Cliff “Method Man” Smith and Kelly Rowland put Black love on full display in the new rom-com, Relationship Goals.
Based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Michael Todd, lead pastor of Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the film follows the complicated relationship between ex-lovers-turned-rival-colleagues Leah Caldwell (Rowland) and Jarrett Roy (Method Man).
Defining Black love by their own terms
“Black love [is] full of heart, full of soul,” Rowland told Blavity’s Shadow and Act. “It feels like, I hope this doesn’t come out wrong, but it’s worth the fight, and lasting. Lasting in a way where, no matter what happens on each side — whether you decide to stay, if you’re together, or you decide ‘you know what, I’m cool’ — I think that it’s still peaceful, it’s still unified, it’s still love, it’s still a community. I just feel like that’s who we are, period. We’re not afraid of going through this fight together. We’ll do it.”
Method Man added, “We want love, especially in the climate that we’re in right now, we want love to be viewed in its best light ever. As for Black love, we don’t have many platforms that focus on it. And when I think of ideal Black love, as far as television or movies, I’m thinking of Clair and Cliff Huxtable, Martin and Gina, that kind of connection. It’s like being at Soul Train, right? And you’re in line, and the girl that’s in line, that’s about to go down the line with you, it’s just something about her. You’re loving the aesthetic. Then, when you guys meet at the front of the line, and you’re about to go down the line, you’ve got the same rhythm. It’s almost as if your hearts are beating as one. Then you move down that line with that rhythm in sync that symbolizes unity. And by the time you get to the end of the line, hopefully, there’s a bond there that’s gonna last forever.”
Fully embracing the romantic comedy trope
As a self-proclaimed rom-com lover who fell in love with classics like The Best Man, Pretty Woman, and so forth, Rowland stressed that Leah is in her own league.
“I think that Leah holds a space all her own,” Rowland said. “I always say, we don’t have to compare when these stories are so different. And I think that also what puts this one into its kind of own space is the fact that there’s a faith component in the most beautiful way, and it’s not forced down your throat. It’s not cheesy, it’s not corny, it’s very much so grounded, real and honest.”
For Method Man, whose acting career began with a late-’90s television debut on Martin after a very successful rap career with the iconic hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and as a solo act, Relationship Goals is his romantic comedy debut.
“The most surprising thing is people didn’t think that I would do a role like this. I thought it would be obvious, because I haven’t touched anything like this yet,” Method Man said.
He added, “As far as Jarrett’s journey, this is a man who’s still finding himself. He feels like he’s going in a direction that is, I mean, the American Dream for a lot of others, and he wants to share that with someone. While he’s thinking of sharing that with someone, he’s thinking legacy and longevity, and what does he really want? What fits his purpose? Who walks in the same lane as he does? This job comes along, and I’m pretty sure he’s aware that Leah Caldwell has been running things over there for a while, and he thinks he’s there for a job in the beginning, and I’m pretty sure that’s why he came for the job. But, the objective totally gets screwed up once he’s in her presence again, because those old feelings come back, and it’s not about what suits his career at that point, it’s about what suits his purpose, and it’s her.”
Relationship Goals, produced by DeVon Franklin and executive produced by Michael Todd, Bart Lipton and Rowland, is now streaming on Prime Video.
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