Mary J. Blige’s Real Love Captures First Love, ’90s Nostalgia & The Dichotomy of A Woman’s Strength

Love is messy, difficult, and an entire loss of management.

One of probably the most shining elements of Mary J. Blige’s Real Love is how the long-lasting Renaissance lady’s music impressed the movie, and it was finished extremely properly.

Mary J. Blige and Lifetime are a collaboration made in heaven, with this real, candy, and actual love story that places not simply her music, however music basically, very a lot on the forefront because it was expertly used as a device for excellent storytelling.

At the center of this movie is Kendra, not the love story and chemistry between the leads, which was improbable, however Kendra herself, as a personality and younger lady driving this story.

Ajiona Alexus, of 13 Reasons Why acclaim, completely shines on this position, deftly carrying the movie as lead and capturing all of the complexities of Kendra.

It was an ideal coming-of-age story, and Alexus’ considerate and nuanced efficiency genuinely felt transformative for the character.

The Kendra we left on the finish of the movie had really developed from the Kendra we met at first, and that is a marking of an awesome story informed after we may comply with the story and genuinely see the expansion within the character.

Kendra was such a real and relatable character. The movie performed with a number of archetypes that hit near house and felt genuine.

The thought of good and in management Kendra, who was extremely centered and had spent her total life on this field, trying to make one thing of herself, make her father, and her mom’s reminiscence proud, and quantity to one thing embodied that of an ideal protagonist in a brand new grownup story earlier than she embarks on this journey of discovery.

And Kendra additionally completely encapsulated what we affectionately name “Eldest Daughter Syndrome.” She took on the position of maternal determine and caretaker after her mom handed away, boxing herself into the position of “responsible daughter,” who got here throughout as so centered that she was uptight and hadn’t allowed herself to reside and be.

It’s such a standard phenomenon, one which is not new, although mentioned with extra frequency nowadays, that having it depicted with the nineties nostalgic again lay was one of the components of the movie that stood out finest.

Kendra was immediately likable, relatable, inspiring, and a protagonist you genuinely rooted for and needed the perfect for all through the movie, whilst she stumbled via some of life’s and a lady’s largest obstacles.

So usually, with girls’s tales, there’s this implication that one should select between self or love and romance.

And in a short time, the movie labored to place that to mattress for Kendra, dispelling this concept she had that faculty was merely a stepping stone to her dream of turning into a photographer and that she could not study issues exterior of the normal realm of training.

One of the extra notable cases of this was with Professor Lovett, performed by Fire Country’s Marci T. House.

 I genuinely appreciated this lady as a mentor, particularly providing the pearls of knowledge and recommendation as an older lady to this younger grownup who had missed out on the maternal power, at the least being on the receiving finish of it, for too lengthy.

“Your art can only be as alive as you are,” was some recommendation that Lovett gave her, and one cannot assume of one thing higher to dole out to a younger lady who seemingly spent a lot of her life so centered on her subsequent steps ahead that she hadn’t taken sufficient time to lookup, take all of it in, breathe, and determine who she actually is.

For Kendra to be the true artist she was born to be, she needed to be an lively participant fairly than a passive surveyor in life.

And happily, even with the chums she made alongside the way in which, she had individuals who had been prepared to push her out of her consolation zone, break her free of her shell, and spend the right time studying about herself, who she is, what she needs, and what she’s succesful of and extra.

Of course, that got here with various levels and shades, as there have been some classes that nobody ought to need to study.

Life for ladies on faculty campuses is difficult now, it was after I was on one (I actually bought assigned to a compulsory Rape Defense Course throughout orientation), and goodness solely is aware of how a lot worse it was in 1992.

It’s upsetting that too usually, with girls’s coming-of-age tales, sexual assault is basically a ceremony of passage. It’s extra alarming that it is so reasonable and commonplace, notably with some demographics, that one cannot even criticize it as a problematic car for storytelling; it is simply… too actual, tales that require telling.

Thankfully, the movie took some measures and was thoughtful of the story they had been telling when overlaying each her sexual assault and her suicide try.

It wasn’t graphic or exploitative, resting on implication greater than anything, which was the extra fascinating, delicate method of dealing with the subject material.

It was heartbreaking that the highs of Kendra studying to unwind and expertise life, letting her hair down, this essential step within the faculty expertise additionally needed to embody lows like navigating her Freshman yr after a traumatic sexual assault with little recourse.

