''A Thin Line Between Love and Hate'' is a 1996 American

comedy thriller Comedy thrillers are a hybrid genre that draw subject matter generally from comedy and thrillers. Criteria They often include a darker tone, relative to other genres, of humor. List of comedy thriller films * '' The Big Fix'' (1978) * ''Charad ...

film. It tells the story of Darnell Wright (

Martin Lawrence Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American comedian and actor. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. He got his start playin ...

), a ladies' man who finds himself stalked by one of his obsessed lovers: Brandi (

Lynn Whitfield Lynn Whitfield (''née'' Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a ...

), an attractive and successful, but unstable older businesswoman. Lawrence directed the film, and co-wrote the screenplay alongside Kenny Buford, Bentley Kyle Evans and

Kim Bass Kim Bass (born 1955 or 1956) is an American TV and film writer, producer, and director. His television work includes creating '' Sister, Sister'' and writing on ''In Living Color''. He also created the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Kenan & Kel''. His film ...

. Released on April 3, 1996, the film grossed over $34 million at the

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

against a budget of $8 million.

Plot

Nightclub manager Darnell Wright is a perpetual

playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

and hopeless male

chauvinist Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...

. He works for a nightclub called ''Chocolate City'' and aspires to be its owner. He trades

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

privileges at the club for favors from women. Though he is an expert at conning women, he sometimes worries about what his childhood sweetheart Mia thinks of his adventures. When the beautiful and wealthy Brandi Webb steps out of a limousine to enter the club, Darnell feels that he's met his ultimate prize. She initially rejects his come-ons, which only fuels his appetite. He pursues her, showing up with flowers at her office. He finally wins over Brandi, only to find out that he's really in love with Mia. One morning, Darnell awakes to find Brandi in his kitchen making bacon and pancakes. She wants him to hold her, but he pushes her off aggressively. However, Brandi doesn't take kindly to rejection. She becomes an obsessed femme fatale: stalking him, taking all four wheels off his SUV to ground him from his rounds, shattering his windshield, and setting his nightclub on fire. She hits herself with a fruit-stuffed stocking to cause herself bruises without fingerprints, and repeatedly slams a door on her arm injuring herself. When Darnell goes to see her at the hospital, he is arrested for a false domestic violence charge. She then threatens Mia's life. Ending his relationship with Mia is not enough to satisfy Brandi who finally administers Darnell's punishment for his

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

. Darnell quickly learns the hard way that if you "play", you have to "pay." Darnell, now suffering from a gun wound attempts to take the gun from Brandi, causing Brandi, Mia, and he to fall out of a window and land in a pool. Darnell awakes from the fall in a hospital, with all his friends, family, and Mia standing over him. He decides to change his life for the better. Brandi is arrested and imprisoned.

Cast

as Darnell Wright *

as Brandi Web *

Regina King Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her one ...

as Mia Williams *

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

as "Tee" *

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

as Mama Wright *

Malinda Williams Melinda is a feminine given name. Etymology The modern name ''Melinda'' is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa (μέλισσα) meanin ...

as Erica Wright * Daryl Mitchell as Earl *

Roger E. Mosley Roger Earl Mosley (; December 18, 1938 – August 7, 2022) was an American actor, director, and writer best known for his role as the helicopter pilot Theodore "T.C." Calvin in the CBS television series '' Magnum, P.I.'', which originally aired ...

as Smitty *

Simbi Khali Simbi Khali (born April 28, 1971), sometimes credited as Simbi Kali Williams, is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Nina Campbell on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun''. Her credits include the television show ''Mar ...

as Adrienne * Tangie Ambrose as Nikki *

Wendy Raquel Robinson Wendy Raquel Robinson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as high school principal Regina "Piggy" Grier on The WB comedy sitcom ''The Steve Harvey Show'' (1996–2002), and as sports agent Tasha Mack on The CW/BET/Paramoun ...

as Gwen * Stacii Jae Johnson as "Peaches" *

Miguel A. Núñez Jr. Miguel A. Núñez Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in ''The Return of the Living Dead'' and ''Life''. He played leading roles in ''Juwanna Mann'' and ''Tour of Duty'' and appears on the hit BET drama ''The Family Busines ...

as Reggie *

Faizon Love Faizon Andre Love (born Langston Faizon Santisima; June 14, 1968) is a Cuban-born American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in the comedy films '' The Meteor Man'', ''Don't Be a Menace'', ''Friday'', ''B*A*P*S'', ''Elf'', '' Th ...

