Morris Chestnut Exposes Which Co-Star Skipped Rehearsals for the ‘Can You Stand the Rain’ Dance Scene In ‘The Best Man Holiday’
Actors Morris Chestnut and Harold Perrineau are on a press run promoting their longtime bond as co-stars, friends and now business partners.
The duo known as Lance Sullivan and Julian “Murch” Murchison from the infamous “Best Man” movie franchise teamed up with their fellow co-star Taye Diggs and the film’s creator Malcolm D. Lee to merge their passion for storytelling and whiskey-making to create Sable Bourbon.
Reflecting on the root of their bond, Atlanta Black Star caught up with Chestnut and Perrineau for an exclusive interview about some of their favorite scenes from “The Best Man” franchise and how that forged into their own liquor brand.
Viewers recall the infamous talent show scene during the sequel, “The Best Man Holiday,” where the duo along with Terrence Howard and Taye Diggs performed an air band dance while lip-syncing to New Edition’s “Can You Stand the Rain?”
Nia Long, Sanaa Lathan, Regina Hall, Monica Calhoun, and Melissa De Sousa sat on a couch and watched the quartet perform choreography from self-taught dancer Jamal Sims.
Chesnut previously stated that Diggs was one of the best dancers among the group while others struggled for other reasons.
“It took Taye about five minutes [to learn the choreography ]. It took me five hours,” Chestnut admitted to ABS in an interview before exposing his co-star. “I still don’t think Terrence Howard knows it. He never showed up for rehearsals.”
He added, “If you watch the scene, he’s looking at Harold’s moves and then he kind of improv’d like Michael Jackson.”
Everytime I hear can you stand the rain I think of the best man holiday 😭😭😭 https://t.co/5UC1SNZxGQ pic.twitter.com/QnUGS60l7r
— mr. too sticky (@letmesparkup) November 9, 2024
Chestnut is a longtime New Edition fan, having attended the group’s concerts over the years, and even met them.
When asked if the group had caught wind of their performance, he said, “They didn’t take a swing at me, so I think we did well by them.”
2013’s “The Best Man Holiday” is a fan favorite in most households on Christmas holiday weekend as it will be this weekend. It reunites the cast of the 1999 film to spend the holidays together where a series of unexpected adventures and happenings take place.
“For me it’s seamless, we’re all great people, good people we all get along very well so to me it’s been seamless no issues at all.”
Sable Bourbon was created with inspiration from “The Best Man,” courtesy of the shocking scene after Diggs’ character, Harper, and Robyn, played by Sanaa Lathan, chose to end their marriage. After much battle in court, Harper gave his ex-wife his blessing to take his daughter away from her home in America to live with her mother in Ghana.
He was so upset that Lance, Murch and Howard’s character, Quentin, came over to cheer him up with some wings, poker and, of course, bourbon.
“In the movie, we’re always surrounded by a brown liquor,” said Perrineau, “when he’s about to get divorced, we have brown liquor. When we’re sitting at the table [brown] liquor.”
“It represents exactly what we want it to represent,” he continued. “Deep rich connection. It feels sophisticated, yet fun and complex but simple.”
Sable Bourbon is available for purchase online and in select stores. Both movies and the series from “The Best Man” franchise are available to watch on streaming platforms.
