On November 22, 1968 television history was made. It was a controversial moment that only lasted a brief coupe of seconds but it rippled throughout society. Now you might think that something this groundbreaking would have happened on some cutting edge show and in some ways it was. That night on a little science fiction series, ‘Star Trek’ the American television audience witnessed the first broadcast of an interracial kiss. With the retrospective distance of forty years this may not seem like a big deal but back then it certain was. Some affiliates in the south outright refused to broadcast the episode. Only one year before in 1967 a movie hit the theaters, ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’. It dealt with an interracial romance between an African American man and a white woman. Back fort decades ago interracial relationships where for the most part taboo. Only a few years ago a little sit-com, ‘What I Like About You’, depicted an interracial kiss and it didn’t even register as part of the plot. Now that episode is rerun on a regular basis on the ABC family network. It is amazing to have watched such social changes happen within our lifetimes. Now the subject of romantic interracial relationships is considered something that can be used as the basis of a comedy. Of course there are some who still oppose such things. Many cite racial vigor or purity but they are not exactly the target audience for this film. The film under consideration here is ‘I'm Through with White Girls (the Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks)’ by film maker Jennifer Sharp. This is an above average comedy that works on just about every level you can imagine. It is funny, entertaining and imaginative; just what you need for a light hearted rom-com. It comes to DVD thanks to Image Entertainment and it is one that is well worth checking out.

While the protagonist of the story is male the viewpoint is definitely female. Of course the reason for this is both the writer and director are women. This does provide a much different vantage point and direction than the typical romantic comedy. Lately even if there is a strong female presence in the story much of the humor is derived from the male point of view. The translation here is crude, juvenile jokes. As the writer Courtney Lilly holds her story above all of this. True, many of the laughs are at the expense of the man in question here. He is commitment phobic and initially at least wants the correct girlfriend rather than a soul mate. Prior to this screenplay Lilly only has a few credits to her name but it is a case of quality instead of quantity. She has writing credits for two widely acclaimed television series, ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Everybody Hates Chris’. She also went on after this project to the little gem of a basic cable series ‘My Boys’. This last show gave her experience in writing for a woman in a man’s world; something that may not direct relates here but does afford Lilly a unique look at the story and its characters. This is still a touchy and difficult subject even after decades of progress in race relations. One of the factors that affect the protagonist, Jay Brooks (Anthony Montgomery) is the way some African American’s look at interracial dating. He is seen by some as going for the Euro-centric version of the American dream which means having a white woman on his arm. This is seen by such people as selling out and ignoring beautiful, talented women of his own race. Ms Lilly handles this delicate and even still controversial topic with diplomacy, grace and style. The most refreshing thing about the script is the lack of stereotypes it contains. Naturally, the even the ancillary female characters are fully formed and believable. The men have there silly moments but this is a comedy and lets face it guys many of us act this way in real life. She could have prolonged Jay’s search for the right black woman a bit since is looking did provide much of the best comedy here. As it is Lilly chooses to let him find the young lady early enough in the story to allow for a reasonably paced romance to flourish. The script is sharp and witty; something that hasn’t been seen in independent romantic comedies is a long while. It does not pander to the lowest common denominator but challenges the audience to keep up.

Directing this film is Jennifer Sharp. This is her freshman opus but you would hardly know it. She has a command of the film and vision that translates to pure delight in the watching. Sharp permits the story to unfold organically. There is nothing here that feels forced to contrive. She starts with a little background of Jay and the influences in his life that push him towards the titular decision. It is shown as a flawed man, aren’t we all, who is ultimately looking for someone who he can be happy with. Playing the part of the main female lead here as the character Catherine Williamson is Lia Johnson. She is a truly multi talented woman who also served as the producer and main drive behind the film. One aspect of her work here is her willingness to let others in on making this film a reality. Unlike so many in the Indy movie world she obtained the talents of a writer and director instead of feeling it was necessary to do everything herself. Apparently she was responsible for obtaining the funding for the film providing a good portion of it personally. In front of the camera she is wonderful and steals every scene. Johnson has the energy and natural sense of comic timing to make a film like this work. The press release states the DVD will feature a commentary track by Ms Johnson but unfortunately the preview copy did not contain it.

Jay is a somewhat affected man earning a nice living as a graphic artist. The very first shot we get of him is writing at the coffee table with a cigarette in a long holder. In the background a woman’s voice comes from the shower. He frantically grabs all of his stuff and flees the apartment. We then see a montage of young women who Jay has dumped in this un-chivalrous fashion; dashing out while they are not there to confront him. All of the young women are white. There reactions range from laughter to anger. He becomes convinced that his problem is not with himself by his perchance of dating white women. He initiates ‘Operation Brown Sugar’; his plan to find the perfect black mate. Eventually he meets a somewhat wacky woman, Catherine. She is half black and have white Canadian and completely wacky. She is an aspirating novelist so they at least both share a common passion for artistic endeavors. Of course the relationship takes off but there are the typical quirks to get over.

This is a great film that is funny and doesn’t get bogged down with the subject matter. Finally there is something that everybody can appreciate and enjoy. Again it is unfortunate that the announced extras were not available for screening, I would have loved to hear Johnson’s take on the making of this film. It is well done but not for the whole family. The rating is not set yet but it may come in around a R rating. This is a great date movie but more importantly it is an excellent film overall.