IT WAS NOT UNTIL I STARTED dating, that I realized I was in a minority. It was not something that I immediately understood. Talking with friends and hearing stories through acquaintances, I realized most people find themselves attracted to a certain type of individual. For example, I knew someone who would not date anyone who was taller than himself. A female friend would not go out with any guy who had facial hair. These types of restrictions were foreign to me; what did height or facial hair have to do with what was inside a person’s heart and mind? My philosophy believed the body was a rented vessel, changing every day, so the surface stuff meant little to me. I dated a variety of diverse types of individuals because their religion, race, looks, etc. were not crucial factors to me. Some of my friends said I was weird, and others would not believe me, testing me by pointing out people we saw on the street and asking if I would date them. I would tell them to just remember the ones I dated in the past and they would see that weight, hair color and such were not important. What was important were things like clean teeth, nails, and hair to name a few of my dealbreakers. If I were fixed up on a blind date and the person came in with dirty fingernails or food stuck between their teeth, I would not seek out a second date.      SOMETHING I STARTED TO NOTICE IN people was a shift in how they tried to form connections or find common ground with another person. I noticed on several dates from various websites the person, upon hearing my religious background would shift the conversation in a way to show they were “okay” with me. They would mention certain types of food they tried and liked that were associated with our holidays. Or they would tell me they always wanted to see the religious icons in a particular country that had connections to my religion. Honestly, I felt they were pandering and not really into knowing me, just using my religion to form a connection. It never worked because they never took the time to learn about me as a person, only focused on this one aspect that in the scheme of things did not teach them anything about my dreams, likes and dislikes. I came to find out I was not the only one who noticed this in the dating world; I could only assume it went beyond single people looking to date someone. For all I knew, some of these dates may have been acting in a false way to make it appear as if they understood what it was like to be a person of my faith. I see this increasingly in various social groups. Having had these experiences, I found myself loving the story in this comedic drama.      FRUSTRATED THAT HE WAS NOT GETTING the recognition he felt he deserved, a novelist decided to draft a book under a pseudonym that was filled with stereotypes geared to what he saw the public wanted to read. Little did he expect it to become a tremendous success, which only made him angrier. With Jeffrey Wright (The French Dispatch, The Batman) as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, Tracee Ellis Ross (The Hight Note, Girlfriends-TV) as Lisa Ellison, John Ortiz (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fallout) as Arthur, Erika Alexander (Get Out, Déjà Vu) as Coraline and Leslie Uggams (Deadpool franchise, Dotty & Soul) as Agnes Ellison; this Oscar nominated film was a pure joy to watch. The acting by Jeffrey and Leslie was especially wonderful and I can see why Jeffrey was nominated in the best actor category. And I thought the writing and direction were right on target because it created this space for the viewer to settle in and see this fascinating mix of satire and family drama. I was surprised by the twist in the story and am not sure if I liked it or not. This picture came across in a fresh and original way that made it such an enjoyable viewing experience.                                         

3 ½ stars