Product Details

• Actors: Karyn Parsons, Isaiah Washington, Eric Thal, Diego Serrano, Timothy Jerome
• Directors: Alison Swan
• Writers: Alison Swan
• Producers: Isaiah Washington, Gabriella Stollenwerck, James Scura, Jedd Wider, Mathew Dunne
• Format: Color, EP, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Xenon
• VHS Release Date: February 5, 2002
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005ASU5
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #532,352 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, February 19, 2002

By 

MarvelousMarla "MarvyM" (Way down in Dixie) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mixing Nia / Love Isn't Always Black & White [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Karyn Parsons, best known as Hilary from the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," does a wonderful turn here as a bi-racial woman trying to carve out an identity for herself in the midst of professional and personal conflict. This movie shows us how difficult it can be to find your way in a society that insists on categorizing people when you don't easily fit into any one group. Although we may not have all of this character's baggage, "Who Am I?" is something that we all have grappled with at some point.

When we meet up with the protagonist, Nia is leaning toward with her Black heritage and is trying to find some sort of authentic Black experience -- whatever that is. This leads her to quit her job with an ad agency that has assigned her to a campaign for malt liquor and to begin dating her writing instructor. The instructor (Isaiah Washington), who thinks that Nia is not Black enough, makes it his business to change her. She meets him in a class that she takes after she decides that she wants to be a writer. Nia is the product of an upper middle class home, has white friends, and has dated white men before. Washington decides that he need to counteract all that.

Washington is very good here as the dreadlocked, blacker- than-thou, race man. Fine though he is, I would not date someone who felt like he had to make me over. He even goes so far as to reorganize her books separating the works of Black authors onto a separate shelf. Washington's character treats Nia like a project instead of a lover, and you get the feeling that being with him is her way of doing pennance for her perceived sins. She even gets her hair braided to appease him.

In addition to being bi-racial, Nia is also a product of divorce, and her father (white and Jewish) points out to her that she identifies more with her mother and other African Americans than with him. This gets her to thinking about her life.

Ultimately, she makes peace with herself and kicks her domineering man to the curb. She stops worrying so much about trying to fit in and decides to just live. Kudos to Alison Swan for a well-developed film.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful movie, May 10, 2001

By 

"mochajolt" (Hampton, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mixing Nia: Love Isn't Always Black & White (DVD)

"Mixing Nia" is a wonderful tale about a woman, NIA, who is coming into her own. Her problems range from the insecurities about being bi-racial to the problems that most children of divorced parents feel. She has friends of varying eclectic abilities and yet, she's found the interesting aspects of each one of them for which to build a foundation of friendship. The situations with the men in her life such as her father, Lewis, Matt, and Joe are very real and humorous at times. Karyn Parsons is absolutely fabulous as Nia and you will enjoy the cycle of confusion which surrounds her life. In the end, you don't have to be white or black to understand the very real frustrations of the human heart and mind!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hottie can Act!!, December 27, 2000

By 

Brock Carrington (ATLANTA, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mixing Nia: Love Isn't Always Black & White (DVD)

Alright, I have to admit that the title of my review woud scare away anyone expecting something thoughtful or insightful. That's OK. I really enjoyed this movie. The title Character, Nia, has to learn to accept every part of herself: the Black parts that conflict with her white peers; the white parts that conflict with her Black peers, and the strictly Nia parts that conflict with everyone. What is her solution? Should she ignore one part of herself to develop the other? Or maybe she will feel better with the right boyfriend....

This dilemma is handled in an imaginative and mature fashion. I really recommend this movie.