Why Did I Get Married Too?

Review #2512: Why Did I Get Married Too?

Cast: 

Tyler Perry (Terry Brock), Janet Jackson (Patricia Agnew), Jill Scott (Sheila Jackson), Sharon Leal (Dianne Brock), Tasha Smith (Angela Williams), Richard T. Jones (Mike), Malik Yoba (Gavin Agnew), Lamman Rucker (Troy Jackson), Michael Jai White (Marcus Williams), with Louis Gossett Jr (Porter Jones), and Cicely Tyson (Ola Jones) Directed by Tyler Perry (#872 - A Madea Christmas, #1979 - Why Did I Get Married?)

Review: 

Admittedly, Why Did I Get Married? (2007) was perhaps destined to make money. I called it a movie that "attempts at doing pop psychology with melodrama on the level of a soap opera or an off-kilter religious movie" (ironically, Perry took out a chunk of the church scenes from adapting his play into a film). You may or may not remember how the last film: four couples went on a week-long retreat in the mountains that saw the inevitable reveal of secrets that come with, well, people, I guess. It was chock full of surprises that came as such: secret VD, blame games over who couldn't protect their son from dying, bank account draining, would-be choking out moments and believe it or not, a divorce. Now the difference is they go on a week-long trip to the Bahamas for another retreat that reunites all the folks you saw the first time around. As is usually the case, Perry wrote and produced the film, which was basically as big a hit as the original movie was with audiences. Apparently, there are rumblings of a third of these movies (Why Did I Get Married Again, but, lol, Netflix) possibly coming in the near future. 

Technically, this is a worthwhile movie, if you like stuff that really is a bunch of hokum. It retains that strange achievement of being overblown in its melodrama for 121 minutes that manages to be ridiculous and yet too hollow to actually say anything about marriage that couldn't be boiled down to a Hallmark card. It strains to be funny when its melodrama is already ridiculous enough and it never really achieves any sort of meaningful drama, particularly since it is once again a movie where Perry and Jackson are basically overshadowed by White and Smith again. Consider this for a moment - what sounds more interesting: a couple that finds about "emotional cheating" (next you'll be telling me they were...writing messages in a bottle!), a messy divorce where a psychologist isn't so perfect, seething jealousy from the new guy in the married group, or the crazed paranoia of someone who believe their husband is cheating to where they track their resting heart rate. There is just something so insane about Smith and White interact with each other that could be thought of as irresistible in a way that seems far more in sync with what audiences think about marriages than whatever twaddle Perry & Leal are trying to pull. Some might say that Jackson pulls in the most interesting performance, but the bar is, what, still Poetic Justice (1993)? The only character that maybe goes through the idea of what might be an interesting story is with Jones in the realm of understanding what it means to be divorced...of course the actual story with his character is, no I'm not joking, his sudden diagnosis of cancer (yea, the character in the middle of the film is just...going to chemotherapy). Scott and Rucker just seem lost in the shuffle and in general the movie doesn't seem to know what to do with itself.  You might remember that there was progress to all of these characters in the first film, but it basically seems like we are watching caricatures (or perhaps a template for the subsequent TV spinoff) that do not have much to say this time around. As a whole, it may be more absurd in its melodrama, but it feels less accomplished than the previous film.* In general, it just seems like a wasted venture unless one is into the Perry pulpit, which I suppose isn't up my alley this time around. But so it goes.

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night - Song of the day

*Nobody can go 0-for-4 in "good" movies, right? The Married films were on a DVD four-pack with I Can Do Bad All by Myself and Madea's Witness Protection, so we will see how that goes someday.

Poetic Justice.

Review #2183: Poetic Justice.

Cast: 

Janet Jackson (Justice), Tupac Shakur (Lawrence "Lucky"), Regina King (Iesha), Joe Torry ("Chicago"), Tyra Ferrell (Jessie), Rose Weaver (Aunt Audrey), Khandi Alexander (Simone), John Cothran Jr. (Uncle Earl), Maya Angelou (Aunt June), and Norma Donaldson (Aunt May) Written and Directed by John Singleton (#545 - Shaft (2000), #1640 - Boyz n the Hood, #1807 - Baby Boy)

Review: 

"Why not do a movie about a young sister and how all the tribulations of the brothers affect her?”

