The capacity crowd at the “Single Black Female” movie premiere in Atlanta burst out laughing when singer K. Michelle said, with her usual cute bluntness, that the crazed assistant in this Lifetime thriller reminds her of one of her relatives.
On a serious note, this subject of mental health and the crazed coworker or subordinate took center stage in “Single Black Female.” Raven Goodwin plays the protagonist Monica, an aspiring talk show host who is trying to nurse her emotional wounds following the death of her father and a tumultuous breakup with her boyfriend. Preoccupied with her grieving, Monica is oblivious of the evil that lurks in her midst.
“I loved that we showed her [while] she was grieving,” Goodwin explained of her boss character Monica, “and yet still killing it at work, managing a new assistant and maintaining that closeness with her mother (played with precision by the legendary Janet Hubert). And I felt like she did it with grace.”
But it is while Monica was emotionally vulnerable that she unwittingly hires a devious assistant, Simone, who eventually causes Monica’s life to spiral into the abyss.
Actress Amber Riley, meanwhile, revels in delicious wickedness as the antagonist Simone, whose murderous intent simmers just beneath her outward facade as a doting and devoted confidante to her boss. Things begin to go awry when Simone’s masquerade begins to crack and her true intent on taking over her boss’ life and identity is laid bare for Monica to see.
Continue reading on the next page.
