‘My Valentine Wedding’ Puts a New Spin on Black Love
Last year, we were swept off our feet with director/producer Christopher A. Nolen’s, “My Valentine Crush,” which isn’t your typical Valentine’s Day rom-com.
When the highly successful financial officer Krystal (Shaquita Smith) falls in love with her cable guy Darryl (Travis Cure) while trying to get her very successful but casual unofficial boyfriend to commit. The movie proves that the best kind of love, unfortunately, often comes with a dash of struggle and a dollop of heartache.
This Valentine’s Day, we are given a glimpse at just how Krsytal and Darryl are holding up in the upcoming BET+ original movie, “My Valentine Wedding,” the sequel to their story where the unlikely couple make their love official by jumping the broom. But what seems like the perfect wedding weekend turns out to be a rollercoaster ride of events, with jealousy, anger, rage, and conniving exes taking center stage.
The film’s lead actors, Smith and Cure, both agree that what they loved most about the plot this time around was just how committed Krystal and Darryl have become, no matter how intense things get between them.
“Shaquita would have said, ‘Uh, uh! I'm leaving!’ But Krytal and Darryl taught me that things can be talked out; you can be upset but it doesn’t mean that you need to break up,” says Smith in an interview with BET.com.
One of the reasons Cure was interested in the sequel is because he felt the story took a different angle than most.
“Just to see their level of maturity in it when they decide, okay, maybe it's just a little bit heated right now and things aren't going quite as we planned but we're still gonna do this,” says Cure.
Along with these newfound levels of maturity, something else that’s undeniable between these two characters is the chemistry. There is an organic, authentic love that centers Krystal and Darryl and is only believable because of the trusted friendship built between Smith and Cure.
“Since I've been in this industry, I've found that a lot of times it's easier to work with your friends than it is with somebody you just completely do not know,” Cure says. He adds that sometimes he’d forget a line and Shaquita would remind him what it was, making him feel much more at ease on set.
“As a woman, being comfortable with a man, in this industry or when you're working on set, there is a barrier,” Smith says. “Knowing in my mind while I'm in a space of acting that this person is not going to harm me, this person wants the best for me, and I want the best for them,” says Smith.
According to Smith, a good Black love story is timeless. Classics like “Love Jones” make you yearn for the kind of film where a Black couple’s relationship isn’t shrouded in cheating, violence, or toxicity.
Instead, we want to see stories that put healthy examples of Black love front and center.
“What Black love stories do we really have now in the world?” said Smith. “This is the only BET Valentine’s Day love story released this year and to be among the collections of romances is just a beautiful feeling.”
BET+ Original Movie “My Valentine Wedding” is streaming now on BET+.