Dancing in September
Dancing in September is an American romantic comedy-drama television film written and directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood (in his directorial debut), who also produced with Reuben Cannon and Don Kurt. It stars Nicole Ari Parker and Isaiah Washington, alongside Vicellous Reon Shannon, Malinda Williams, Jay Underwood, Michael Cavanaugh, Mel Jackson, and Jenifer Lewis. It follows a struggling African-American television writer who gets her sitcom picked up by the neophyte WPX network through an executive producer hired specifically to develop shows aimed at the black market. The film premiered at the Hollywood Black Film Festival on February 24, 2000, and also screened at the Sundance Film Festival on February 3, 2001. It aired on HBO on February 3, 2001, and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the song "Welcome Back (All My Soulmates)". It was also nominated for two NAACP Image Awards and five Black Reel Awards, with Bythewood winning Outstanding Director and Outstanding Screenplay, TV Movie or Mini-Series. Plot
Dancing In September tells the story of two hopeful and ambitious African-Americans attempting to make their mark in the television industry. One is a scriptwriter named Tomasina “Tommy” Crawford (Parker), who has grown weary of contributing to stereotypical characters and programming for African-Americans and dreams of creating a balanced, positive program for herself and the African-American public. The other is a newly appointed television producer named George Washington (Washington), who hopes to ascend to the highest levels of the television industry and carve out a special place for himself to help redefine African-American programming. When Tommy submits a script for a positive family sitcom titled "Just Us," she is indirectly brought into George's path. The rest of the film follows the struggles that both she and George face in their specific environments, mainly painting a positive portrayal of African-Americans in the media, in addition to staying true to their own culture and identity as African-Americans. Cast
 Nicole Ari Parker as Tomasina "Tommy" Crawford
 Isaiah Washington as George Washington
 Vicellous Reon Shannon as James
 Malinda Williams as Rhonda
 Jay Underwood as Michael Daniels
 Michael Cavanaugh as Harbor
 Mel Jackson as Malik
 Jenifer Lewis as Judge Warner
 Marcia Cross as Lydia Gleason
 Estelle Harris as Sally
 Juanita Jennings as Ms. Taylor
 Royale Watkins as A.K. Chi McBride as Security Guard
 Markus Flanagan as Alvin Nelson
 Dan Martin as Tommy's Father
 Constance Marie as Teresa Lopez
 James Avery as Mr. Warner
 LeVar Burton as Self
 Anna Maria Horsford as Sitcom Mom
 Peter Onorati as Mel

Reception

Critical response
Lael Loewenstein of Variety called Dancing in September "a handsomely mounted tale of love and compromise set against the backdrop of network TV" and concluded her review by writing, "Bythewood's ambition is worthy of his talent, and this is an impressive freshman effort. Pic could stand a little trimming, but pacing in general is sharp and up-tempo, much like Bythewood's writing." Todd McCarthy of Variety described the film as "the decorous and conventional version of Bamboozled" and opined that "Bythewood's approach is downright polite by comparison, as he analyzes the commercial pressures on TV creators to be entertaining at all costs while weaving through it a perfectly agreeable but unexceptional love story." Julie Salamon of The New York Times stated, "Mr. Blythewood has a smooth directing style and plenty of show-biz smarts. Maybe too much; he salts this production with lots of insider bits of business […]. Despite this shrewdness, Mr. Blythewood doesn't resist sliding into the genre's twin pitfalls of sentimentality and melodrama. Still, Dancing in September presents a fresh look at familiar territory." Accolades

References

External links
 
 
 

2000 films
2000 directorial debut films
2000 television films
2000 independent films
2000 romantic comedy-drama films
2000s American films
2000s English-language films
African-American romantic comedy-drama films
American comedy-drama television films
American independent films
Films about actors
Films about screenwriters
Films about television people
Films about race and ethnicity
Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles
HBO Films films
Romance television films
Works about screenwriting