Book of Love, also known as Book of Love: The Definitive Reason Why Men Are Dogs is a 2002 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film,

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

and

directed 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 ...

by Jeffrey W. Byrd, and starring Anthony "Treach" Criss, Eric K. George, and Richard T. Jones as its three male protagonists.

Plot

''Book of Love'' is a mockumentary following the unrelated stories of three L.A. bachelors (Eric K. George, Anthony "Treach" Criss, and Richard T. Jones) as they recover from a series of unhealthy relationships. The team of average Joes are no match for their manipulative girlfriends (

Salli Richardson Salli Elise Richardson-Whitfield () is an American actress, director and producer. Richardson is known for her role as Angela in the film ''A Low Down Dirty Shame'' (1994) and for her role as Dr. Allison Blake on the Syfy comedy-drama series '' ...

Mari Morrow Mari Eulanda Morrow (born July 21, 1968) is an American film and television actress, model and realtor. Morrow is best known for her roles as Rachel Gannon on the ABC daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1994–96), Oneisha Savoy on the AB ...

, and

Robin Givens Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: ** European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin ** Forest ...

), however, and the over eager men are taken for all they're worth. It's this manipulative, self-serving treatment that drives the young bachelors into behaving like "dogs" themselves.

Production

Written and directed by Jeffrey Byrd, Book of Love was produced by both BET Studios and 5th GearEntertainment, and eventually released by Strange Fruit Films. Three Black women co-produced the film.Shivers, Kaia N. "The Book of Love: The Definitive Reason Why Men Are Dogs." ''

Los Angeles Sentinel The ''Los Angeles Sentinel'' is a weekly African-American owned newspaper published in Los Angeles, California. The paper boasts of reaching 125,000 readers , making it one of the oldest, largest and most influential African-American newspapers ...

''; Los Angeles, Calif. 03 Dec 1998: B, 4:1. Via Proquest.

Cast

* Eric K. George — Will Hart * Anthony "Treach" Criss — Jay Black * Richard T. Jones — Ben Strong *

— Karen *

— Lyah *

— Iyanna * Denise Dowse — Karen's Mom *

Reggie Theus Reginald Wayne Theus (born October 13, 1957) is an American basketball coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the head men's basketball he ...

— Carl * Adam Clark — Derrick *

Angelle Brooks Born in 1967, Brooks was the youngest of four children. Since the mid–1990s, Brooks has guest-starred in such television shows as ''NYPD Blue'', ''The Young and the Restless'', ''The Sopranos'', ''The Larry Sanders Show'', ''Strong Medicine'', ...

— Renee * Dennis W. Hall — Man on toilet

Cameos

Cameo appearances in the film include: Darryl "Chill" Mitchell, Eric A. Payne,

Flex Alexander Mark Alexander Knox (born April 15, 1970), better known as Flex Alexander or Flex, is an American actor, comedian and dancer. He has had a lot of guest-starring roles on many television sitcoms before portraying single father Flex Washington on ...

, Gillian Iliana Waters, Jagged Edge,

John Salley John Thomas Salley (born May 16, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player, talk show host, and actor. He was the first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises (since joined by Robert Horry, Danny Gree ...

Khalil Kain Khalil Kain is an American actor, film producer and rapper best known for his role as Raheem Porter in the 1992 crime thriller film ''Juice'' and as the second Darnell Wilkes on the UPN/CW sitcom '' Girlfriends'' (2001–2008). He is also known f ...

Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress, singer and voice actor. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of '' Dreamg ...

Pepa Performance Evaluation Process Algebra (PEPA) is a stochastic process algebra designed for modelling computer and communication systems introduced by Jane Hillston in the 1990s. The language extends classical process algebras such as Robin Milne ...

( Salt-N-Pepa), Robert Townsend, and Taraji P. Henson.

Premiere and reception

''Book of Love'''s world premiere closed the 1999 Black Hollywood Film Festival."Advisory: `Book of Love' Booked to Close Hollywood Black Film Festival with World Premiere Screening. Entertainment Editors/Movie Writers. Business Wire; New York. 18 Feb 1999: 1. Via Proquest. A ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' review was largely positive, noting "''Book of Love'' has the rhythms of a sketch-comedy movie, and, although it drags in places, most of the sketches are on the mark. The most uproarious sketches are also the most familiar, but the filmmakers add an impressive amount of freshness to oft-seen situations". Kaia N. Shivers' review in ''

'' reads, "Though it is an outlet for wounded hearts and real life love drama, the story is a light comedy with intelligent and mature humor".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Love (2002 Film) 2002 romantic comedy-drama films 2002 films African-American romance films African-American gender relations in popular culture Artisan Entertainment films Films shot in Los Angeles American romantic comedy-drama films Films scored by Stephen James Taylor 2002 directorial debut films 2002 comedy films 2002 drama films Films directed by Jeffrey W. Byrd 2000s English-language films 2000s American films