The Best Man Movie Series: Last Installment's Name?

The Best Man: The Final Chapters is the name of the last movie in The Best Man film series. It is an American comedy-drama miniseries that premiered on December 22, 2022, on Peacock. The series is created by Malcolm D. Lee and Dayna Lynne North, who also serve as executive producers. The Best Man: The Final Chapters is the third installment in the franchise, following the 1999 film The Best Man and its 2013 sequel, The Best Man Holiday.

The Best Man (1999)

The Best Man is an American comedy-drama film released in 1999. It was written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee in his directorial debut and produced by 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. Lee's cousin, Spike Lee, served as the producer. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Taye Diggs and Nia Long, with the debut of Regina Hall.

The plot revolves around Harper Stewart (Diggs), an up-and-coming author from Chicago whose debut novel, Unfinished Business, has been selected by Oprah's Book Club. Harper's girlfriend, Robyn (Sanaa Lathan), is frustrated by his reluctance to commit to her. Harper travels to New York City to spend the weekend with old college friends before they all attend the wedding of his friend Lance Sullivan (Morris Chestnut), a running back for the New York Giants, and Mia Morgan (Monica Calhoun). Harper is set to be the best man at the wedding.

Harper's friends, including Jordan Armstrong (Long), an ex-flame, and Julian "Murch" Murchison (Harold Perrineau), receive an advance copy of his book, which is based on their lives and loves. Jordan shares the book with the rest of their inner circle, including Lance, who is furious to discover that Mia, his bride-to-be, had a one-night stand with Harper in college. This revelation threatens to derail the wedding and causes tension among the group.

The film received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for Terrence Howard's performance. It was produced on a small budget of $9 million but went on to make over $34 million during its theatrical run. The Best Man received numerous awards and nominations, including wins at the NAACP Image Awards and Black Reel Awards.

A Christmas-themed sequel, The Best Man Holiday, was released in 2013, followed by a limited series, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, in 2022.

The Best Man Holiday (2013)

The last movie in the "Best Man" series is "The Best Man Holiday", which was released in 2013. It is a Christmas-themed sequel to the 1999 film "The Best Man", written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee.

"The Best Man Holiday" sees the college friends reuniting after nearly 15 years apart. The friends, Lance, Harper, Candace, Quentin, Robyn, Jordan, Murch, and Mia, gather over the Christmas holidays at Lance's mansion. Lance is a successful athlete, and his wife, Mia, has invited everyone to spend Christmas week with them as Lance is set to break a rushing record during the Christmas Day game.

However, not everyone has reconciled since the first film, and the gathering soon becomes a hotbed of drama and long-forgotten rivalries and romances. Harper, a writer, is struggling with his latest book, which is not as successful as his previous gossipy novel, "Unfinished Business". This novel was based on his friends and caused issues in the previous film. Robyn, Harper's wife, is also pregnant and dealing with paranoia over Harper's relationship with Jordan, who is now a hotshot on MSNBC. Jordan is the "one that got away" for Harper. Meanwhile, Quentin continues to be an instigator, focusing his attention on Julian's secrets.

The film takes a turn for the tragic, with a powerful and emotional moment that affects all the characters. The women of the film, in particular, band together to support each other and their partners.

"The Best Man Holiday" has been praised for its honest laughs, convincing drama, and rich emotional palette. It has been called a joyous, raucous, and righteous film, though not without its flaws. The film has a strong focus on the relationships between the characters and how they have grown and changed since the previous film.

The Best Man: The Final Chapters (2022)

The last instalment of The Best Man movie series is titled The Best Man: The Final Chapters. It was released on Peacock on December 22, 2022, as an 8-episode limited series created by Malcolm D. Lee and developed by Lee and Dayna Lynne North. The show is an American comedy-drama miniseries and a sequel to The Best Man Holiday, which was released in 2013.

The series follows a group of longtime college friends—Harper, Quentin, Lance, Murch, Jordan, Robyn, Candace, and Shelby—as they navigate midlife challenges, including marriage, parenting, health, romance, work, and identity. Harper, an up-and-coming author, gets the opportunity to turn his book "Unfinished Business" into a movie, which creates a stir among his friends. Meanwhile, Quentin gets married and struggles to take over his family's business, Lance discovers new passions and faces parenting challenges, Jordan strives for work-life balance, and the other characters deal with their own personal journeys and relationships.

The cast of The Best Man: The Final Chapters includes Morris Chestnut as Lance Sullivan, Melissa De Sousa as Shelby Taylor, Taye Diggs as Harper Stewart, Regina Hall as Candace "Candy" Sparks-Murchison, Terrence Howard as Quentin Spivey, and Sanaa Lathan as Robyn Stewart, Harper's wife.

The show received positive reviews, with a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 58 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Harper Stewart's novel, Unfinished Business

Harper Stewart is an up-and-coming author from Chicago whose debut novel, Unfinished Business, has been selected by Oprah's Book Club. The novel is based on Harper's close circle of friends, including Jordan Armstrong, with whom he shared a kiss in college, and Julian "Murch" Murchison, who is dating the domineering Shelby. The novel also references Quentin Spivey, a free-spirited friend who struggles to settle down, and Lance Sullivan, a former womanizer now engaged to Mia Morgan.

Unfinished Business is a central plot point in the 1999 film The Best Man, which follows Harper as he travels to New York City to spend a weekend with his old college friends before they all attend Lance's wedding. Jordan has shared an advance copy of the novel with their inner circle, and as they read it, they begin to recognise themselves and their stories in the book.

The novel causes tension and conflict among the friends, particularly as it reveals a one-night stand between Harper and Mia, Lance's bride-to-be. This secret almost leads to a disastrous wedding and causes a rift in Harper's relationship with his devoted girlfriend, Robyn.

The Best Man: The Final Chapters, the 2022 sequel to the 1999 film, continues the story of these characters, now facing the challenges of adulthood and midlife metamorphosis.

Harper's relationship with Robyn

Harper and Robyn's relationship is a central theme of the 1999 film "The Best Man" and its subsequent franchise instalments. In the original film, Harper Stewart is an up-and-coming author who is reluctant to commit to his devoted girlfriend, Robyn. This causes tension in their relationship, as Robyn is frustrated by Harper's indecisiveness. Despite this, Robyn remains supportive of Harper, even helping him save his best friend's wedding after a scandal involving Harper's novel threatens to derail it.

In the end, Harper proposes to Robyn, and she accepts. Their relationship appears to be on solid ground as the film concludes with their engagement. However, in the sequel, "The Best Man Holiday," released in 2013, Harper and Robyn are now married and facing new challenges. The film explores the dynamics of their relationship as a married couple, navigating the complexities of their lives and friendships.

The most recent instalment in the franchise, "The Best Man: The Final Chapters," is a limited series that premiered in 2022. It takes place a few years after the events of "The Best Man Holiday" and continues to explore the evolution of Harper and Robyn's relationship. By this point, they have been together for many years, facing the challenges of adulthood, parenthood, and maintaining their connection as a couple.

Throughout the franchise, Harper and Robyn's relationship undergoes a journey of growth and transformation. They start off as a couple struggling with commitment issues, face numerous obstacles and temptations, but ultimately find their way back to each other. Their relationship dynamic serves as a critical element of the narrative, providing emotional depth and complexity to the story of "The Best Man" and its subsequent instalments.

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