Essentially a remake of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” director Kevin Rodney Sullivan’s “Guess Who” pits Ashton Kutcher against Bernie Mac in a battle of boyfriend vs. father. It owes more to “Meet the Parents” than it does to the 1967 Spencer Tracy/Sidney Poiter movie that inspired it. Cheesy, pointless and outrageous humor ensues, but unlike most movies of this genre it works.
For some unknown reason, Simon Green, a talented stockbroker, decides to quit his job the day before he is supposed to go with his fiancée, played by Zoe Saldana, to meet her parents. Rather than face her father head-on and jobless, Kutcher decides to hide that fact. When the father meets his future son-in-law, you can imagine what happens.
Rather than a remake, “Guess Who” is much more restructured to show just how much things have changed since its predecessor. The changing face of the black middle-class is shown in the switch of roles. Rather than being a white girl bringing a black man home, as it was in the original, it is well-off black suburban parents that reel when their daughter brings home a white fiancée.
Unlike the 1967 original, Sullivan’s remake fails to mine the rich material that it suggests. It might be guessed by the casting of Ashton Kutcher. Uncomfortable and often slapstick humor dominates the film. Most humor plays off either racial or gender stereotypes, such as Kutcher being caught wearing women’s undergarments while horseplaying on a bed with Saldana. Not particularly highbrow, but it is doubtful anyone would have expected less.
It is the comic timing and talent of Bernie Mac that really keeps “Guess Who” from denigrating into a typical meet-the-parents style movie. He is both tough and caring as Percy Jones. He is just gruff enough to keep the jokes humorous, but in his role as a father, a more tender side of Mac emerges. He is genuinely vulnerable. His playing of the overprotective father is nearly perfect. You get the sense that his jokes and gruffness mask a deep-seated care and worry for his daughter.
Surprisingly, Kutcher shows a little more range than would be expected by this star of “Punk’d” and “That 70’s Show.” His on-screen persona is reminiscent of his earlier material, especially in some of the more off-the-wall scenes, but just reminiscent. Rather than play up his typical antics, Kutcher plays Simon Green as a loving, caring boyfriend. He is concerned about his appearance; he wants to make a good impression on his future father-in-law. Once the bottom falls out of his lie, he settles in more. He becomes sweet, charming and easily likable.
The chemistry between Mac and Kutcher is darling. In their timing they come across as comfortable and at ease, even when Mac is bunking down to ensure Kutcher doesn’t attempt to sleep anywhere but the couch. It’s touching and funny, a surprising kernel of fun in an otherwise mediocre film.
Even with such chemistry, it’s hard to argue that “Guess Who” is a good movie. The supporting cast ranges from mediocre to absolutely horrible. The attempts at humor by the metrosexual wedding planner are weak and ineffective. Neither Saldana nor Judith Scott, who plays Saldana’s mother, has much to offer. They are woefully underutilized as “straight men,” acting more as foils against the pratfalls of Kutcher and Mac than involved in the action.
Not that they have much to work with. They spend most of the movie, as do Mac and Kutcher, fighting a rather uninspiring, bland and predictable script. Written as stock, flat characters, Saldana and Scott simply can’t rise above the material.
But for all of its inconsistency and predictability, “Guess Who” manages to endear itself to the audience. The chemistry between Kutcher and Mac drives the entire movie. Their comic bits work well, even when you’d expect them to fall flat. Their eventual resolution comes in as genuine and honest, bringing even the hardest of hearts around.
Amid a host of mediocre and bland offerings, “Guess Who” neither rises above the pack nor does it bring the rest down. It is a remarkably enjoyable, if predictable, 90 minutes.
Grade: C