My mother involuntarily reminded me that I needed to do this for the week. So here it goes, my top five things that made me smile this week.

1. Wack Over the Head: I said something smart to my mother a few minutes ago and she had a stack of paper in her hand. Wack. She slapped me in the back of the head with it and I laughed so hard that I made her laugh. It didn't hurt of course, but I was so caught off-guard that she did it and went into a fit of giggles. It was the type of thing my great great aunt would do with her cane (scoot around swinging it) and I told her she's been spending too much time with her. Guess you had to be there, but it was funny.

2. Kevin Hart talking about Trey Songz "R&B voice": I didn't know about this lady's weave catching on fire until a week ago. It reminded me of that scene with Kimbella on "Love & Hip-Hop," but the way Kevin Hart reacted was funnier than the stripper patting Kimbella's real hair out. However, the way Kevin Hart said Trey Songz reacted had me dying laughing.


 
 
I read about these films while working on Breaking News at the Trib. Check out this article. Tired of the same old scripts and lack of diversity in films. Support movies that don't have the same recycled plot and with a cast that doesn't look like the movie plopped someone in to make the quota. I watch a lot of different movies, but I think in the African-American film industry, the roles and stories are limited. These two movies seemed to have potential from the theatrical trailers.

Update (8 p.m. on Friday): I just came in tonight after seeing "Women Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day" and I loved this movie. I've been a Blair Underwood fan since I was a kid (and he cracked me up on "The New Adventures of Old Christine"), but he really did his thing in this film. I like Sharon Leal, too. She's more than just a pretty face. She's an exceptional actress and I thought the two of them worked great together. And my gawd, her high school ex-boyfriend and the pimp (okay, yeah, that's a stereotype but it made sense for the movie) were gorgeous! But better than that, the movie kept me intrigued the entire time. I'd highly recommend it.

I wanted to support "Life, Love, Soul" too but I have a bone to pick with where this movie is showing. I was already cringing to see Tami Roman from "Basketball Wives" in it, but for all I know, she may be a great actress. But more importantly, why did they choose Woodridge (been living in Chicago for 26 of 30 years and I've never even heard of Woodridge, IL) to show a predominantly black film? Why not stick it where the black folks are? I'm willing to bet the film would be supported far more in Chicago than this place, and I'm not driving over an hour to see a movie that costs less than $10. I'd blow more money in gas than I would on the film. I wonder if the other locations are in no-man's land, too. Doubt it, especially in the Atlanta locations. I hope it comes to Netflix or Amazon though. I'll watch it there.

See the trailers:


 
 
I'm set for this week, but these videos were so funny that I decided to do an installment for next week's five. I have watched these four videos nonstop on Thursday night and laugh every single time.

I still remember interviewing Steve Harvey about his book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man." You can read it by clicking Other Publications and scrolling to the comedian's photo. I cannot wait to see the movie based on his book "Think Like a Man" next Friday. Speaking of that, I've got another thing that made me smile.

1. Two days off: Being off on Fridays and Saturdays: I couldn't think of a better schedule. Hearing my bosses tell me my two new days off were these two days was the highlight of my day (a couple weeks back). Love it!

2. Regina Hall: I never thought anybody could be funnier than Kevin Hart from this cast, but Regina stole the show. What she did to Terrence J. made me cry laughing. I was not prepared for her to do that.



3. Kevin Hart being a distraction: The interviewer tried to keep this interview serious, but Kevin Hart acted a damn fool and I loved every minute of it. Michael Ealy had a terrible time trying to stay serious, and it cracked me up even more. At 1:38 she did have a great point though and momentarily got all of the guys' attention before they lost it again.



4. The line about 'negro kids' and Tijuana Jackson cursing them out at the end: I remember my brother cracking up laughing at Romany Malco in "40-Year-Old Virgin" and I loved that movie, too. I knew he was funny. I was amused at him trying to kiss Angela Yee on The Breakfast Club interview. But up until tonight, I had no clue about Tijuana Jackson or this ridiculously funny (and ignorant as ever!) interview with the "Think Like a Man" cast. My gawd, if this isn't a train wreck I don't know what is. I don't know how they kept it together after the "negro kids" line. Terrible! I laughed so hard at that one.



5. Chocolate Droppa and Tijuana Jackson together: I'd seen a few videos of Chocolate Droppa (Kevin Hart's alter-ego) but to put Tijuana Jackson and Chocolate Droppa together was classic. And my gawd, when he got on that segway, I almost fell off my desk chair.




P.S. I'd tweeted about how funny Romany was while typing this blog and I got a DM from him thanking me. Aw, that's nice! Cool, glad he read it.
Best luck on the film, fellas! I'll be there opening night. And to Mr. Harvey, congratulations on a job well done and for the interview. I read the book a few years ago, but I think I'll re-read it this month after watching the movie.
 
 
It's that time again to count down five things that made me smile this past week so here we go!

1. Betty White's "Off Their Rockers": I am all about "The Golden Girls." I TIVO that show and watch it whenever I'm relaxing at home and/or while I'm doing my hair before work. Those are my TV friends right up there with "Living Single" and a couple folks from "A Different World." But Betty White's new prank show entertains me far more. I can't get enough of watching these seniors play jokes on their younger victims. I rewound the old guy skateboarding at least five times and took the DVD to my grandfather's house so he could see it. Damn DVD wouldn't play in his DVD player, but I'll be back again because I want him to see it.

2. Jarod's front on "Real Housewives of Atlanta": The other guys who did the foot and hand massages and fed women strawberries were all well and good. But that's regular stuff. This Kenyan guy Jarod stepped into Kandi's shop with the kind of sexy that just doesn't show up everyday. I was honestly stunned looking at this man with his shirt off. He's got a young face and looks a little bashful, but he took that red shirt off and I paused my television. I rewound him turning around at least five times. I've seen handsome guys before, but this is that strong raw appeal. *round of applause for Jarod's parents for creating him and to whatever workout equipment he uses*

3. Jarod's back on "Real Housewives of Atlanta": I don't care that I mentioned him in #2. He deserves a separate entry just for how he takes care of the back of himself. Yes, his pants could've hid his boxer briefs a little, but they sat at a tasteful angle. Give this man a standing ovation!

 
 
I had a really long blog here, but after reading through it, I realized I could sum it up in a couple paragraphs. Outside of places where you have no control over the people you're around (ex. work, church, public retail locations), if you're around someone and they don't make you smile as soon as you see them, ask yourself this question: "If this person was no longer in my life, would I care?" If the answer is no, it may be time for you to remove yourself from that person's social circle. If the answer is yes, make it known that you like/love this person and really appreciate him/her. There are certain folks in my life that I light up when I see them. I could hang out with them all day and never get tired of them (my mother, my grandfather and my four-legged, non-human friend Faith are at the top of this list). There are others who I don't necessarily see all the time, but even if we bump heads from time to time, I'm still happy to see them the next round. There are those who I'm totally crazy about but don't see enough (location is the only factor).

And then there are those who I cringe every time I see them no matter how long it's been since I last saw them or how far/close they live. So I stopped. You realize how very quickly your mood improves when you remove yourself from folks who make you miserable. Whether it's family you feel obligated to hang with because you share blood or friends because you grew up with them and used to be cool, the million dollar question is, "Do I want to be around you now?" If you don't, don't. If you do, do. And if you don't know, it might be time to have a talk with this person to see if you can at least improve the relationship so you can put him/her on that smile list. If it doesn't work, at least you can say you tried before you burned that bridge.