One day, one can expertise all that life has to supply and get an introduction to new life levels with out getting marred by such traumatic issues. Everyone, from her father and sister to her professor and pals, appeared to induce her to reside somewhat, and it was thrilling to see that she did.

And Ben was instrumental in that.

Alexus and All American’s Da’Vinchi had completely fabulous chemistry, and so they made it easy to fall in love with this love story.

In some ways, they had been evenly matched regardless of coming from totally different worlds. They introduced out the perfect in each other, and for a primary love, one cannot ask for something higher.

There was a sure innocence to their relationship, notably at first. Ben was smitten together with her nearly immediately, and one may perceive why.

And whereas Kendra was a bit reserved and hesitant, it did not take lengthy for Ben’s charms to put on her down, and so they fell into one thing genuinely heat and candy as they melded that good steadiness of flirty old flame with real friendship.

They grew to become one another’s “person,” understanding each other on a deeper stage higher than anybody else managed to, which made them a pairing value rooting for even when life saved throwing some obstacles massive and small towards them, or that they had moments when it felt like their incompatibility via totally different life experiences would overcome what drew them collectively.

Ben’s life was one of privilege, and he had his personal naivety as a result of there have been so many elements of Kendra’s life or her character that he could not fairly grasp.

But whereas Ben’s privileges had been notable and used to spotlight the variations and challenges between him and Kendra, in addition they weren’t portrayed as all roses and sunshine for him both.

They managed to seize how his being from a rich, established household comes with a sure stage of perks whereas additionally realistically capturing the drawbacks and the way his mother and father and the crippling weight of the expectations positioned upon him had been damaging and impacted him vastly.

As the story progresses, their respective ages take maintain, permitting for area for these characters to be genuinely sympathetic.

It could be too straightforward to get pissed off by Ben as this man who cannot fairly stand as much as his household for almost all of the movie or who places an excessive amount of stake in his concern of standing alone on his personal two ft.

But whenever you keep in mind that he is merely 19 at finest, simply barely out of adolescence, and also you assume again on the place you’ll have been at that age, many of Ben’s lapses in judgment and blunders fall consistent with a younger man who has barely bought his ft beneath him.

He’s nonetheless this child, afraid of what it means to disappoint his mother and father or step in opposition to them. And the small steps he makes all through the film are commendable as a result of his progress is available in its personal time.

One of the primary issues Kendra tells him is that he ought to “Take the space,” and it is the kind of factor that Ben clings to, coming from a world the place he would not have a lot room to determine who he’s and what he needs out of life exterior of falling consistent with his mother and father’ expectations and making them proud.

As irritating because it was, even his errors with Connie felt completely, realistically juvenile and true to type for a person his age.

He beloved Kendra however resorted to elementary techniques like utilizing Connie, his mother and father’ dream lady for him, to make Kendra jealous or having intercourse together with her to take his thoughts off Kendra, leading to an unplanned being pregnant.

Ben wasn’t an ideal man, however that is what made him such a compelling character and love curiosity, and that is what made this love story each bit one which lived as much as the title.

It wasn’t good, however it was actual. Real messy. Real difficult. Real tough. Real difficult. Real love.

One factor that was unmistakable all through was Ben’s love for Kendra, and that shone via brilliantly.

Their love wasn’t with out its casualties, and as a lot as Connie was an absolute ache within the ass, once more, one thinks about her age and the way widespread it’s for ladies to behave like that.

She handled Kendra horribly and was haughty, snobbish, and impolite. And she knew Ben did not love her and that their relationship was one thing that his mom projected onto them fairly than of his personal doing.

But she, too, was most likely a younger lady who fell sufferer to her guardian’s expectations and what society anticipated of her. And their households anticipated her with Ben, simply not how issues ended.

She did not have a lot display time, however one of probably the most touching moments was when she and Kendra had an actual heart-to-heart on that park bench, connecting as two younger girls attempting to determine their lives and what it meant subsequent.

Connie’s being pregnant was a shock, however life labored out that method.

But in a refreshing transfer, Ben lastly took that much-needed stand even when Kendra herself was encouraging Ben to marry Connie and do the “proper” factor that his and Connie’s mother and father anticipated of them.

He discovered his personal resolution and a method via issues as an grownup, which did not lead to ignoring the “problem” of having a child out of wedlock and hoping that Connie and this youngster would simply go away.