as Manny * Michael Bell as Marvis *

Michael Taliferro Michael Taliferro (August 23, 1961 – May 4, 2006) was an American film and television actor and sportsman. He is best known for ''Life'' (1999), and '' The Replacements'' (2000), and made guest appearances on ''The Jamie Foxx Show'', '' Mar ...

as Club Security *

Tiny Lister Tommy Deebo "Tiny" Lister Jr. (born Thomas Duane Lister Jr.; June 24, 1958 – December 10, 2020) was an American character actor and occasional professional wrestler known for his roles as the neighborhood bully Deebo in the 1995 film ''Friday' ...

as Tyrone *

Tracy Morgan Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor best known for his television work as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1996–2003) and for his role as Tracy Jordan in the sitcom ''30 Rock'' (2006 ...

as Sean, The Bartender

Style

The plot of ''A Thin Line Between Love and Hate'' was influenced by ''

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

'' and '' Fatal Attraction''. The opening sequence, depicting Darnell lying unconscious and fully clothed face down in a swimming pool while narrating the events that led him to there, was influenced by

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...

's 1950 film ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

''. The film has been classified as a

Reception

''A Thin Line Between Love and Hate'' grossed $34,873,513 at the box office against a budget of $8 million. The critical reception of the film was mostly negative. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has a 15% rating based on 27 reviews.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on January 30, 1996, by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 5 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

. It consisted of a blend of hip hop and R&B music. The soundtrack contained three charting singles, "Beware of My Crew", "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate" and "Let's Stay Together". On most releases of the soundtrack, Track 16 ("Brown Sugar" by

D’Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...

) is omitted from the soundtrack altogether, leaving only a total of 15 tracks. # "Beware of My Crew" - 4:30 (

LBC Crew The LBC Crew (Long Beach City Crew) were a hip-hop trio from Long Beach, California. They were the first act to be executively-produced by Snoop Dogg. During their time with Death Row, the LBC Crew recorded a previously unreleased album enti ...

featuring

Tray Deee Tracy Lamar Davis (born April 27, 1966), better known by his stage name Big Tray Deee (formerly Tray Deee and Tracy Deee), is an American rapper signed with Snoop Dogg's label Dogghouse Records. Career Before becoming a rapper, Davis was an ac ...

& South Sentrelle) # " A Thin Line Between Love and Hate" - 4:50 ( H-Town featuring

Shirley Murdock Shirley Murdock (born May 22, 1957) is an American R&B singer-songwriter, who is best known for her 1986 R&B hit single "As We Lay" and for her vocals on Zapp and Roger's hit single " Computer Love". Her lead vocal special guest appearance w ...

Roger Troutman Roger Troutman (November 29, 1951 – April 25, 1999), also known as Roger, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and heavily influenc ...

) # "Damned If I Do" - 3:54 (

Somethin' for the People Somethin' for the People was a contemporary R&B group from Oakland, California, who scored several hits in the US in the late 1990s. History The group was founded in 1990 by Curtis "Sauce" Wilson and Jeff "Fuzzy" Young, both from Oakland, Calif ...

featuring

Adina Howard Adina Marie Howard (born November 14, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to fame during the mid-1990s with her debut album, ''Do You Wanna Ride?'' and her debut single, "Freak like Me". Some of her other minor hits include "Wh ...

) # "Freak Tonight" - 3:57 (

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

) # "I Don't Hang" - 4:58 (

Soopafly Priest Joseph Brooks, (known professionally as Soopafly born December 8, 1972) is a hip hop producer and rapper from Long Beach, California. He is a member of the DPGC. Early life The oldest of three children, Brooks grew up in Long Beach. He ...

) # "Love Got My Mind Trippin'" - 3:30 (Ganjah K) # "Ring My Bell" - 4:20 (

Luniz Luniz (formerly the LuniTunes) is an American hip hop duo from Oakland, California, formed by Yukmouth and Numskull. They were signed to Virgin Records, Noo Trybe Records, and C-Note Records. They were the flagship act for C-Note Records. The g ...

) # "Playa fo Real" - 4:15 (

Dru Down Danyel Robinson (born September 14, 1971), better known by his stage name Dru Down, is an American rapper and actor from Oakland, California.allmusic - Dru Down biography/ref> He is currently a member of The Regime, a collective of rappers that ...

