The title of this movie already gives us the impression that Eva's character is one that is unpleasant. It is clear that the director is playing on the phrase "deliver us from evil" and this then gives us an impression of Eva's character before we even watch the movie. I think the title is both clever and imaginative in this way.The introduction of this film is also very creative as the film opens up with the narrator telling us that he was killed. The narrator is Ray Adams, the guy that we will see Eva fall in love with. At the beginning of the film he points the blame at those who killed him, which is a clever way of introducing us to the main characters. It is not until the end of the movie that we understand what the narrator meant by all this and so throughout the movie the question of "why was Ray Adams killed and how did it happen?" remains in our minds. These scenes create a sense of mystery and encourage us to keep watching. Character development is an aspect of the movie that I really admired. It is not until half way through the movie that we get to understand the reasons to why Eva is so uptight and serious all the time. We learn that after the death of her parents she had to take on the responsibility of looking after her three younger sisters. As we find out this information I find it hard not to sympathize with her. As the film goes on we get to see the vulnerable side of her as she attempts to open up to Ray. It is as though her relationship with him has tamed her and we now see a happier and more carefree woman. In this film adaptation it is not only Eva that changes throughout the movie but Ray also ends up being tamed. I really like how this adaptation allows for both characters to undergo changes. Before he met Eva he was a womanizer and showed women little respect but by the end of the movie he was a changed man. They both went through drastic changes by falling in love with each other and both became better people. I also think Gabriel Union and LL J Cool did an outstanding job at capturing their chemistry on screen. The chemistry sparkled between the two main characters and it was clear the director did a great job in the casting of these two.This film adaptation is highly entertaining and full of comedy and drama. The beauty parlor scenes are my favorite as all the girls sit in the salon and gossip about their love lives and life in general. These scenes allow us to get to know the characters better but they are also some of the most comedic scenes. This film sometimes comes across more like a modern sitcom than an actual movie and is very unrealistic but at the same time I can't complain as I still enjoyed it.An aspect of this film that I really did not like was the ending. It was clear that eventually Ray's deception would be uncovered and the truth would be revealed. However the ending was simply odd and too cliché for my liking. For an adaption that was so creative I think the director could have put more time into coming up with a better and less clichéd ending. Another aspect of this film that I didn't like was its overwhelming use of sex-related dialogue. In my opinion this film put far too much emphasis on sexual interactions. I feel as though this was the director's attempt at making the film more comedic however in my opinion it did the complete opposite.Overall though the movie was enjoyable to watch but it is by no means amazing. It is enjoyable to watch simply due to its comedic moments. I think the director and film crew did an excellent job at adapting the script to an African American culture. It is a very creative and imaginative adaptation and I would recommend it to anyone that wants to watch something that will give them a good laugh as it certainly had me laughing throughout.