I had been wanting to do this film for quite a while, because if there's one thing more interesting than picking a film with noted names in black cinema, it's the film that comes right after making a seminal classic. Yes, this is the film that John Singleton directed after Boyz n the Hood (1991), and it is one that Singleton wrote with Jackson in mind as the lead for her feature film debut (after appearing on television as a child and, well, being a noted singer). Incidentally, this is the second starring role for Shakur and the only romantic drama he appeared in as an actor before his untimely death in 1996. The poetry that is depicted in the film was composed by Maya Angelou, who has one scene in the film, which really does start with a title card saying, “Once upon a time in South Central L.A….” before having a neat set of cameos in Billy Zane and Lori Petty (work with me on this). Singleton wrote the film as one to look upon the girls that were left behind in relationships ripped away from them due to gang violence, right down to the hairstyle (box braids) as discussed with Jackson, Singleton, and others. It ended up as a modest success with audiences on a budget of $14 million that has had at least one argument for being a "cult classic".

The movie may not seem as "disciplined" when it comes to comparing it with his previous film, but so what? It is a road movie that happens to try it play fast and loose in would-be romances in a place where one has to find a way back to actually caring for others again (South Central LA in this case). It is a moody film that comes and goes at 109 minutes (apparently Singleton had made a cut of two and a half hours before going with Columbia Pictures in their request to trim 45 minutes out), and perhaps it isn't surprising that one of Singleton's influences for the film was Federico Fellini. Jackson and Shakur make a quality pair in that bubbling sense of vulnerability that comes with trying to keep one's guard up again and again. Opening one's heart to possibility of others reaching out is a curious one for all around us, and Singleton wanted to make one for black women to see something in themselves that I think he succeeded with in the long run. Of course, that doesn't mean Shakur is in the background, because his presence is electric even with that guarded sensibility of care for the people really close to him (whether children or in ideas for something better than the post office). King and Torry make a volatile pair among the main four that harkens most to soap opera in the natural conclusion of certain young people that think they know who and what they are. Ferrell is also pretty engaging in the scenes spent within the salon that varies in timing and relief. The fact that it was a film that happened to be done right after a seminal classic in Boyz that dared to have its share of profanity (do you need to guess how much I don't care about profanity usage?) and ideas about men and women means that, well, sometimes even love stories need some credit. In general, Singleton has a clear interest in showing a wider range of the street experience in terms of learning to start again in the face of change and surprise around them. It meanders from time to time on the road, but as a whole, it proved a worthy curiosity when looking upon Singelton and his work as a whole in black storytelling.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Why Did I Get Married?

Review #1979: Why Did I Get Married?

Cast: 

Tyler Perry (Terry), Sharon Leal (Dianne), Malik Yoba (Gavin Agnew), Janet Jackson (Dr. Patricia Agnew), Michael Jai White (Marcus Williams), Tasha Smith (Angela), Richard T. Jones (Mike), Jill Scott (Sheila), Lamman Rucker (Troy), and Denise Boutte (Trina) Written and Directed by Tyler Perry (#872 - A Madea Christmas)

Review: 

“First of all, the messages are very important to me. I don’t just want to do film for the sake of doing film. And it’s never been about money for me. It’s always been about “What can I leave to uplift and inspire?” Even when I was doing plays early on. So, that’s where it comes from, first of all. It’s about, “What message can I bury into a great story?” And I think it’s resonating with people because so many folks are looking for answers. So many people are searching. So many want love and hope and romance. In my own life, finding that forgiveness has been very important. And that’s where it seems to begin with me for a lot of what I do.”

The story of Tyler Perry is a story of persistent faith. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1969 to a household wracked in abuse. He was inspired by an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show to keep a diary of his daily thoughts and experiences that set him on a path to become a writer, one that led to him to do a musical. I Know I've Been Changed was first staged in community theater in Georgia in 1992, albeit to little reception. He continued onward and refined it to eventual attention in 1998. This would lead to a litany of stage productions over the years with him as director, writer, producer, and actor. In 2005, he adapted his play Diary of A Mad Black Woman into a film as writer/producer/star, which featured him as his most notable character in Madea; he made his directorial debut with Madea's Family Reunion the following year. Ultimately, Perry has made over a dozen films and countless television shows that has a perception of audience appeal regardless of critical scrutiny (whether that involves film critics or filmmakers such as Spike Lee); he has a film studio that bears his name that is located in the heart of Atlanta.

