''Def Jam's How to Be a Player'' is a 1997 sex comedy film, starring

Bill Bellamy William Bellamy (born April 7, 1965) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Bellamy first gained national notoriety on HBO's Russell Simmons' ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he is credited for creating or coining the phrase "booty call", descri ...

Natalie Desselle Natalie Ann Desselle-Reid (July 12, 1967 – December 7, 2020) was an American actress who performed in several films, including ''B.A.P.S.'', ''Def Jam's How to Be a Player'', '' Set It Off'' and ''Cinderella'', and the television series ''Built ...

and

Bernie Mac Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American comedian and actor. Born and raised on Chicago's South Side, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined fell ...

. The film was

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 * ''Di ...

Lionel C. Martin Lionel C. Martin is an American music video director, film director and VJ (media personality), VJ from Queens, Queens, New York. While he is known primarily as a music video director, he has also film director, directed the films ''Def Jam's How ...

, and

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 ...

by Mark Brown and Demetria Johnson. The '' How to Be a Player Soundtrack'', released by

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

on August 5, 1997, featured the hit single "

Big Bad Mamma "Big Bad Mama" is a single by American rapper Foxy Brown (rapper), Foxy Brown and American contemporary R&B, R&B group Dru Hill from the How to Be a Player (soundtrack), soundtrack to the 1997 film, ''Def Jam's How to Be a Player, How to Be a Play ...

" by Foxy Brown featuring

Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American R&B group, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 and is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven Top 40 hits, and is best known for the R&B number-one hits ...

Plot

Drayton "Dray" Jackson (

), who works as an A&R representative for

, is a playboy with only one goal in life: to have sex with as many women as possible. He dreams that he gets caught cheating on his girlfriend, Lisa, (

Lark Voorhies Lark Voorhies (born Lark Holloway; March 25, 1974) is an American actress, singer, spokeswoman and model. Voorhies rose to fame playing Lisa Marie Turtle on the NBC sitcom ''Saved by the Bell'' (1989–1993). Voorhies was nominated for the Young ...

) only to wake up from the dream to remind him not to get caught. The women he sleeps with are all a secret from Lisa, who comes over to his house for a bit to see him, before heading off for work. Dray's sister, Jenny, (

) also comes by his house to remind him about the cookout. Dray becomes fascinated with Jenny's friend Katrina (

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 ABC/ ...

), and invites her to a party his friend is hosting; she tells him that she is busy. Jenny cannot stand Dray's way of treating women. As soon as Dray leaves, she and Katrina snoop around and find Dray's mobile black book of his women. Jenny plans to set Dray up at the party in a hostile environment, hoping that Dray, if he gets caught, will reform his ways. After Jenny and Katrina call the women and receive their numbers, they both leave. Dray makes his daily rounds of sex with his women, including his three main ones: Robin (

Beverly Johnson Beverly Ann Johnson (born October 13, 1952) is an American model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. Johnson rose to fame when she became the first African-American model to appear on the cover of American ''Vogue'' in August 1974. In 1975, Jo ...

), a married woman, Amber (

Amber Smith Amber Smith is an American actress and former model. Early life Amber Smith is the daughter of Carol Smith. During her 2008 and 2009 appearances on the reality television programs in which she sought treatment by Dr. Drew Pinsky for addiction, s ...

), a sexy thespian, and Sherri (Stacii Jae Johnson), a freaky dominatrix. Afterwards, Dray goes to the cookout briefly before continuing on to the party. When he sees all of his women there, including Jenny and Katrina, he understands that he has been set up by them. He figures out a way get all of his women out of the party, without them noticing about each other and confrontation about Dray. He then heads to Jenny and Katrina to explain that when a player is put in a hostile environment, a player doesn't reform: he adapts to the situation. Dray leaves to go home and wait for Lisa to come see him after a long day at work. While Dray is waiting for Lisa, Katrina shows up at the last minute to apologize. However, she has become fascinated with Dray and has been fantasizing about him. Before leaving, she makes a move on Dray and they have sex, apparently fulfilling her fantasy. Lisa returns, but Katrina is able to leave without her noticing. However as Lisa changes into her nightwear, she sees a dress, bra, and heels with smears of lipstick spelling out: "Busted, Adapt." Realizing that Katrina has set him up, Dray knows that he finally got caught.

Cast

— Drayton "Dray" Jackson *

— Jennifer "Jenny" Jackson *

— Lisa *

— Katrina *

Pierre Edwards Pierre Edwards (born May 7, 1967) known as Pierre, is an American actor, director, writer, and stand-up comedian. Pierre is best known for producing, writing, directing, and starring as Dre Mitchell in ''For Da Love of Money'' (2002), and starr ...

— David *

— Buster *BeBe Drake - Mama Jackson *

Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins Jermaine R. “Huggy” Hopkins (born August 23, 1973) is an American television and film actor. Hopkins is best known for his roles as Dupree on The WB sitcom ''The Wayans Bros''. from 1996 to 1998, and as Thomas Sams in the 1989 film, '' Lean on ...

— Kilo * Anthony Johnson — Spootie *

Max Julien Maxwell Julien Banks (July 12, 1933 – January 1, 2022), better known by his stage name Max Julien, was an American actor, sculptor, and clothes designer best known for his role as Goldie in the 1973 blaxploitation film ''The Mack''. Julien als ...

— Uncle Fred *

— Robin *

Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous ro ...

— Tony the Doorman *Stacii Jae Johnson — Sherri *

Elise Neal Elise Demetria Neal (born March 14, 1966) is an American actress. Her big break came with three 1997 films, appearing in ''Rosewood'', '' Money Talks'' and ''Scream 2''. From 1998 to 2002, Neal starred as Yvonne Hughley in the ABC/UPN sitcom ' ...

— Nadine * J. Anthony Brown — Uncle Snook *

— Amber *

Jerod Mixon Jerod Mixon (born May 24, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for portraying Weensie in '' Old School''. He is the older brother of actor Jamal Mixon. He also produced and starred in the comedy rap film ...

— Kid #1 *

Jamal Mixon Jamal Mixon (born June 17, 1983) is an American comedy actor. He is best known for his role as Ernie Klump Jr. in the film '' The Nutty Professor'', and its sequel, '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps''. He is the younger brother of actor Jerod ...

— Kid #2

Soundtrack

References

External links

* * * * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, how_to_be_a_player 1997 films Gramercy Pictures films African-American comedy films 1997 comedy films PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films 1997 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films