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Cocoa Brown - Film
By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist
www.twitter.com and Facebook (Like Me)
Cocoa Brown
Keeps The Bright Side
Going!
Photos
Courtesy of Lionsgate
 |
| Cocoa at Mom's Club Premiere |
It is strange how the comic makes everyone
laugh and feel good but who makes the comic laugh? Comedienne, actress Cocoa
Brown has been hitting them so rock solid hard on stage with her in-your-face
style of comedy that her female fans have nick named her “The Truth.” The
Newport News, Virginia native honed her skills as a comedy writer in the
beginning and it led to her breaking in as a stand-up comic. She eventually
made her way as a cast regular on Tyler Perry’s TV series “For Better Or Worse” on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network. Brown’s
newest project is a starring role as Lytia in Tyler Perry’s “The Single Moms Club” which is his last
film for Lionsgate Studios. Brown’s character has already lost two sons to
prison and she is determined to see that her youngest son stays on the strait
and narrow on his way to being somebody in life so she is a wee bit
overprotective of him and he doesn’t like it.
Of course one can say that Brown’s
character Lytia leans toward the stereotypical hard Black mother side but Brown
explains, “Yes there are definitely some stereotypes in Lytia but what I love
about it is that you get to see those layers peeled down. A lot of times we
have to be strong and we have to be brash because we’ve been hurt so much and
when we are rearing children especially boys by ourselves, the last thing you
are going to let your little boy to see is weakness. So a lot of times it can
transfer into our everyday relationships with other adults but what I love
about my character is that you get to see those layers peel of Lytia and you
see the softer side of her. And a lot of women that you think are stereotypical
Black mother who are strong, loud and all of that, trust and believe there’s
another layer to her. It’s just up to you if you want to get to know it.”
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| I+R: Zulay Henao, Cocoa Brown and Nia Long |
Brown has been through some trying
personal times. She runs it down, “When I had gotten hired for “Better or
Worst” I had just gotten married. I was a newly wed. Then I was pregnant while
we were filming the second season and in the third season I was going through a
divorce. When we were shooting the movie (moms club) is when I had made up my
mind to leave my husband. Then when we started filming I told him you got how
many weeks we are filming to get out.
 |
| Terry Crews as Branson, Lytia's love interest |
That is literally what I was going
through and I became a single mother. My nanny and my son came to Atlanta and
that was it. So for me it was like life imitating art. It’s so funny, there is
a scene in the truck where everybody was sharing some really deep personal
moments and I remember when it came to my scene, Mr. Perry stopped filming and
said come here and pulled me aside. He goes ‘I know what you are going through.
Use that. Don’t be afraid. I know Cocoa that you are a stand-up and you love
being funny and making people happy and laugh but honey you don’t have to do
that here. I know you are hurting. Use this scene to purge that.’ And I’m so
glad he gave me that permission. Because when I first came on Better or Worse,
he wanted funny Cocoa. When I started to read Single Moms Club I thought he
wanted funny Cocoa. Even with the words on the script giving me something
deeper I still thought he wanted funny Cocoa. So when he gave me that
permission to let that pain out, I was able to purge so much of my pain in that
movie.”
On a lighter note, Look for Brown’s “Don’t Judge Me” comedy tour that will
be coming you way soon.
©
2014 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM
(You
DID Hear It From Me!)
Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook (Like Me)
