LL: Yes, I'm the baby girl. Her name is Melanie; we call her Mel. She's a college student who brings home her boyfriend from Atlanta to Los Angeles to meet her mother. She's kind of up in the air on what she wants to do.
LL: She goes to Spelman. I play another college student. [laughs] I'm the baby sister, and out of the conflict of the family, there's always one that's like "Calm down everybody!" girl--she's that girl. [laughs] She's kind of up in the air, though; she doesn't really know what she wants to do.
LL: I'm going for my bachelor's, my master's, and picking all kinds of majors. [laughs] She's had a lot of majors.
MD: What attracted you to this project? How did this come about?
LL: I got the script, and it was really true to heart--a dysfunctional family dealing with the love and pain.
MD: Can you relate to this as far as having a large family and having these types of get-togethers?
LL: I am an only child, but I have a huge family, so I know about dysfunctional families--uncles and cousins acting up, but at the end of the day we all love each other.
MD: So not so much the immediate family as in the movie, but every family has that craziness that the holidays brings out.
LL: Oh my gosh, yes. [laughs] Don't we all know about that. [laughs]
MD: Did you and Regina and Sharon hang out a bit to get the sisterly rapport going?
LL: It's kind of coming naturally. We had met at the table read. I always feel like the little sister; we hang out a lot on set. I knew Columbus [Short] before; I knew Chris [Brown] before.
MD: How do you enjoy working with Keith Robinson, who plays your boyfriend?
LL: He's hilarious. [laughs] Keith is an amazing actor. Talented guy. He's definitely going to get what he deserves.
MD: He's paid his dues. You've also been working a while, but this level has come pretty quickly for you.
LL: It did not come pretty quickly for me. My story's just been untold. [laughs] I was first doing anything from music videos to commercials. The music video thing was just for me to learn what a set was, make some quick money. It was easy, and I never had to do anything to disrespect myself. They were nice videos, and I worked with really good directors--Paul Hunter, Diane Martel.
MD: Music videos kind of get a bad rap when they're such a learning ground for everybody, from crews to actors.
LL: I was on a little earlier, but I have a fight to break up in maybe about an hour, with my brother Columbus. [laughs] And we walk out with him. It's been fun; the cast is amazing--we've really been blessed with this cast.