) # "Chocolate City" - 4:39 (Roger Troutman featuring Shirley Murdock) # "Thin Line" - 4:36 (Drawz) # "It's Ladies Night at Chocolate City" - 3:49 (Dark Complexion) # "Knocks Me Off My Feet" - 3:22 (

Tevin Campbell Tevin Jermod Campbell (born November 12, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter. He performed gospel in his local church from an early age. Following an audition for jazz musician Bobbi Humphrey in 1988, Campbell was signed to Warner Bros. Re ...

) # "Let's Stay Together" - 4:53 (

Eric Benét Eric Benét Jordan (born October 15, 1967) is an American R&B/neo soul singer-songwriter and actor, who has received a total of four Grammy nominations to date for his musical work. Biography Early life Benét was born on October 15, 1966 ...

) # "Come Over" - 5:15 (

Sandra St. Victor Sandra Kay Matthews, known professionally as Sandra St. Victor, is a Dallas-born singer-songwriter most known for her work as lead singer of The Family Stand and their international hit single "Ghetto Heaven". She attended the now famous Booke ...

) # "Way Back When" - 4:28 (

Smooth Smooth may refer to: Mathematics * Smooth function, a function that is infinitely differentiable; used in calculus and topology * Smooth manifold, a differentiable manifold for which all the transition maps are smooth functions * Smooth algebrai ...

) # ”Brown Sugar” - 4:23 (

) ;Personnel * Dwayne – producer * Dave Aron –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Arvel – programming * Alison Ball-Gabriel –

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

* Battlecat – multi instruments, producer *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, producer * Chris Brickley – engineer, assistant engineer * Priest Brooks –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, producer * Denise Brown – executive producer * Larry Campbell – producer, mixing *

– vocals * Cat Daddy Ro – programming * Jon Catfish – keyboards, vocals * D'Flow – producer * Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing * Michael Denten – engineer * Michael Denton – engineer * D'Flow Production Squad – producer * DJ Battlecat – producer * DJ Slip – engineer * Dru Down – vocals * Brian Frye – mixing assistant * Fuzzy Da Lil' Nasty – vocals * Brian Gardner – mastering * Leigh Genniss – engineer, executive producer, mixing * Stephen George – engineer, mixing * Barry Hankerson – executive producer * Yolanda Harris – vocals,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Lili Hayden –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

* Tom Herzer – engineer * Adina Howard – vocals * D’Angelo - vocals * L.T. Hutton – keyboards, producer * George Jackson – executive producer * Greg Jacobs – engineer * Tim Kelley –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, keyboards, producer, engineer *

– multi instruments, producer, engineer, mixing * Vince Lars –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

* Martin Lawrence – executive producer * Bernard Lilton –

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, keyboards, producer, vocal arrangement,

moog bass The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular re ...

* Alex Lowe – assistant engineer, mixing assistant * The Luniz – vocals * Tim "Flash" Mariner – producer, engineer * Doug McHenry – executive producer * Aaron McInnes – assistant engineer * Tony Mills – engineer * Shirley Murdock – vocals * George Nash, Jr. –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, producer, engineer * Bill Ortiz – trumpet * The Piano-Man – keyboards * Demonté Posey – keyboards, producer, engineer * Darin Prindle – engineer, mixing * Steve Prudholme – director * Timothy Christian Riley –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, drums,

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

* Bob Robinson – keyboards, producer * Sauce – programming, producer * Michael Schlesinger – mixing * Shock-G – arranger,

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mus ...

* Dexter Simmons – engineer * Lance "Drawz" Simmons – vocal arrangement * D.J. Slip – engineer * Gary Smith – producer, drum programming * John Jubu Smith – bass, guitar *

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

– keyboards, producer *

– producer *

– arranger, vocals, producer * Booker T – mixing * Tim & Bob – producer * Chris Trevett – mixing * Lester Troutman – engineer * Roger Troutman – bass, guitar, drums, keyboards, vocals, producer,

talk box A talk box (also spelled talkbox and talk-box) is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the sou ...

* Joe Warlick – mixing assistant * D'Wayne Wiggins – guitar * Mike Wilson – assistant engineer, mixing assistant * Mario Winans – drums

Certifications

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thin Line Between Love And Hate, A 1996 films 1990s comedy thriller films 1990s English-language films Films about stalking American comedy thriller films Films directed by Martin Lawrence New Line Cinema films Savoy Pictures films 1996 directorial debut films 1996 comedy films 1996 thriller films 1990s American films