''The Seat Filler'' is an American romantic

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

film produced by Magnolia Home Entertainment, Seat Filler Productions, Shake Martin Films and Strange Fruit Films, which released in 2004. It stars

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...

Duane Martin Duane Martin (born August 11, 1965) is an American actor. Early life and education Martin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and he graduated from New York University. He played NCAA Division III basketball at NYU and was signed as an undrafted ...

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

Kyla Pratt Kyla Amore Pratt (born September 16, 1986) is an American actress. She provided the voice of Penny Proud in the first animated series for Disney Channel called ''The Proud Family'', and Breanna Latrice Barnes in UPN's '' One on One''. After play ...

and

Shemar Moore Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1994–2005), Derek Morgan on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2016), and the lead role of Sergeant II Dani ...

. The movie received mainly average reviews. The film is also recognized as Duane Martin's first (and to date, only) appearance in a musical film and Kelly Rowland's most successful film in a leading role performance.

Plot

Derrick, an aspiring lawyer who is studying for the bar exam, struggles to keep his head above water financially. His best friend and roommate E.J. suggests Derrick join him at his job as a seat filler at awards shows. When seat filling at the Video Beat awards gala, Derrick meets popular R&B singer Jhnelle, who mistakes him for a regular guest. Believing that he is Alonzo Grant, entertainment lawyer to the stars, Jhnelle asks Derrick out on a date. During the date Derrick tells Jhnelle that he is not Alonzo Grant and that he cannot afford the meal, but she explains she was planning to pay for it anyway and laughs, believing Derrick to be kidding. They leave the restaurant with plans for a second date. Derrick plans on cancelling the date because he cannot afford it, but E.J. tells him not to worry and that he's got everything covered as long as he takes him along. Derrick, Jhnelle, E.J., and Jhnelle's friend Sandie take a Bentley that E.J. "borrowed" while pretending to be valet and head to a club. Jhnelle's ex-boyfriend Trent is there and causes problems while E.J. tells Derrick that the rightful car owner is also at the club. Derrick, who didn't know about the stolen car, gets upset and walks away from E.J. who chases after Sandie while Jhnelle and Derrick leave the club. Jhnelle asks to take the car home but Derrick suggests taking the bus instead. They get off and walk around town, where Derrick again tries to tell Jhnelle the truth, but she interrupts him with a kiss. The next day Jhnelle leaves a message on Derrick's phone saying she wants to have lunch and that she'll meet him at "his" office. Derrick panics over what to do and E.J. yells at him to run. He quickly gets dressed and runs to the building where Alonzo works and is just in time to meet Jhnelle there, suggesting they do something "better than lunch" which is a movie at a theater in the hood. Meanwhile, Trent goes to Alonzo's office to confront him. Trent goes to Jhnelle and begs her to go with him to a TV award show. She agrees, but only as a friend. There they meet Derrick who is seat filling. Trent accuses him of looking awfully good considering Alonzo Grant has been in the hospital for the past two weeks, and asks a worker there what his real name is, who answers Derrick Harver. Jhnelle begins to cry and begs Al to say something, but Derrick replies, "My name is Derrick" and she runs off. Derrick punches Trent and tries to run after her but is stopped by security. Over the next few days Derrick tries persistently to call Jhnelle but Sandie answers and to Jhnelle's request tells him she's out. Sandie tries to get Jhnelle to talk to him for closure but Jhnelle refuses saying she just wants to work on her album. With VIP access given to him by Sandie, Derrick tries to meet Jhnelle at a shoot for her music video. He tells her that he's sorry and that what he felt for her was real, but she accuses him of being a liar and explains she can't believe that, then walks away with Derrick calling after her. Derrick falls into a slump until E.J. tells him to stop acting like him and start acting like himself. Derrick goes on to pass his Bar Exam, get a job and get a nice apartment. While unpacking he turns on the television and sees Jhnelle on screen at an award show. Inspired, he calls up E.J and they go posing as seat fillers. While she's performing, Derrick and the other seat fillers begin to stand up holding white carnations, inspired by a story Jhnelle once told him about her grandparents. He tries to walk up to her but is stopped by security. She tells them to wait and goes to him and the two embrace.

Cast

- Jhnelle *

- Derrick Harver *

- Sandie *

DeRay Davis Antoine DeRay Davis (born February 26, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian and actor.Todd Davis (February 2, 2008)Steph Jones: Heart & Soul ''HHNLive''. Accessed July 18, 2008. Life and career Davis was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began ...

- E.J. *

Patrick Fischler Patrick S. Fischler (born December 29, 1969) is an American character actor known for his roles as Jimmy Barrett on the drama series ''Mad Men'', Dharma Initiative worker Phil on the drama series '' Lost'' and Detective Kenny No-Gun on the poli ...

- Irwin *

- Trent * Michael Chinyamurindi - Nail *

- Diona *

Glynn Turman Glynn Russell Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969), high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson ...

- Derrick's father *

- Irwin *

Denise Dowse Denise Yvonne Dowse (February 21, 1958 – August 13, 2022) was an American actress and director. She was best known for her roles as Mrs. Yvonne Teasley in the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1991–2000), Judge Rebecca Damsen in ' ...

- Derrick's mother * Christian Copelin - Kenny

Kenny Lattimore Kenny Lattimore (born April 10, 1970) is an American R&B singer. Early life Lattimore first developed his interest for music in the high school band program at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. He often acknowledges Dr ...

and Chante Moore make cameo appearances as themselves.

