Entertainment

Lifetime's 'With This Ring' Cast Is Star-Studded And Very, Very Talented

Things get crazy at weddings, everyone knows this. Open bar, gatherings of loved ones, emotions running high... things are bound to be said. You know, things like "I say we make a vow... that we're going to get married within a year." OK, I can barely manage to do my taxes each year, but the women of With This Ring — a Lifetime Original movie that has a seriously non-Lifetime cast of actresses — seem like women who achieve their goals. And, dare I say, I'm finding myself cautiously excited.

No offense to Lifetime, of course, their work is prime tweeting fodder, but it's pretty impressive that they were able to snag a bonafide movie star, in addition to two Grammy-winning recording artists/actresses. But that big-name pull likely had more to do with the big names behind this TV movie than the network title in front of it it...

Image: Bob Mahoney

by Jodi Walker

Executive Producers, Gabrielle Union and Tracey Edmonds

This may by Gabrielle Union’s first time in the producer’s seat, but she’s certainly got the street cred in show business to make her eligible for the new gig. Union will forever live in my heart as the voice of sassy reason in Bring It On, but she’s moved far past her teen star days. This year alone, she starred in Chris Rock’s star-studded Top Five on the big screen, while holding down the lead on Lifetime’s greatly acclaimed Being Mary Jane, with the ratings to match. With all that success comes the power to bring in your big name friends for your first big behind-the-camera project.

Luckily, Union had a certified pro, Tracey Edmonds, to back her up. Edmonds has been producing in film and television since she started Edmonds Entertainment in 1993, producing huge hits like Soul Food, and among the earliest producers who invested in reality programming. The current president of three production companies, I think it’s safe to say Edmonds knows what she’s doing.

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Regina Hall

Regina Hall’s acting career sky-rocketed with the hugely successful 1999 film, The Best Man. And her role in its even more successful sequel, The Best Man Holiday, 15 years later, continued that success. Hall began her career in the late ’90s while she was also completing a master’s degree at NYU; since then, she’s had a particular knack for picking successful franchises, also starring in Think Like A Man and its sequel, and the Scary Movie franchise. Everyone has laughed (and cried…Best Man Holiday took me places) along with Regina Hall in something, and now it’s a desperate scramble to the altar with her fellow bad ass gal pals.

Image: Bob Mahoney

Eve Jeffers Cooper

There was no one cooler than Eve when I was in high school, and though she’s stepped out of the public eye a bit since her “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” days, I think that still stands. As a hip-hop artist, Eve put out four multi-million selling albums, won a Grammy, a BET Award, and an NAACP Award. Her acting credits aren’t quite as deep, but she’s no stranger to the screen, starring in her own show, Eve, as well as Barbershop and Barbershop 2.

I’m just excited to listen to her voice for two hours; she has the best voice.

Image: Bob Mahoney

Jill Scott

Jill Scott is a queen and with each new actress, I am getting more and more excited to watch them be friends in this movie (and pretend like I’m friends with them too). How many other people can you think of who are New York Times bestselling poets, three-time Grammy winners, and stars of the big and small screen? It’s, like… just Jill Scott. After a couple of platinum albums, Scott decided to share her talents with the acting medium as well, starring in the Peabody Award winning HBO series, The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency. She’s also done her time with Tyler Perry, and like Union, has a little Lifetime under her belt already, playing Truvy in 2012’s Steel Magnolias.

Image: Bob Mahoney

Brooklyn Sudano

Sudano brings a little TV sensibility to this multi-talented cast. The daughter of megastar Donna Summer and singer-song-writer Bruce Sudano, Brooklyn made her TV debut on My Wife and Kids. Though she doesn’t have as many big name projects under her belt as her co-stars, this seems like a pretty strong project with which to start.

Image: Bob Mahoney

And Their Ring-er Men

I don’t want to give the wrong impression… the men in With This Ring are nothing to turn your nose up at, either. Stephen Bishop (pictured) is Union’s co-star in Being Mary Jane (and a former Atlanta Braves player!); Jason George currently stars in Grey’s Anatomy, in addition to being acclaimed stage actor; Brian White has been in a whole slew of successful productions like The Cabin in the Woods and The Family Stone; and Deion Sanders… you know who Deion Sanders is: a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the only athlete ever to play in both the Super Bowl and the World Series.

So, I’m sure of all of these fine, handsome actors are playing total gentlemen, and — with these rings — I hope everyone ends up happily every after, doesn’t rush into anything, make any major mistakes, or ruin their lives. The End.

Image: Bob Mahoney

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