Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

DISAPPEARING ACTS is the 2000 HBO TV movie, based on the novel by Terry McMillan (WAITING TO EXHALE)that examines the relationship that develops between an uneducated and unemployed contractor (Wesley Snipes) and a music teacher/aspiring song writer (Sanaa Lathan) becomes extremely complicated when he gets her pregnant but is unable to support her. Sadly, this movie is an excruciatingly real look at relationships between black couples in society today (and before anyone calls me a bigot, I am black)...two people drawn together by sexual heat and think that this enough to keep them together until the realities of a relationship begin to rear their ugly heads, such as the the woman becoming primary bread winner and supporting both her and her man, but not wanting to give up the sex either. Not to mention the fact that these people are from two completely different worlds...Lathan's circle of friends are all intelligent folk with jobs who feel Lathan is being dragged down by a relationship whose only glue is sex. What happens between Snipes' Franklin and Lathan's Zora is not pretty, but it is undeniably real. It should also be mentioned that one unique aspect of McMillan's novel is that it is written in first person from Franklin and Zora's alternating points of view...one chapter is written by Franklin and the next by Zora, throughout the novel and this fresh perspective of looking at what happens to these people from both sides is lost in the film; however, Snipes and Lathan have never been sexier on screen and it is their chemistry that makes this movie watchable, even if you do end up taking sides, and, trust, you will end up taking sides.

I rated this a 4 because of several factors including the casting of Franklin, and the overall movie based on the book. I don't expect the movie to replicate the book, but I do expect a good adaptation, which this movie was not. Had they cast Franklin more like he was in the book then I would the rating would have gone up at least 2 numbers. There is Zero chemistry between Sanaa and Wesley. Franklin is supposed to be a large, handsome intimidating Black man, but Wesley is a small Black man who, in this movie at least, was NOT handsome in the least. From what I've read in the book, Franklin's pleasing appearance is supposed to be something that kind of held Zora in place as his woman. It's mentioned several times throughout the book. Though it was not the only thing, it was certainly a large factor. In this movie Snipes was made to look kind of ugly, so that was a downer. He was also supposed to be an alcoholic, something that did not translate well in the movie. On the whole, the movie did a poor job of showing the journey of this woman, man, and their relationship. There are so many ways in which this movie went wrong that I'm not going to spend my life naming them. I didn't expect a replica of the book, but I did expect a good adaptation, which I did not get. The one good thing that can be said about this film is Sanaa Lathan's performance. When I think of the character Zora I think of someone who looks like Sanaa and she performed the role just as I saw it in my mind.

Finally this movie has arrived in the United Kingdom after much good reviews from the United States.Snipes and Lathan give great performances. Director Bythewood certainly keeps the movie at the right pace, hard to believe this is her second picture after "Love and Basketball" We should all expect great things from her in the future. I enjoyed this having read the book by Terry Macmillan. Beautifully shot and acted, could have done with deeper roles for John Amos and CCH Pounder but above all a good picture. 8/10

At last, Wesley snipes starts to fulfil the promise he showed us in The Waterdance. It seems like he stopped acting for a while to become an action star, and here he proudly reclaims his ground as one of the finest actors on screen today. Sanaa Lathan is great as well, in a lovely small story of a relationship. That's all it is, and yet it holds and moves. The supporting actors are all great too- I particularly liked Regina Hall. The music is terrific- did she sing it herself? and the direction and script are all top-notch. Well done!