Title: Deliver Us From Eva (2003)
Director: Gary Hardwick
Duration: 1h46m
Cast: Gabrielle Union, LL Cool J, Meagan Good, Essence Atkins, Mel Jackson, Dartanyan Edwards
Watch Trailer Below:
Deliver Us From Eva follows the most sought-after Dandridge sisters, the oldest of which is Eva (Gabrielle Union), who has everybody else in her hooks. When these hooks begin to disrupt the lives of her younger sisters’ boyfriends, they get together and plot to send her away in the most twisted romantic fashion.
The boys’ plan involves Ray (LL Cool J), a famous good-looking playboy who prides himself on his game. They pay Ray to take Eva out, but Eva is the most difficult woman on the planet and Ray gets more than he bargained for. The events that follow make the film a delicious romantic comedy for a good time.
Deliver Us From Eva is a Y2K movie and one of the classic black films with all the right elements in all the right places. The beautiful leading lady Gabrielle Union, the leading man, hip-hop legend, LL Cool J, and the band of supporting cast including Meagan Good, Essence Atkins, and Robinne Lee, an insane lineup for any movie. Based on casting alone, Deliver Us From Eva is on par with some of the best like The Best Man, The Wood, Love and Basketball, and so on. Away from casting, one of the things the film gets right is the story. Unlike most movies like this, it is fast-paced even though you could probably guess what the ending would be like but still, it’s not your classic boy meets girl romcom, and that makes it all the more enjoyable.
Directed by Gary Hardwick, you could probably give the same story to any top director and the film will come out the same. The story’s gripping and the way the actors embodied their characters was the icing on the cake for such a good storyline.
Coming in just under two hours, it’s the perfect delight for a Sunday afternoon with friends or a Saturday night with that special someone. Actually, you can even watch this alone on a Tuesday morning and it wouldn’t take anything away from the experience.
Deliver Us From Eva was released in the theaters in 2003 and was a mild success grossing $17m in the US and Canada. Regardless of box office analysis, this is still one of these kinds of movies they just can’t make anymore. Try to make a film like that or attempt a contemporary remake and it would only look corny as hell.
Not that it’s one of those movies that anyone’s talking about a remake for anyway. No, this is one of the underrated classic black films that most people have never heard about.
LL Cool J’s best performance is in Deliver Us From Eva and Gabrielle Union’s best is also arguably from this movie. The combination of which can only mean one thing: a classic. As far as black Hollywood is concerned it is a classic. And you probably can’t make a top 40 black movies list without including Deliver Us From Eva.
A serious comedy with all the elements of the modern-day romcom. In the words of Sheldon Cooper, a good romp if there ever was one.
Rotten Tomatoes: 43%
IMDb: 6/10
Letterboxd: 3.0/5
Where to Watch Deliver Us From Eva (2003)?
You can be able to stream Deliver Us From Eva (2003) by renting or purchasing on
- Apple TV
- Google Play Movies
- Vudu
- Netflix
