She’s a hilarious, brilliant comedian that will surely be looked upon as one of history’s greatest. With an endearing on screen presence and a humble persona in interviews, actress and comedian Cocoa Brown is arguably one of the funniest actors in “The Single Moms Club.” In the Tyler Perry directed film, the Virginia native plays Lytia, a brash and outspoken mother of five barely making ends meet.
Cocoa Brown as Lytia in The Single Moms Club Photo by K C Bailey
Thanks to a generous scholarship program, her son Hakeem attends an exclusive prep school, but when he’s threatened with expulsion along with four other kids, Lytia and the other mothers form the Single Moms Club, a haven for single mothers seeking support and an understanding ear.
Zulay Henao, Cocoa Brown, and Nia Long – Photo Credit K C Bailey
“She’s definitely brash and loud,” shares Brown. “Her two eldest sons went to jail, so she’s really hard on her middle son, Hakeem. She doesn’t want him to go down the same path, but what I love about my character is that you get to see those brash layers peel off and you do see the softer side of her.”
Also starring Nia Long (“The Best Man Holiday”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“Bridesmaids”), Zulay Henao (“Love Thy Neighbor”), Amy Smart (“Justified”) and Terry Crews (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), it’s a witty film that follows five single mothers from very different walks of life.
Cocoa Brown and Terry Crews in The Single Moms Club – photo by K C Bailey
As Lytia, Brown gives us someone to root for as we watch her deliver some of the movie’s best one-liners. Her character is just as opinionated and obstinate when it comes to her love life, which involves an amorous war of attrition with Branson, (Crews). “Branson is a good dude,” says Brown who shares several comical scenes with Crews. “He wants me a whole lot, but I just keep throwing waffles at him. I don’t want anything to distract me from raising Hakeem and making sure he goes to college.”
A single mom, Brown has long charmed audiences on “Comic View,” “One Mic Stand”, and “Showtime at the Apollo.” She stars in Tyler Perry’s comedy series “For Better or Worse” and can be seen on the TV commercial for Progressive Insurance. Drawing from painful reminiscences and hard-knocked lessons, she weaves in humorous tales with life lessons pulling comedy out of misery.
Producer, writer and director Tyler Perry and Cocoa Brown on set of The Single Moms Club – photo by K C Bailey
“As comedians, a lot of times we are on stage making our pain funny. I always say I love Kevin [Hart] to death, but he doesn’t have the patent on laugh at my pain because I get paid well so they can laugh at mine,” adds the newly divorced mother of an infant son.
“When I started For Better or Worse, I was a newlywed, and then I was pregnant when we were filming the second season. When we were shooting the movie is when I made up my mind to leave my husband. It’s then I became a single mother, so for me, this film was life imitating art,” shares Brown who admits she was able to purge much of her pain while filming.
In addition to “The Single Moms Club” which releases in theaters Friday, Brown has several projects scheduled to release later in the year including a TV series “Acting Dead” about real life Zombies in Hollywood trying to be actors. She’s also gearing up for a nationwide comedy tour.
“We just booked Tampa and Kansas City and in the process of getting Memphis and Miami. I am doing a one hour special which will air on one of the cable networks. We are still negotiating on which one.”
Samantha Ofole-Prince is a California based journalist and movie critic. She serves as the Entertainment Editor for Trendy Africa.
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