by Karyn L. Beach

It's 2008. I see just as many, if not more, interracial couples than I do same race couples. So when I heard the premise of Lakeview Terrace, an African-American cop harrassing the interracial couple that moves in next door, I couldn't help but think that this is a premise that is just a few decades too late.

The story is a simple one. Chris and Lisa Mattson (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) move to a nice Los Angeles suburb and immediately begin being harrassed, first subtlely and then overtly, by the cop next door, Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson). Abel, a widower, is trying to raise his two children in the aftermath of their mother's death. Chris and Lisa have their own issues as well dealing with being an interracial couple and trying to decide when is the best time to start a family.

I'll be honest. I was bored. This is a thriller sans thrills. Yes, there is a certain degree of fun in watching Samuel L. Jackson act crazy (with a couple of 'crazy looks' that were priceless), but that can only go so far.

I never felt the tension that you are supposed to feel in a thriller. Chris and Lisa were about as bland as they come ... a very vanilla couple (pun intended). The cast is kept very small and the focus is definitely on this trio of characters. And if they had been a little more interesting, maybe that would have worked.

Because Lakeview Terrace is set in the present day, they had to give Abel a reason for his practically homicidal distain of an interracial couple made up of a white man and a black woman, I still didn't buy it. It almost seemed as if the 'explanation' was tacked it on to give him an excuse.

There are lots of platitudes about how difficult interracial relationships are and again to me it just seemed dated. The number of mixed race marriages and children in this country are exploding. I mean, come on, we have an interracial man running for the highest office in the country, so when Lisa's father asks the couple if they intend to have children, it comes across as laughable.

I almost wish there had been more unintentional laughs in Lakeview Terrace; then it could fall into so bad it's kind of good territory. As it is, Lakeview Terrace is just another movie that falls way short of reaching its potential.