The Culture Exchange Ep.1- Smash and Dash

The first episode of our new segment, The Culture Exchange, was kicked off by Stephanie James, creator and writer, along with actors Juan Locket, Jovon Plunckett, and Jason Tolliver of the comedy romance movie Smash and Dash. Clarence (Juan Locket), is left at the altar when his soon to be wife decided to find someone new. With the help of his friends Buddy (Jason Tolliver) and Lakeith (Jovon Plunckett), he was introduced to a dating app where he would find women to “smash and dash”, but he had no success because all he wanted was love. Gracing us with their presence, we spoke on the creation,  production, and some real life things that correspond with situations people go through in the modern day.

Stepahnie has been writing since she was a little girl and it was something for her that came natural. She doesn’t have any schooling behind it which allows her to create movies revolving around relatable situations that people go through on a daily basis. This particular movie was dedicated to the guys to give an insight on the male perspective when it comes to relationships. She says, “I just make truth about real relationships… so when I wrote it I wanted to write something for the guys…” She also goes on to say, “it’s typical for a girl to have dating issues… I think dudes be out here having issues too.” And this is a fact!

Sometimes it’s common to overlook how a man may feel because they hide it, but those who understand the difficulties that they face are able to see it. In most cases, a guy suffers a rough heartbreak in their life at least once, and then from there every woman that he may come across he may look at them with a side eye because of that one girl. 

With male heartbreak being the topic, later in the conversation it was agreed that guys tend to deal with heartbreak a little more differently than women, yet they feel the same emotions they just don’t show it as women do. Safe spaces for men is something that should be promoted more amongst society, but also within male friend groups. There’s nothing wrong with men having emotions and expressing them, yet there is a right and wrong way in doing so. There are bitter people, and there are better people who tend to maneuver through their emotions in other ways. 

Each character aligned with the actor in their own way. There were some similarities and differences between them, but because of their natural ability to get in tune with the script, they were able to tap in and bring them to life. The chemistry on screen was organic, and after speaking with them it was later confirmed that, “I feel like it was natural once we got our lines down. After that, it was like a natural energy like we already been friends”, said by Jovon. Because of the natural interaction of the cast members, it only took 6-7 days for the movie to be created. And on November 19th, we were given the relationship life through a man’s eyes.  

Along with Smash and Dash, Stephanie also has 5 other films in her roll: Cherry, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Love Lies, The One, and her upcoming film The L Word. She has also written two plays and did a web series with more to come. So we ask: Will there be a Smash and Dash 2, so we can find out what happens with Clarence and his friends? 

Keep up with her and the members to see what other things they have coming next year and beyond. 

Check out Smash and Dash on Tubi and Amazon Prime and take a look at the full interview below.