Deliver Us from Eva

Deliver Us from Eva

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Gary Hardwick
Produced by Paula Weinstein
Barry Levinson
Paddy Cullen
Len Amato
Written by James Iver Mattson
B. E. Brauner
Gary Hardwick
Starring LL Cool J
Gabrielle Union
Essence Atkins
Duane Martin
Mel Jackson
Meagan Good
Music by Marcus Miller
Cinematography Alexander Gruszynski
Edited by Earl Watson
Distributed by Focus Features
Release date
 February 7, 2003 (2003-02-07)
Running time
 105 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $22,573,594

Deliver Us from Eva is a 2003 American romantic comedy film starring LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union, revolving around LL's character Ray being paid to date a troublesome young lady named Eva (Union). To some extent, it is a modern, urban update of William Shakespeare's play, The Taming of the Shrew.[1] It was released to the US theaters on February 7, 2003 by Focus Features, and also stars Essence Atkins, Duane Martin, and Mel Jackson.

The title is a play on a line of the Lord's Prayer: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Plot

Evangeline (Eva for short) Dandridge works for The Los Angeles Health Department as an inspector, a job most suitable for her bossy and perfectionist nature. She and her sisters, Kareenah, Bethany, and Jacqui, have been taking care of each other since their parents died when they were young. As a result of the combination of her personality and her family's circumstances, Eva's level of involvement in her sisters' lives causes a high level of tension between her and her sisters' significant others (Mike, Tim, and Darrell, respectively).

While the significant others are out at a bar complaining about how interfering Eva is, they come across Mike's old friend Ray Adams. Ray is a "Master Player" who can handle even the most difficult women. The guys hire Ray to seduce Eva and convince her to move away with him so they can finally be free of her meddling. Little do they know Eva has already been offered a new job in Chicago.

After a disastrous first date, Ray tells the guys that Eva is too difficult for even him to handle and offers to return their money. However, when he runs into Eva while at work delivering meat to local restaurants they make amends and begin a relationship. Eva and Ray fall in love, and Eva even temporarily abandons her shrewish ways. But when things start to get serious, Eva's sisters all start comparing their relationships to Ray and Eva's relationship, making things even worse than before. After they find out about Eva's job offer, the significant others panic and attempt to break up the blossoming romance, claiming their wives never let them hear the end of the latest with Eva and Ray, and that Eva intends to stay in the city. Things get so complicated that the men finally hatch a daring plan: kidnap Ray, lie to Eva about his death in an accident and cajole her into leaving the city.

Eva believes them and arranges a tearful funeral for her "dead" boyfriend, but in the middle of the service Ray appears, having escaped his prison, and the whole truth comes out. An angry Eva dumps Ray, leaves the city and resolves to start a new life. But Ray hasn't quite given up. He shows up at Eva's job on a white horse and persuades her to forgive him. She agrees to take him back, split up the inheritance, and apologizes for her interference in her sisters' relationships.

Cast

Reception

Deliver Us from Eva received mixed reviews from critics, as it holds a 44% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 81 reviews.

Box office

The film opened at No. 6 in the U.S. Box office in the weekend of February 7, 2003, raking in $6,648,374 USD in its first opening weekend.

References

  1. ↑ Jess-Cook, Carolyn (2006). "Screening the McShakespeare in Post-Millennial Shakespeare Cinema". In Thornton Burnett, Mark; Wray, Ramona. Screening Shakespeare in the Twenty-First Century. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 171–172. ISBN 9780748623518.
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