Why Did I Get Married? was the third directorial effort from Perry, who also wrote, starred, and co-produced the film based his play of the same name with considerable changes. A sequel was done in 2010 along with a TV spinoff in Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse (White and Smith are the only two actors to act in both projects). Admittedly, one can see where the appeal lies in Perry's attempts at doing pop psychology with melodrama on the level of a soap opera or an off-kilter religious movie. For 113 minutes, the movie certainly labors in the elements of comedy-drama to various highs and lows that make it a fascinating mediocre movie. It is a very drawn-out movie, one that is best fit for a very long rainy day for those who like to roll with a movie for the sake of watching what they assume is obviously going to happen in the art of a soap opera, which means it is mildly entertaining to me but ultimately too hollow to really remember. That isn't to say it is forgettable, it just will be one of those movies that comes and leaves in the brain just like that. One can see the appeal of the film before saying "it's just not my thing". Strangely enough, it is the dynamic between White and Smith that sticks out the most in terms of entertaining quality, which is quite the feat in a cast that has a writer/director/actor and, well, singers with varying acting experience that include Janet Jackson. Of the four rifts in marriage portrayed here, they play their rift with the most energy and most charm that makes each side out to be as ridiculous as the other without making one lose sight of why they look like a couple. In other words, when the film is trying to be humorous or "dramatic", it is them who make it work to relatively interesting levels. Perry and Leal, as the "lead duo", don't exactly make this into high-strung drama, to put it nicely, which is amusing considering that Yoba and Jackson have as much tension in "close relations" as one does when quietly standing in an elevator. Maybe this is what happens if you made a religious movie but some of the opening pages out. Scott is probably the only other actor that makes the movie a possible focus point in terms of finding a sort of spiritual and emotional rebirth. When the film finds itself on the part of delivering certain secrets (because hey, one guy knows a whole bunch of their stuff), the movie probably illustrates its strengths and weaknesses quite well: its staged drama only becomes interesting when I actually care about what is going on screen without just riffing it as having the foundation of a three-legged chair. Again though, there are mildly interesting actors here, and I do find some of its take on marriage means in the modern sense to be compelling. It is a movie with a general sense of uplifting ambition that will work for those who are curious about its filmmaker and work less for those who believe there are better ways to use their time.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Next Time: For the final installment of Movie Night's third edition of Black History Month with films, a review...in three parts.

Movie Night: Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.

Review #466: Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.

Cast
Eddie Murphy (Professor Sherman Klump/Buddy Love/Granny Klump/Mama Anna Klump/Papa Cletus Klump/Ernie Klump, Sr./Lance Perkins), Janet Jackson (Denise Gaines), Larry Miller (Dean Richmond), John Ales (Jason), Richard Gant (Mr. Gaines), Anna Maria Horsford (Mrs. Gaines), Melinda McGraw (Leanne Guilford), and Jamal Mixon (Ernie Klump Jr) Directed by Peter Segal.

Review
I liked the first film, for all of its awkwardness in some of the jokes, it didn't veer too far from laughter, and Murphy did a nice job. The formula is slightly changed, and the comedy...nearly veers the film into being being unenjoyable. Murphy is all well and good, but it seems the film is nearly out steam by the end, contrary to popular belief, flatulence jokes do not in fact always remain funny, rather they are only funny for a millimeter of a second, depending on the level of work actually devoted to making that joke. Janet Jackson is our new lead actress, with the last actress (Jada Pinkett) explained off as "just being friends", which isn't the worst way of disposing of a character, believe me. At least Larry Miller is in it, which brings some joy, and while the film doesn't necessarily succeed, it doesn't fail spectacularly. It may not be a good film, but there is some sort of care put into this film, though I do wonder if anyone would actually want a third Nutty Professor.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.