Two Can Play that Game

SHANTE, A SUCCESSFUL MARKETING EXECUTIVE, IS ALWAYS THE ONE HER FRIENDS GO TO WHEN THEY ARE HAVING MAN TROUBLE. SHANTE HAS THEPERFECT RELATIONSHIP WITH HER LAWYER BOYFRIEND KEITH UNTIL SHESPOTS HIM AT A RESTAURANT DANCING WITH ANOTHER WOMAN. NOT TOWORRY, SHANTE HAS A 10-DAY PLAN TO MAKE HIM BEHAVE.

In reducing the rules of romance to a 10-day plan for repairing a breakup, Two Can Play That Game tickles a few funny bones while "keepin' it real" about heartbreak and human behavior. Our hostess through this marathon of head games is 28-year-old Shanté (Vivica A. Fox--emphasis on the fox), who speaks to the camera so much that critic Roger Ebert nicknamed this movie "Waiting to Inhale." In a film packed with positive stereotypes (no crack-smoking gangstas here, thank you), she's a successful marketing executive, and her straying boyfriend is a high-profile attorney (Morris Chestnut). Their turbulent romance survives Shanté's 10-day power play, but not all viewers will be so lucky, since this movie is alternately charming and aggravating, and there's precious little romance while the lovers are plotting their moves. Still, it's a safe bet that many people will appreciate this movie's endearing lesson--namely, that sincere groveling can save you lots of time and heartache. --Jeff Shannon