The entertaining 'Deliver Us from Eva' released in 2003 is not your typical rom-com, it is also a loose adaption of William Shakespeare's famous 'Taming of the Shrew'. At first, this would most certainly come as a surprise to anyone who is familiar with Shakespeare's play but when you delve into the plot it becomes quite apparent that this is in fact based on the well-known Shakespearian drama. The clever writers James Iver Mattson, B.E Brauner and Gary Hardwick (who is also the director) took a very interesting approach to this quirky adaptation. 'Deliver Us from Eva' as your everyday predictable rom-com wouldn't necessarily be screaming ten out of ten, however, this rom-com in terms of an eccentric adaptation of the 'Taming of the Shrew' is undoubtedly calling for a gold star. This film isn't promoted as a Shakespearian adaptation possibly because when people hear the word Shakespeare they immediately associate the word with the renaissance era. However, throughout the last two decades there have been numerous broad adaptions of Shakespeare whether it be Andy Fickman's 'She's the Man', Gil Junger's '10 Things I Hate About You' that is a broad adaptation of the 'Taming of the Shrew' also or 'Deliver Us From Eva'. Throughout the film there a subtle hints that this is a Shakespearian adaptation, which in my opinion add to the overall enjoyment of this film. When the two main characters Eva Dandrige (Gabriella Union) and Ray Adams (LL Cool J) go horse riding the horse is appropriately called Romeo, this brings to mind the famous Shakespearian character. The second subtle hint was one of Shakespeare's favorite plot devices, the fake death device; the fake death of Ray was certainly not just a coincidence. Although there were these subtle hints of Shakespeare, the plot was altered to an extent that if you didn't know this was a Shakespeare adaptation, you would be no the wiser after watching it. Knowing that this is a loose adaptation, the characters are quite comparable to the 'Taming of the Shrew'. Eva is the equivalent to Katherine as she is headstrong, insulting and controlling. In the same way as the 'Taming of the Shrew', Eva tries to control her sisters and she insults nearly everyone she meets. But this slowly but surely changes when she meets Ray (who is similar to Petruchio). Ray has tamed her, she becomes nicer towards everyone and doesn't insult people anymore. This however, is not similar to the taming of Katherine who is starved and deprived of sleep until she becomes obedient. Gabriella Union gives a very convincing performance of the "shrew" with both her tone and facial expression really emphasising this. Ray isn't as similar to Petruchio as Eva is to Katherine but this is mostly down to the fact that it is in fact a rom-com and there is no room for starving the main character is a romantic drama. Ray is similar to Petruchio in the way he can take Eva's insults and doesn't get turned off by this but rather finds it somewhat charming. On the other hand, he isn't as eccentric or uncaring as Petruchio. LL Cool J gives a good performance of a typical man in a rom-com but doesn't preform as well as Union. This could be down to the fact that his performance isn't half as interesting or exciting as Petruchio plays in the 'Taming of the Shrew' because there is no twisted side to him. If watching this film without knowing it was an adaption, the only character that would stand out would be Eva and this is disappointing, as Petruchio should also stand out, as he is such a prominent character. The plot is mildly comparable to the 'Taming of the Shrew'. The most comparable part of the plot was when he Dandrige sisters' boyfriends/husbands pay Ray $5,000 to date Eva in order to be able to spend time with the Dandrige sisters which is similar to Petruchio only marrying Katherine for her money. Other than this plot similarity, it is easy to say that 'Deliver Us from Eva' is more so comparable to the 1999 '10 Things I Hate About You'. Again, if the viewer of this film didn't know it was an adaptation this could be seen as just a boring rom-com.There are many people who would not be aware that this film has a Shakespearian background. Therefore, there are two ways to approach and rate this film: from the point of view of knowing it is an adaption and not knowing. Without knowing that this is an adaption I don't think the film would be near as intriguing or captivating; it may certainly come across as just another typical rom-com. For this reason it would be given a bad review, as it is a predictable film with a happily ever after ending. Then taking the case of knowing that this is an adaption certainly makes the film more interesting to watch and compare it with the 'Taming of the Shrew'. It cannot be denied that the writers and directors approach to this adaptation is very clever and quirky.

I really enjoyed this movie. I was working out at the gym in one of those 24 hour places. Anyway, while riding the stationary bike I turned to a cable station and saw some scenes from a movie that I had never seen before -- DELIVER US FROM EVA. Needless to say, I was spellbound with the movie, and I couldn't stop riding the bike as I watched the excellent performance of Gabrielle Union. It was truly an excellent piece of art and I enjoyed it immensely. I would recommend this one for others to see. It illustrated a side of we Black people that is rarely shown in the media.Patrick Williams

I caught this movie on cable the other night never hearing about it before and I was pleasantly surprised by this well-made and highly entertaining film.Three friends hire a Romeo (Cool Jay) type "player" to try to romance and dump the ultimate "dragon lady" (Eva) who manipulates their women and eat up and spits out men without a thought. The idea is that the Romeo will dump Eva making her leave and then they can have control over their women and their lives.Not to give anything away but the longer Cool Jay "romances" Eva, he finds himself forgetting his purpose and falling for Eva. Also, as Cool Jay gets closer to Eva, life only gets worse for the three friends that hired him, much to their chagrin.Cool Jay gives an excellent and believable performance as the "player" and the actress that plays Eva is also perfect. There are several hilarious scenes that had me laughing out loud. The "Women only" club that is the beauty parlor has several enjoyable scenes as well.