''Two Can Play That Game'' is a 2001 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 and directed by Mark Brown and starring

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and television host. Fox began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983). She eventually continued her career with roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of O ...

and

Morris Chestnut Morris Lamont Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American actor. He first came to prominence for his role as Ricky in the 1991 film ''Boyz n the Hood''. He has appeared in feature films and on television series, including the starring role of ...

Plot

Shante Smith (

) is a woman who gives advice on how to keep a man in check. Her ideals are challenged when her man, an attorney, named Keith Fenton (

), threatens to stray. Smith is a well-educated woman who feels that when it comes to men and their tricks, she knows them all. On the other end, Shante’s boyfriend Keith is being led by his friend Tony (

Anthony Anderson Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in drama series such as Marlin Boulet on '' K-Ville'', and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama ' ...

), who thinks he knows all the tricks that women play. When Shanté's boyfriend, Keith, is caught red-handed stepping out with a co worker, Shanté institutes her "Ten Day Plan" to get her man in line. The battle soon begins, though at the conclusion of the movie, Shante and Keith get back together.

Cast

as Shante Smith *

as Keith Fenton *

as Tony *

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...

as Connie "Conny" Spalding *

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 Karen *

Tamala Jones Tamala Reneé Jones (born November 12, 1974) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films such as ''Booty Call'', ''The Wood'', '' Kingdom Come'', '' The Brothers'', and ''What Men Want''. Her prominent television roles include T ...

as Tracey Johnson *

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 Michael *

Mo'Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known professionally as Mo'Nique, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She has received an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. She ...

as Diedre *

Ray Wise Raymond Herbert Wise (born August 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Leland Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Vice President Hal Gardner i ...

as Bill Parker *Jeff Markey as Phil *

Dondre T. Whitfield Dondre, or Dondré , is a masculine given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Dondre Gilliam (born 1977), American football player *Dondré Whitfield (born 1969), American actor *Dondre Wright (born 1994), Canadian football player { ...

as Dwain *Lee Anthony as Attorney in Elevator *Cherise Bangs as Miller Girl #2 *Zatella Beatty as Cynthia *Mark Brown as Lying Man #1 * Chris Spencer as Lying Man #2 *Pierre Burgess as Lying Man #3 *

Mark Christopher Lawrence Mark Christopher Lawrence (born May 22, 1964) is an American character actor, stand-up comedian and voice-over artist. He is known for his role as esoteric D.J. Tone Def in the 1994 satirical rap mockumentary ''Fear of a Black Hat''. He has appear ...

as Lying Man #4 *

Natashia Williams Natashia Williams-Blach (born August 2, 1978) is an American actress and former Wonderbra campaign model, who is perhaps best known for her role as Shane Phillips in the NBC/ syndicated series ''She Spies''. Biography Natashia Williams began h ...

as Sexy Woman in Club *

La La Anthony Alani Nicole "La La" Anthony (née Vázquez; born June 25, 1979 ) is an American television personality and actress. In the early 2000s, she worked as an MTV VJ on ''Total Request Live''. She was the host of the VH1 reality television reunion ...

as Party DJ *Colby Kane as Calvin *Terrence "Skyy" Grant as Choir Member *Pretty Boy Duncan as Town Skank * Amy Hunter as Nita

Box office

The film opened at #2 at the box office in the United States, raking in $7,720,942

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

in its first opening weekend, behind ''

The Musketeer ''The Musketeer'' is a 2001 American action film, action-adventure film based on Alexandre Dumas's classic 1844 novel ''The Three Musketeers'', directed and photographed by Peter Hyams and starring Catherine Deneuve, Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea, Ti ...

''. The film was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on September 13, 2002, and failed to reach the Top 10.

Critical reception

The film got a mixed reception at

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 ...

, with a rating of 43%, including 27 "fresh" and 36 "rotten".

Sequel

direct to DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the Art release, release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial movie theater, theatrical release or Television film, televisio ...

film, titled ''

Three Can Play That Game ''Three Can Play That Game'' is a 2007 romantic comedy film directed by Samad Davis and starring Jason Winston George, Jason George, Jazsmin Lewis, and Vivica A. Fox. It is a sequel to the 2001 film ''Two Can Play That Game (film), Two Can Play Th ...

'', was released in February 2008. The sequel was rated, although there was still a little inappropriate content. ''Three Can Play That Game'' starred

as Shante Smith, a famous couple's counsellor. This time around, Fox's character plays a supporting role, as opposed to her starring role in the original.

or his character doesn't make an appearance, but he was mentioned.

Stage play adaptation

Stage producer and playwright Je'Caryous Johnson adapted a stage play based on the film of same name in 2017. Vivica A. Fox starred and reprised her role as Shante Smith. The production also starred

Columbus Short Columbus Keith Short Jr. (born September 19, 1982) is an American actor and choreographer. He choreographed Britney Spears's Onyx Hotel Tour and worked with Brian Friedman (of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' fame). He is best known for his roles ...

as Keith,

Porsha Williams Porsha Dyanne Guobadia (née Williams, formerly Stewart, born June 22, 1981) is an American television personality, actress, and author. She starred on the television series ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' from 2012 until 2021, when she depar ...

as Conny, Carl Payne as Tony, and also featured

Gary Dourdan Gary Dourdan (born Gary Robert Durdin: December 11, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Warrick Brown on the television series ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,'' Shazza Zulu on the television series ''A Different World'' and ...

RonReaco Lee RonReaco Lee (born August 27, 1977) is an American television and film actor best known for his roles as Tyreke Scott on the ABC/The WB sitcom '' Sister, Sister'', and as Jamal Woodson on the BET romantic comedy '' Let's Stay Together''. From 2014 ...

Cocoa Brown Farah "Cocoa" Brown (born October 9, 1972) is an American actress, writer and comedian. Life and career Brown was born as Farah Brown in Newport News, Virginia. She attended and graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University. She also has a M ...

and

Vivian Green Vivian Sakiyyah Green (born May 22, 1979) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and pianist. Early life Green was born May 22, 1979 in the East Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia, and took an interest in singing, playing the piano, and ...

References

External links

* * * * {{tcmdb title, 451887, Two Can Play That Game 2002 films 2000s romantic comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films 2000s English-language films Screen Gems films African-American romance films 2002 directorial debut films 2001 comedy films 2001 films 2002 comedy films 2001 drama films 2002 drama films 2000s American films