When I’d heard about the new Lifetime movie Love By the 10th Date I have to admit I was a little hesitant to tune in. Lifetime typically has movies based on the lonely, desperate woman who falls in love, or the teenager who sneaks off with some man and hides her pregnancy from her family. Despite the fact that some of my favorite #girlfriends were starring in the movie, I wasn’t convinced or in a rush to sit still for 2 hours to watch my cherished black #girlfriends get dumped, hated on, or ultimately be heartbroken by the end of the film. Typical lifetime B.S.
Girlfriends let me tell you…I was soooo wrong!
Margot ( Kelly Rowland ), Gabrielle (Meagan Good), Billie (Keri Hilson), and Nell (Kellee Stewart) all best friends working at the same magazine run by, in my opinion, a royal pain in the a** editor, radiated the fiercest black queen sisterhood vibes through my television screen. I mean, after three full nights of the BET New Edition Mini Series I didn’t think there would be another all black cast to woo me on the couch so soon.
As each scene told the story of a group of supportive girls with the usual male bestie from work, going to happy hours sharing life’s woes and working together to find logical solutions to their problems, at times it felt like I was watching parts of my own life play out on a cable network movie screen. Talk about the chills…I picked up my pen and immediately began scribbling down my thoughts as Good’s character, Gabrielle navigated through her quest to make it to ten dates with the same guy and boost her art career at the same damn time.
This dumb idea of the 10th date came from that psycho of a boss the girlfriends have a love hate relationship with, Maureen (Cat Deeley). She foolishly wrote in their magazine something about how women on the dating scene should be wearing an emotional condom of sorts and merely let loose and just have fun dating. In lieu of getting all wrapped up in when the relationship will get “real” and the “family-marriage-baby” talk that we all dreadfully succumb too after a few amazing dates. Truthfully speaking, I agree!
But girlfriends let me tell you, this was not your typical rom-com. Yes, it’s about Gabrielle ultimately finding love but there are so many interwoven topics about life, love, and career that they sent my head spinning.
Gabrielle was on this massive search for love when the right man for her was just under her nose. The girlfriends male work bestie, Dante (Brandon T. Jackson) is your typical not-ready-to-settle-down playa playa from the himalayas until he realizes that he is in love with Gabrielle. The Gina to his Martin. (Cute…I know!) Then it’s too late. The untimely return of her ex-boyfriend who now wants to give it another try swoops in and ruins EVERYTHING. Again…my life on the small screen. *insert ugh emoji here* Thank God that stage of my life is soooooo over. *insert big teeth smiley face emoji here* LOL
I mean, we’ve all been that girl swiping right and left on Tinder and giving our numbers to random guys at the gym and beyond…right?? It becomes all too real when you and your girlfriends finally realize that the guys you hang out with are the ones that really ‘get you’ and the fact that you were friends first makes the transition to a relationship that much easier. Once you accept this and trust the process, all things work-love-life seem to fall in place for your greater good.
As Gabrielle so cleverly puts it at the end of the movie, “I Am Enough!” Yes we are girlfriend!!!!
Dating and building your career are all about being yourself and knowing exactly who you are and what you want. Kudos to the writers and producers, Love By the 10th Date is well written and produced. Thank you for putting my life as a black women with a creative spirit on the small screen and showing the world how strong, positive, and beautiful me and all my girlfriends are.
Now, y’all go watch the movie and comment your take on it here with the girlfriends.
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