Roger Guenveur Smith Movies

Freddie (Cree Summer) takes it upon herself to find a permanent home for Alex Webb (T. J. Evans), a foster child she's met at the Community Center. When it becomes painfully obvious that most adoptive couples prefer babies, Alex runs away. The boy is provided temporary shelter by Ron (Darryl M. Bell) and Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison), an act of generosity that may get them in hot water with Walter (Sinbad). The episode comes to a surprising conclusion thanks to the prickly Prof. Randolph (Roger Guenveur Smith). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even though Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitley (Jasmine Guy) are on the verge of getting back together, Dwayne may mess up the reconciliation by dwelling on the past. Elsewhere, Ron (Darryl M. Bell) disses homeless people in history class, only to be forced to eat his words when he meets Ray Nay (Lee Weaver), a shabby street person who'd once been a successful entrepreneur. Featured in a small role is Michael Ralph, in the first of several nondescript Different World assignments before he settled into the part of Kim's (Charnele Brown) boyfriend Spencer Boyer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dwayne's renewed romance with Whitley (Jasmine Guy) is having an adverse effect on his academic performance: indeed, for the first time in his life he actually receives a "C". Worried about what the future holds, Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) has a series of visions in which he runs the gamut from overachiever to lazy slob--and in each scenario, he is all alone. Meanwhile, Whitley volunteers her services as director for the video time capsule being produced by Ron (Darryl M. Bell) and Freddie (Cree Summer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rap star and actor Ice Cube produces, co-writes, and stars in this comic crime thriller that reunites him with his Next Friday (1999) co-star Mike Epps in the 48 Hrs. (1982) mold. Cube plays Bucum Jackson, a Miami bounty hunter for Martinez Bail Bonds who's tired of his dangerous, unprofitable profession and wants to start his own private investigation firm. Lacking stake money, Bucum is forced to hunt down a small-time grafter named Reggie Wright (Epps), a fast-talking confidence man who's crossed his path before. Except that this time, Wright tries to avoid his pursuer by hiding in a van being driven by a pair of murderous diamond thieves who've just made off with 20 million dollars worth of stones. They're in the employ of lethal crime lord and yacht broker Williamson (Tommy Flanagan), someone that neither Reggie nor Bucum is anxious to cross, but it seems that Reggie left his wallet in the van, a wallet containing a winning lottery ticket worth 60 million dollars. The hunt is on for big money as the mismatched duo tries to outfox a wily syndicate for both the ticket and the precious gems. The directorial debut of music video director Kevin Bray, All About the Benjamins (2002) co-stars Eva Mendes, Carmen Chaplin, Valarie Rae Miller, Jeff Chase, Roger Guenveur Smith, Anthony Michael Hall, and Lil' Bow Wow. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A woman who sacrificed her shot at fame to focus on her family gets a second chance to live her dreams in this heartwarming comedy. Known to her friends as Miss E, Elestra Henton (Vanessa Bell Calloway) was a promising stand-up comedienne when she turned her back on the spotlight to save her marriage and raise her daughter. Years later, Miss E's marriage has failed, and she's estranged from her family. With nothing to fill the empty void at the center of her life, Miss E decides that the best cure for misery is laughter. She's determined to reclaim the career from the ruins, but in order to do so she'll first have to contend with her shady manager and ex-lover Bobby Felton (Roger Guenveur Smith), whose appearance back into Miss E's life sheds light on some long-suppressed family secrets. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A woman accused could be either a killer or a victim in this psychological drama from director Bill Duke. Valerie Maas (Aunjanue Ellis) is a God-fearing housewife and artist who one day finds herself in a situation she never imaged possible -- being questioned on murder charges by no-nonsense police detective Hicks (Lou Gossett Jr.) and Simmons (Clifton Davis), a district attorney eager to close this case. As Valerie repeatedly insists she's not a murderer, she tells the story of the last several months of her life. Valerie's husband, Dutch (Razaaq Adoti), is a psychiatrist with a practice in Atlanta who was offered a high-paying job by his old friend Monica (Paula Jai Parker), who works at a hospital in Philadelphia. Dutch takes the job and Valerie dutifully follows, and as she seeks solace in the women's support group at local church, Dutch spends more and more time with drug-abusing Monica, her wealthy but disinterested husband, Kevin (Roger Guenveur Smith), and obsessively womanizing musician Ryan Chambers (Leon). As Valerie's marriage begins to fall apart, she suspects her husband is being unfaithful, but she's shocked to discover the truth is more complicated than she imagined. Cover also stars Vivica A. Fox, Patti LaBelle, and Mya Harrison. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director Spike Lee dives head-first into a maelstrom of racial and social ills, using as his springboard the hottest day of the year on one block in Brooklyn, NY. Three businesses dominate the block: a storefront radio station, where a smooth-talkin' deejay (Samuel L. Jackson) spins the platters that matter; a convenience store owned by a Korean couple; and Sal's Famous Pizzeria, the only white-operated business in the neighborhood. Sal (Danny Aiello) serves up slices with his two sons, genial Vito (Richard Edson) and angry, racist Pino (John Turturro). Sal has one black employee, Mookie (Spike Lee), who wants to "get paid" but lacks ambition. His sister Jade (Joie Lee, Spike's sister), who has a greater sense of purpose and a "real" job, wants Mookie to start dealing with his responsibilities, most notably his son with girlfriend Tina (Rosie Perez). Two of Mookie's best friends are Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), a monolith of a man who rarely speaks, preferring to blast Public Enemy's rap song Fight The Power on his massive boom box; and Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito), nicknamed for his coke-bottle glasses and habit of losing his cool. When Buggin' Out notes that Sal's "Wall of Fame," a photo gallery of famous Italian-Americans, includes no people of color, he eventually demands a neighborhood boycott, on a day when tensions are already running high, that incurs tragic consequences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A real estate developer (Eric Roberts) sells out his partner/buddy in order to clear the path for the construction of a major hotel. The wife of his buddy, who was a former lover of his, discovers the body of her husband (with the body of a woman he was having an affair with) and becomes aware his scheme. The big boss in charge of the whole project (Angus McFadyen) assigns two goons to get rid of the wife, but she manages to escape their bumbling chase and get her revenge. ~ All Movie Guide

