A Thin Line Between Love and Hate

A Thin Line Between Love and Hate
Film poster
Directed by	Martin Lawrence
Produced by	George Jackson Doug McHenry
Screenplay by	Martin Lawrence Bentley Kyle Evans Kenny Buford Kim Bass
Story by	Martin Lawrence
Narrated by	Martin Lawrence
Starring	Martin Lawrence Lynn Whitfield
Music by	Roger Troutman
Cinematography	Francis Kenny
Editing by	John Carter
Studio	Jackson-McHenry Entertainment You Go Boy! Productions
Distributed by	New Line Cinema Savoy Pictures
Release date(s)	April 5, 1996
Running time	108 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$8,000,000
Box office	$34,746,109

A Thin Line Between Love and Hate is a 1996 American dark comedy-romance film that was directed and co-written by Martin Lawrence, who also stars in the film. Lawrence co-wrote the screenplay alongside Kenny Buford, who has also written for Lawrence's hit television sitcom, Martin. Along with Lawrence, the film features an ensemble cast of African-American actors that include Lynn Whitfield, Regina King, Bobby Brown and Della Reese. The film tells the story of Darnell Wright, a ladies' man who finds himself targeted by one of his obsessed lovers.

A Thin Line Between Love and Hate was released in April 1996 and went on to gross over $30 million at the box office against a budget of $8 million. The film was shot on location entirely in the city of Los Angeles, California. The title for the film is taken from the 1971 song "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" by The Persuaders. R&B trio H-Town recorded a cover version of this song that was included on the film soundtrack. At the time of filming, Lawrence was over a decade younger than his leading lady, Whitfield, who was 43 at the time.

Plot

Martin Lawrence stars as nightclub manager Darnell, a perpetual playboy and hopeless male chauvinist. Darnell is a crude-but-smooth talker and lady's man who doesn't take no for an answer. He works for a nightclub called Chocolate City and aspires to be its owner. He trades VIP privileges at the club for favors from women. Though he is an expert at conning women, he sometimes worries about what his childhood sweetheart Mia (Regina King) thinks of his adventures.

When the classy, elegant Brandi (Lynn Whitfield) steps out of a limousine to enter the club, Darnell feels that he's met his ultimate prize. She rejects his come-ons, which only fuels his appetite. He pursues her, showing up with flowers at her real estate office. He finally wins over Brandi, only to find out that he's really in love with Mia. But Brandi doesn't take kindly to rejection, and becomes an obsessed femme fatale stalking him, even taking all four wheels off his SUV to ground him from his rounds.

Ending his relationship with Mia is not enough to satisfy Brandi, who finally administers Darnell's punishment for his misogyny. Darnell quickly learns the hard way that when you "play", you have to "pay." The film ends much like the last verse of the song A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, with an injured Darnell in hospital pondering over what happened to him and deciding to change, and a mugshot of Brandi and Darnell's voice saying "Damn I'm truly sorry about what happened to Brandi I hope po' baby lands on her feet, but they better make damn sure they fix that dent in her heart before they let her out".

Cast

• Martin Lawrence — Darnell Wright/Narrator
• Lynn Whitfield — Brandi Web
• Regina King — Mia
• Bobby Brown — Tee
• Della Reese — Mama Wright
• Malinda Williams — Erica Wright
• Daryl Mitchell — Earl
• Roger E. Mosley — Smitty
• Simbi Khali — Adrienne
• Tangie Ambrose — Nikki
• Wendy Raquel Robinson — Gwen
• Stacii Jae Johnson — Peaches
• Miguel A. Núñez Jr. — Reggie
• Faizon Love — Manny
• Michael Bell — Marvis
• Michael Taliferro - Club Security
• Tiny Lister - Tyrone
• Tracy Morgan - Bartender
• Snoop Doggy Dogg - Himself (cameo)
• LBC Crew (performing)

Reception

The film received negative reviews from critics, where it currently holds a 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews.

Soundtrack

Main article: A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (soundtrack)

A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on January 30, 1996 by Warner Bros. Records. It peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 and #5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

External links

• A Thin Line Between Love and Hate at the Internet Movie Database
• A Thin Line Between Love and Hate at Box Office Mojo
• A Thin Line Between Love and Hate at Rotten Tomatoes