The Best Man (1999)

The Best Man is a 1999 American romantic comedy-drama film, written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. The film stars Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Monica Calhoun, Melissa De Sousa.

Plot
Harper's (Taye Diggs) autobiographical novel is almost out, his girlfriend Robin (Sanaa Lathan) desires commitment, and he's best man at the wedding of Lance (Morris Chestnut), a pro athlete. He goes to New York early (Robin will come for the wedding) to hang out with Lance and other friends, including Jordan (Nia Long), his former almost-lover, now in media and privy to an advance copy of the book. The men discuss women, never facing their own double standard; Jordan wants to try again with Harper, at least for one night; and Harper fears that Lance will read his book and learn that the bride-to-be slept with him once to avenge Lance.

Cast

 * Taye Diggs as Harper Stewart
 * Nia Long as Jordan Armstrong
 * Morris Chestnut as Lance Sullivan
 * Harold Perrineau as Julian Murch
 * Terrence Howard as Quentin Spivey
 * Sanaa Lathan as Robin
 * Melissa De Sousa as Shelby
 * Monica Calhoun as Mia Morgan
 * Jim Moody as Uncle Skeeter
 * Regina Hall as Candace "Candy" Sparks
 * Jarrod Bunch as Wayne
 * Victoria Dillard as Anita

Critical response
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. The film review website Allmovie gave the film 3/5 stars, with reviewer Jason Clark stating that while the film has "occasional moments of ripe humor, but it fails to say anything new about troubled weddings or the experience of being an upwardly mobile African-American looking for love." At Metacritic, the film averaged a favorable 61% rating from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 72% positive rating based on reviews by 71 critics, with the site's consensus stating "With a strong cast and a host of well-defined characters, The Best Man is an intelligent, funny romantic comedy that marks an impressive debut for writer/director Malcolm D. Lee." The film has earned a B+ average from users at the Yahoo! Movies site.