the "true story" of his relationship with Havilland becomes his first film. If Cherot wants to find success beyond HAV PLENTY, he'll need to mature as an effective story-teller rather than just an effective joke-teller. A messy puppy may be cute, but all grown up he's just a mess.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Hav and Hav-Nots: 6.
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