Malcolm D. Lee was originally inspired to make The Best Man after watching movies like The Big Chill, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Diner. He was drawn to their ensemble casts, and their balance of comedy and drama. The films he's made since, like Roll Bounce, Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins and, now, The Best Man Holiday, use those same elements to tell stories about the black middle class, a group that's vastly underrepresented in American film. Lee talks about the concept of the "black movie" as a genre, and the challenge of selling films about multidimensional, educated, articulate black people. Also, his reaction to almost beating Thor at the box office during opening weekend.