A small-town boy hustling his way through the big city forms an uneasy alliance with a scam artist who inducts him into the violent world of bare-knuckle brawling in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints writer/director Dito Montiel's unforgiving urban action film. Arriving in New York City with little more than the shirt on his back, Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) makes ends meet by selling counterfeit goods on the street. But times are tough and money is short, and just as things are starting to look grim, Shawn crosses paths with crafty con artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard). Harvey instantly recognizes Shawn's natural talent for street fighting, and offers to help the uneasy newcomer make some quick cash on the bare-knuckle circuit. But making a living by brawling isn't easy because the system is hopelessly corrupt, and the only people who really come out on top are the rich businessmen who place wagers on the disposable fighters. Still, Harvey's instincts were right, and Shawn quickly makes a name for himself by taking down every opponent who crosses his path, including mixed martial arts champs, veteran pugilists, and ultimate fighters. As each bout becomes more intense, Shawn realizes that his only hope for escaping this dark world is to face his fiercest opponent to date. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Released one year to the day after the 1995 Million Man March, in which a million African-American men marched peacefully in Washington, D.C. in a bid for greater unity and understanding, Spike Lee's Get On the Bus follows a group of black men who take a charter bus from Los Angeles to the rally in the nation's capital and watches as they interact and air their personal issues and concerns. George (Charles S. Dutton) is the organizer of the trip and de facto leader of the group. Evan Thomas (Thomas Jefferson Byrd) is a truck driver who travels to the march with his son (De'Aundre Bonds) chained to his belt by court order after the boy was arrested for petty theft. Kyle (Isaiah Washington) and Randall (Harry Lennix) are gay lovers who take no small amount of abuse from their fellow passengers. Gary (Roger Guenveur Smith) is the product of a mixed-race marriage who could pass for white but sees himself as black; he's also a cop, which does little to endear him to his peers. Flip (Andre Braugher) is an actor who seems more concerned with getting his next film role than the larger issues of the march. Jamal (Gabriel Casseus) is a good-natured young Muslim trying to lead a righteous life to make up for his violent past as a gang member. A film student (Hill Harper) is capturing the trip on videotape, and Jeremiah (Ossie Davis) sits in the back, reflecting on the struggles of African-Americans in the past and present. Financed by a private group of 15 black American men (among them Will Smith and Wesley Snipes), Get On the Bus speaks less of a single political goal than of the need for black men to set aside their differences to work for their common good. While the film falls short of openly criticizing Million Man March organizer Louis Farrakhan, it does present debate about Farrakhan's ideals and statements, ultimately coming to the conclusion that whoever brought this group together is less important than the fact that they came together in peace and brotherhood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Campbell Scott is both star and co-director of this elaborate (albeit economically produced) four-hour TV version of Shakespeare's immortal tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The film is based on Scott's earlier theatrical production of the same play, with several of the same actors repeating their same roles. Updated to 1900 New York, the text remains substantially the same as it has always been: Hamlet (Scott), the "melancholy" Danish prince, discovers to his horror that his late father, the King, was murdered by his brother (and Hamlet's uncle) Claudius (Jamey Sheridan), who upon ascending to the throne, added insult to injury by wedding Hamlet's mother, Gertrude (Blair Brown). Though his desire for revenge is strong, Hamlet does not want any more bloodshed, and concocts an elaborate scheme to "catch the conscience" of Claudius and force him into a confession. Part of this scheme involves Hamlet's feigned descent into madness -- which, as interpreted by Scott, may not be as "feigned" as he thinks it is. Caught in the middle of this intrigue is Hamlet's lady love, Ophelia (Lisa Gay Hamilton), daughter of Claudius' chief consul, Polonius (played in the manner of a protocol-conscious Victorian diplomat by Roscoe Lee Browne). Some of the choices made by Scott in adapting Hamlet to the screen -- the turn-of-the-century setting; the utilization of black actors in the roles of Polonius, Ophelia, and Laertes (who is played by Roger Guenveur Smith); the casting of Byron Jennings to play both the Ghost of Hamlet's father and the Player King, who pretends to be the father -- were applauded by the critics. Other innovations, notably the use of slow jazz music throughout the action, and Hamlet's violent treatment of poor Ophelia during the "Get thee to a nunnery" scene, were not so enthusiastically received. Whatever the case, Scott does a remarkable job with a tiny budget and a slim 29-day shooting schedule. In addition to the actors' lilting interpretation of the Shakespearean dialogue and soliloquies, the film boasts a truly exciting climactic duel, shot in long takes without the use of stunt doubles. Initially produced for a theatrical release, this Hamlet made its American debut as a cable TV miniseries on the Odyssey Channel, beginning December 10, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carter (Roger Guenveur Smith) is a fed-up public defender who decides to take on the corrupt system the only way he knows how. He sets up a law office in the inner city and begins organizing and activist group in the hopes of exposing the dishonest powers that work behind the scenes. There are those who like the system the way it is, however, and they make Carter's mission a dangerous one. His girlfriend, fearing for her two small children, is reluctant to follow him into the depths of the city's malfeasance, and Carter is learning that making a serious difference in the world might come at a hefty price. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide