Deliver Us From Eva (2003)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Screenplay by James Iver Mattson, B.E. Brauner, and Gary Hardwick
Directed by Gary Hardwick
Starring LL Cool J, Gabrielle Union, Duane Martin, Essence Atkins, Robinne Lee, Meagan Good, Mel Jackson, and Dartanyan Edmonds

Features:

• Running audio commentary with director Hardwick
  
• Deleted scenes
  
• Behind the scenes featurette
  
• Two music videos
  

Released by: Universal
Region: 1
Rating: R
Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Rent it only if you’re desperate for a couple of laughs and nothing else is in the store

Another film in a long line of Shakespeare remakes (She’s All That, 10 Things I Hate About You, and so on), the cleverest thing about this installment is, alas, the title. Where, o where, have all the talented, creative screenwriters gone? And how do we lure them back?

Deliver Us from Eva relates the tale of three sisters and their boyfriends, who are fed up with the fourth sister, Eva (Union), who tends to think that no man is good enough for her sisters--whether or not she’s right is not addressed--and who pushes the sisters and their erstwhile beaux around a bit. Enter Ray (J), who has been hired by the boyfriends to deliver them from Eva, keeping her busy and making her happy so they can peacefully date her sisters.

LL Cool J, usually a competent if not extraordinary actor, is just too slick here. While the best actor in the film, he still vacillates too much between sympathetic character and straight-out mercenary villain, and the inevitable love affair between Ray and Eva comes across less as love than as sacrifice or brainwashing. The girls in the film, with the possible exception of Gabrielle Union, are just too, well, wimpy. Eva gets all the bad press for running their lives, but they don’t seem all that capable of doing so themselves--beautiful women, but completely uninteresting, and the blame lies half on the actresses and half on the mediocre (at best) script.

It plays a lot like a WB version of The Taming of the Shrew, which begs the comparison not only with the Bard’s original, but with such modern movie remakes as 10 Things I Hate About You. Lacking the freshness of Julia Stiles and the lovability of Heath Ledger, this version just falls a little flat. It tries too hard to be funny to let it just be, and the result is neither funny, nor touching. The results are all foregone conclusions, and the "getting there" is not, alas, half the fun here. There are some clever, funny lines here and there, but the retread is just so tired and transparently aimed at its target demographic that it’s insulting and just not as funny as they were hoping it would be. Quality would lure more audiences than marketing, people.

The extras are nice: a solid feature commentary with the director with all the expected anecdotes, but little insight into his creative process. There is also a nice, if short, behind the scenes featurette that is also more of a commercial than a real look at how decisions were made and how films like this one come together. The "Paradise" music video is probably the most interesting feature, especially if you’re fond of LL Cool J’s work. A second music video (mediocre) and some deleted scenes (that earned their place on the cutting room floor) round out the features list.

In short, if you love modern remakes of other modern films or of Shakespeare, then give this one a rental. Otherwise, skip it and just get The Taming of the Shrew instead.