THE FAMILY THAT PREYS

This is the kind of movie black church-going conservatives (*gasp!* they do exist) love. Since Tyler is the ONLY person making movies for this demographic, he has become the embodiment of the Dave Chappelle's closing credits-logo, much to the vigorous head-scratching of all the clueless Hollywood suits, who somehow missed this and oh-so-many-other non-average-joe-stupid, demographics.

All of this man's plays and subsequent films are about the sins we commit wrapped in a "We all got sh-- to go through, God loves you anyway" message. All of them have "Oooh, girl!!" twists and "Bold, Black, and Beautiful" story-lines.

It's not my bag, but I can appreciate the appeal. I do love the fact that Tyler constantly employs our overly-talented, but underemployed acting forces. He even got my girl, Kathy Bates to work in this one, for whom really without her and my other girl Alfre Woodard, I would have otherwise hated this. Their charm, talent, and charisma elevated the material.

Slightly off-tangent, I also have a mostly-hate thing for Madea. While clearly made with admiration for the matriarchal pillars elderly black women tend to be, I believe he reduces what she really is/was to a parody. And this would be fine, if the image he presents weren't so prevalent, in lieu of the truth.

By wearing drag, bugging out his eyes, and quipping for the easy laugh, it's easy to forget women like that, women like my grandmother, who sharecropped from "can't see" to "can't see" (that's from before dawn until past dusk, to the laymen) for pennies, killed and farmed food to eat with her bare hands and endured Jim Crow racism on top of all that and somehow survived herself and her family, were far from a joke. I am in awe of what she was able to do with nothing and with the majority of folks seeing her as less than nothing...if they saw her at all.

...And Tyler reduced her to a bug-eyed man in drag.

I'm sorry I went off on a tangent, there. Heck, Madea isn't even in this one, but I feel very strongly about that. I had to put that down.

Getting back to the film, as you know, I'm no snob. I can appreciate a good low-brow soap opera. Mommy Dearest is and always will be my shit. I can't however, get into soap if I don't know where the lather is coming from.

Perry has a problem with realistically connecting his characters' actions with their motivations. His characters do wildly over-the-top stuff for the sake of the "oooh girl!!"'s, while I'm sitting there in my seat, scratching my head thinking "WTH?..From what I've seen of this person, why would he/she even do that in the first place?!"

There is a particular part in the movie, that was clearly done to warrant a cheer, that I did not find cheer-worthy, AT ALL... Mind you, this was one of the few characters who's actions at that point, you did understand.

Okay, I'm going to spoil this... Basically a woman gets slapped by a man. She's a conniving, underhanded, devious person who schemes, back-stabs, betrays, and she should get her comeuppance...but hit by a man, for audience cheers?

No. Unh, unh. Not feeling that. ....Especially, not from a morality play. Nope, not even a soapy one.

So, this write-up ended up being longer than I intended and I didn't even touch the "Can't Truss' It"-like plotline.

Even if you're a Tyler-fan, you won't think this is his best, but the audience is always good for the LOL's.


If you are a fan.
Maybe catch parts of it on cable while channel-surfing, if you aren't.



PARENTS: Just because there's no nudity doesn't mean you won't have some explain'n to do. Tweens and above, only.


P.S. This is umthousandth HORRIBLE natural hair wig, I've seen on a person of color in a movie.

Come on, now stylists. Repeat after me. WASH. MOISTURIZE. COMB.

Think of the suicidal tufts of wool.