Juwanna Man (PG-13, 2002)

Jamal Jeffries (Miguel A. Nunez Jr., in his first starring role) is a star pro basketball player whose bad attitude and poor sportsmanship are constantly getting him in trouble. He is indefinitely suspended after one particular mishap. Low on money, he takes up his only option: dressing like woman and playing women's basketball.

JUWANNA MAN is Tootsie on a basketball team. A conceited pro basketball player gets fired, and the only job he can get is on a woman's team. So, he dresses up like a woman. He's in for some lessons about life, and we're in for some locker room humor. The film was a bit of a surprise, though with a nice spirit and a willingness to avoid the obvious. It's nowhere near the quality of Some Like it Hot or Tootsie, or even Mrs. Doubtfire, but it is better than recent cross-dressing films like Big Momma's House and the abominable Sorority Boys.

Besides the talented stars, a supporting cast consisting of reliable character actors like Kevin Pollak, Tommy Davidson, and Wayans' sister Kim, as well as good turns from hip-hop stars Genuwine and Lil' Kim. The "dude looks like a lady" plot has been done many times before and there's nothing new here, from the awkward moments with the love interest to the big moment where all is revealed to the men who were hitting on the main character. So the plot is predictable and a lot of the jokes are lazy. Although there were no surprises and some gratuitous stereotypes, I found myself caring about the characters.