He knew he risked his household reducing him off, disowning them, and so forth, for falling brief of their expectations and never doing what they needed, however he made his first actual selection for himself anyway.

And whenever you assume of how courageous that’s for a younger man like him at his age, it was one of these quiet moments worthy of satisfaction.

Again, in so some ways, it sucks that Kendra’s love story was marred with many obstacles, however there is a sure magnificence in that too.

It’s lovely to know {that a} younger man like Ben existed for her, somebody who informed her that she was “safe” with him when she may’ve concluded that no man was protected after the terrible issues that Reggie did.

He was a person who protected and defended her, sure, but in addition allowed himself to be protected and defended, too, with out it being a blow to his ego.

He was a person who made the proper selection for himself however was additionally prepared to let her go as a result of he needed to do what was finest for her.

As for Kendra, Real Love was lovely in that, from a romantic standpoint, her relationship with Ben was simply that, however greater than something, her actual love was about her studying to like herself.

She got down to attend Hammon with a sure purpose, and whereas there have been moments the place she was afraid {that a} romance distracted her from that, it solely enhanced her story and journey.

She nonetheless reached her objectives and adopted her goals by the movie’s finish.

Kendra did not need to sacrifice bits of herself or her wishes “for a boy.”

We bought this outstanding story that completely encapsulated the wealthy dichotomy of a lady’s energy, notably a Black lady’s energy, because the movie managed to take the notion of the “Strong Black Woman” trope and provides it the required nuance that so usually is missing.

Kendra was an extremely sturdy younger lady, and her energy was continually examined, however via that energy, she was additionally given the area to be susceptible, cared for, tended to, and extra.

Her energy and need to be as sturdy as doable allowed her sexual assault to almost swallow her up complete, her close to suicide try being the right indicator of that. However, the energy it took to lastly open up, be susceptible, and permit herself to come back to grips with what occurred to her is what freed her, too.

Kendra possessed that quiet kind of energy that felt prefer it deconstructed some of the problematic or at the least slim depictions of it with Black feminine characters, and it is half of what made her such a refreshing character.

As a end result, one cannot wait to see what the subsequent chapter in her life has in retailer for her.

Despite every little thing she endured in that chaotic first yr, from a whirlwind relationship with Ben to a sexual assault and juggling lessons, work research, and jobs, she nonetheless excelled.

And now she’s off to Chicago for the chance of a lifetime, and one can solely guess that there is nothing however nice issues in retailer for her professionally.

The irony is not misplaced when you think about what Ben’s mother and father thought of her, her pursuit of images as a career, and the place she got here from as a working-class daughter of a sanitation employee.

They had been judgmental sufficient to imagine that she’d be some statistic, and now she’s off to make her goals come true whereas their son has a baby out of wedlock.

Life is humorous that method.

But as a lot as Kendra and Ben’s love story ended bittersweetly, “To Be Continued” is promising. Their paths should positively cross once more — a love story like theirs would not simply finish, even when it takes years to get again on monitor.

Fortunately, we’ll get the second half with Strength of a Woman, and we’ll be again with one other Lifetime Movie Review for you as properly.

With Mary J. Blige as an govt producer and this story impressed by one of her hit songs, it is not in the slightest degree shocking that music was used so properly all through to drive the narrative.

Mary J. Blige’s hit “Real Love,” serving as Kendra and Ben’s track, could not have been extra good for them and labored as a theme for the movie.

As heartbreaking because it was, one may recognize that the track that Reggie turned as much as drown out her screams as he assaulted her was a set off for her every time she heard it.

Even Kendra enjoying Vivaldi’s Four Seasons completely captured the subversion of what she represented with a classical piece and was befitting of the varied levels she’d undergo all through the season.

I additionally could not assist however assume of one of Blige’s more moderen hits, “Whole Damn Year,” which might later really feel well-suited for Kendra’s expertise with Reggie, however however, the use of seasons to spotlight adjustments in a single’s life was past becoming.

But the music was solely a chunk of the storytelling that labored as that they had a lot enjoyable with the ’90s style and hairstyles, which evoked some nostalgia as properly.

Overall, Real Love was a compelling love story from the community and felt totally different than Lifetime’s standard fare in some ways, one thing value coming again to when the second chapter drops.

And we all know Mary J. Blige has such an unimaginable and uncooked discography that, hopefully, she’ll revisit utilizing her songs to inform extra tales sooner or later.

But we would love to listen to what your ideas are about this movie. Sound off under!

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