Opinionated, acerbic and downright brutal, Eva (Gabrielle Union) never met a man she wouldn’t gladly rip to shreds. Having raised her younger sisters (Essence Atkins, Robinne Lee and Meagan Good) since she was 18, Eva still substitutes running their lives for living one of her own. Even though her sisters don’t mind Eva’s constant meddling, their husbands (Duane Martin, Mel Jackson, and Dartanyan Edmonds) certainly do. Hoping to distract Eva, the men hire Ray (LL Cool J), a smooth-talking ladies man, to seduce her. Energetic performances by all involved enliven the predictable antics that follow. The film’s message – that an ill-tempered woman only needs a man to make her happy – won’t win the hearts of many feminists, but it’s best not to take a frivolous comedy like this one too seriously.

Grade: B-

Kinsey Scale: 2 (The men force Ray’s hand by questioning his sexuality when he refuses to go on a second date with Eva. Much of the action takes place in a beauty salon, complete with the obligatory queeny hairdresser full of snappy one-liners. LL Cool J appeared in the campfest Charlie’s Angels, and Mel Jackson was in a TV biopic of flamboyant rock-n-roller Little Richard.)