''Rome & Jewel'' is a 2006 American

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

adaptation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' set in Los Angeles that deals with interracial love. The film stars

Nate Parker Nate Parker (born November 18, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has appeared in ''Beyond the Lights'', ''Red Tails'', ''The Secret Life of Bees (film), The Secret Life of Bees'', ''The Great Debaters'', Arbitrage (film), ''Arbitrage ...

as Rome and

Lindsey Haun Lindsey Haun (born November 21, 1984) is an American actress, singer, and director. She is known for her role as Hadley on the HBO television series ''True Blood''. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her role in the 2000 Disney Chann ...

as Jewel. The 2008 re-release had modest box office results and mostly negative critical commentary.

Plot

Compton-native Rome (

) is the son of Reverend Q ( Cleavant Derricks) and yearns for Jewel (

), the daughter of

Los Angeles Mayor The mayor of Los Angeles is the head of the executive branch of the government of Los Angeles and the chief executive of Los Angeles. The office is officially nonpartisan, a change made in the 1909 charter; previously, both the elections and t ...

Capps (

John Rubinstein John Rubinstein (born December 8, 1946) is an American actor, composer and director. Early life Rubinstein is the son of Polish parents. His mother, Aniela (née Młynarska), a dancer and writer, was a Roman Catholic native of Warsaw, the da ...

) who lives in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

. Using reworked dialogue from the play such as "deep inside I’m tender/sweeter than Splenda/and if you must know the truth/my heart's not bulletproof" Rome woos Jewel, despite his father's wishes that he avoid upper-class white women after he meets her at her sweet 16 party. It is

love at first sight Love at first sight is a personal experience and a common theme in creative works: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. It has been desc ...

over a shared

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

discourse and the duo have a quick wedding in Las Vegas. After a tragic ending befalls the teens, the fathers come to a realization that color should not distinguish humanity.

Cast

Production

The film was written, directed, and produced by Charles T. Kanganis, produced by Nestor N. Rodriguez, and has music by Eric Monsanty and lyrics by Neil Bagg.

Release

The film was released for theatrical presentation on February 22, 2006 and November 28, 2008 and released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on March 9, 2010. Its 2008 re-release was in one theater for one week earning $470.

Reception

Aaron Hillis Aaron Hillis is an American writer, film critic, director, film festival programmer, and curator. Career Hillis has been active in independent film, especially within the fields of indie festivals, exhibitions, indie film distribution and progra ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' described the movie as a "soapy, contemporary L.A.-set adaptation". Nathan Lee of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said the film was "a retrograde, thoroughly schematic conflict between rich, snooty white kids and working-class blacks". Robert Koehler, writing for ''

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), ...

'', said it was a "tone-deaf and culturally silly adaptation, which pits Beverly Hills whites against Compton blacks". Lee also indicated that the divisiveness was a bit contrived and that the film breathes life into the

socioeconomic Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

consideration it hopes to fight.

References

External links

* * * Films based on Romeo and Juliet 2006 films 2006 romantic drama films 2000s teen films American romantic drama films American teen romance films 2000s English-language films Films about suicide 2000s hip-hop films Films about interracial romance Teen films based on works by William Shakespeare {{DEFAULTSORT:Rome and Jewel 2000s American films English-language romantic drama films English-language musical films 2006 musical films