Kenya Denise (Sanaa Lathan) is a senior manager at a successful accounting firm. Her intense and focused working style has impressed her white superiors, and they are preparing to make her a partner. Kenya has a beautiful new home in Los Angeles and appears to have everything going for her — everything, that is, except for an IBM (ideal black man). Her best friends are all professionals like her and they have grown tired of hearing Kenya's list of the qualities she wants in a man. One of them advises her to drop the list and just go with the flow. After all, 42.4 % of black women aren't married, and time is flying.
So Kenya decides to try a blind date. She meets Brian (Simon Baker), a nice enough fellow — except he's white. Kenya feels very uncomfortable with him. Sensing that, Brian lets her leave shortly after they meet. Then she bumps into him again at a party and learns that he is a talented landscaper. She hires him to transform her backyard. It isn't too long before she takes a leap of faith and decides to go with the flow of feelings that she has for Brian. The fact that he is a gentle, sensitive, and caring man who loves dogs, nature, and bold colors adds to the romantic adventure they begin together.
There is opposition to her sleeping with the enemy from her cocky brother Nelson (Donald Faison) and from her snooty mother (Alfre Woodard), who has very high standards for her daughter. Brian is a very patient man who must endure racist snubs at various social gatherings and listen to Kenya's complaints about the patronizing way she is treated at work on account of the color of her skin. Add to that Kenya's confusion about what kind of relationship she really wants, and it's no surprise that they separate. She goes out with Mark (Blair Underwood), her brother's law school mentor who seems to be the IBM that she has dreamed about. But Kenya's father (Earl Billings) sees that her move from Brian to Mark has caused the sparkle to go out of her eyes, and her life.
Something New is directed by Sanaa Hamri and written by Kriss Turner. These two women have come up with a romantic drama that has plenty of sizzle and effectively conveys the challenges and delights of interracial romances. Sanaa Lathan, who was so impressive in the film In Love and Basketball, convincingly conveys he vulnerabilities of Kenya, a woman who knows what she's doing at work but is less confident in affairs of the heart. Luckily, there is real screen chemistry between Lathan and actor Simon Baker, who plays a laid-back man determined to squeeze all the pleasure he can out of life.