Eriq La Salle Erik Ki La Salle (born July 23, 1962), professionally known as Eriq La Salle, is an American actor, director, writer and producer. La Salle is best known for his performance in the film ''Coming to America'' (1988) and especially as Dr. Peter ...

makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Alonzo Grant, the man whose identity Derrick uses to impress Jhnelle.

Production

Actress/singer

Tisha Campbell Tisha Michelle Campbell (born October 13, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut appearing in the 1986 rock musical comedy film '' Little Shop of Horrors'', and later starred on the short-lived NBC musical comedy dra ...

, wife of star

, receives a co-writing credit, while

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

and

Jada Pinkett-Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show ''Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

serve as executive producers.

Songs from the movie

No soundtrack album was released for the film. Instead a promo single by

, "I Need a Love", was released. Rowland contributed a total of five songs to the film. Songs used in the film include: # "I Need a Love": performed by

, written by Rob Lewis,

Courtney Harrell Courtney is a name of Old French origin, introduced into England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It has two quite distinct interpretations: firstly, the surname may be locational, from places called Courtenay in the regions of Loiret and Gât ...

and Cookie Lewis. # "Follow Your Destiny": performed by Kelly Rowland, written by Rob Lewis, Courtney Harrell, Cookie Lewis. # "Flashback": performed by Kelly Rowland # "Lost Without You": performed by Chante Moore, written by Rob Lewis and Kevin White. # "Ultimate Hollywood": written by Stephen James Edwards. # "Alma Latina": written by Elizabeth Carbe. # "Classic Romance": written by Linda Martinez. # "Chicago Style": written by Larry Cohn. # "Murder Battle": written by Johann Lestat. # "Hollywood Stars": written by Linda Martinez. # "Jungle Bee": written by Simon Holland. # "Glances": written by I, Romeo. # "Eazy Rider": written by Deklan Flynn. # "Cajon Heat": written by Best Mekanic and Candence Blaze. # "Think About It": performed by Honey, written by Monique Francis. # "Boom": performed by Brie, written by James Terry and Walter Scott. # "BlackOut": performed by Baby Docks, written by D. Vardelja # "The Skate Thing": written and performed by Michael Angelo Berry. # "Sometimes Love": performed by Voyce, written by Steve Harvey and Nia Long. # "In Case You Didn't Know": performed by Nastacia Kendall, written by Rob Lewis # "Do What It Do": performed by Street Loyalty, written by Greg Charley. # "Fire and Desire": performed by

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...

, written by James and

Teena Marie Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the sta ...

. # "Stop Boy": written and performed by Nastacia Kendall. # "US2": performed by Trendaettas, written by Dan-lala. # "About You": performed by Diamond Malone, written by David Hunter and Carlton Martin. # "Bad Habit": performed by Kelly Rowland, written by Rowland,

Solange Knowles Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, performance artist, and actress. Expressing an interest in music from an early age, Knowles had several temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, wh ...

and

Bryan Michael Cox Bryan-Michael Paul Cox (born December 1, 1977) is an American record producer and songwriter who is notable for his work with artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton. Among his most notable productions are "Be Wit ...

# " Train on a Track": performed by Kelly Rowland, written by

Rob Fusari Rob Fusari, also known as 8Bit, is an American record producer and songwriter. He has worked with Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Will Smith, Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga. Early life Rob Fusari was born between 1967 and 1968. And raised in Livingston, ...

, Tiaa Wells, Balewa Muhammad and Sylvester Jordan. # "Let's Go Back": performed by Keys, written by

Timothy Bloom Timothy Bloom is a two time Grammy Award winning American alternative soul singer-songwriter and record producer. Career He began his career as a songwriter and producer, writing and producing Grammy Award-winning songs for both Ne-Yo ("Say ...

Box office performance

The film debuted 18 in the box office top twenty for the week, grossing $4,812,287 in 287 cinemas. It averaged $4,410 at 2,905 sites, and earned a total domestic gross ticket sales of $10,238,923. Worldwide, the film grossed $17,972,898.

Reviews

The film has received mainly average reviews. Garnering a rating of 3/5 stars, Vince Leo of Qwipster.net states that "While it isn't a must-see film by any means, never rising above a level of being merely pleasantly enjoyable, for those that enjoy romantic comedies, this one has enough moments of cleverness and natural charm to justify seeking out". Andy Dursin of The Aisle Seat gave the film 2.5/4 stars staying "This romantic comedy with an African-American cast was capably directed by Nick Castle (“The Last Starfighter”) and offers an appealing cast, with the two leads generating believable chemistry throughout". HomeTheaterInfo.com also gave the film 2.5/4 stars praising Rowland by stating that she "has what it takes to be a romantic comedy success, she is pretty, talented and be the girl next door or the sought after star. She also connects well with her fellow actors here providing a performance that the audience to become emotional invested with her character."The Seat Filler
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DVD release

The DVD was released February 21, 2006 in

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, on its second week of release the DVD entered United States ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' DVD Chart (top 40) at number 14 and sold over 160,000 copies. After seven weeks of release it has made an estimate of $6,847,722 in sales. Special features *All-Access featurette *Deleted scenes *Extended Performance of "Follow Your Destiny" by Kelly Rowland

Recognitions

# 2005 Debuted at #18 on Box Office Top Twenty Weekly # 2006 #14 on United States ''

'' DVD Chart (top 40)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seat Filler, The 2004 films Films directed by Nick Castle American romantic comedy films African-American comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films