I have absolutely no idea why this film has such a low rating here on IMDb, i'm curious as to how many of the people who rated this movie so low actually WATCHED the movie. Anyhow, this movie was recommended to be my numerous friends of mine and I'm glad I took them up on the recommendation.
Being very, VERY wary of the 'Waiting To Exhale' effect I expected here, I was very hesitant about watching this movie, but I was assured pretty quickly. I'm not a very big fan of Tyler Perry; he is talented enough that I can tolerate most of his material. With that being said, he really came through here with this film. While not at all perfect, it gets its point across very effectively and you can't help but have a good time watching. One cannot help but look into their own lives and re-evaluate it in some way. If you're married/involved with someone, you're the ideal audience. If you're single, you can't help but take things away from this film to help make your ideals and beliefs of companionship and marriage that much stronger for when you do finally decide to take that step.
I had a couple of issues with the film:
1. Sheila's husband, Mike's character was way overboard in my opinion. Besides the fact that Jill Scott is a beautiful, absolutely GORGEOUS woman...the way he acted towards her was damn near unbelievable (as in not possible). In a way I couldn't help but wait for him to say that the joke was on her and he was just playing around. As silly as that sounds, his whole character was complete overkill; he was too much of an a--hole. And we never got an explanation as to WHY he was acting the way he was.
2. The film ended a little too quickly. I felt that the last 30 minutes was a cop-out. It was like Perry & Co. said, 'ok time for everybody to make up' and, with one fail swoop everyone's happy again. The intensity of the issues raised at the dinner table that night was HUGE, and with everything being exposed so quickly at one time made it that much more intense. There was just not enough time given to FULLY resolve everything that was raised between the 4 couples. The Janet Jackson/Malik Yoba couple was the best as far as seeing the two people truly get to the core of their issue and coming to some sort of resolution. As much as Jai White/Tasha Smith argued and were about to kill each other (at one point, literally), a simple 'I'm sorry' between them and the sudden 'ok honey, whatever you say' attitude of Smith in that scene was a little cheap. The same goes for Perry/Leal; she's in a car trying to come up with the list, gives up and just says 'I'm sorry', and all is well again?? What happened to the tubes being tied? That is VERY serious, and her deception about the whole thing made it that much worse. I doubt that would've been so easily forgiven so quickly by Perry. Jill Scott's situation was fleshed out a little more, naturally because of everything she went through as well as the eventual transition to someone else. I don't know how long the ceremony was after the Colorado trip, but the ring on Jill Scott's finger seemed a little premature. 'We're getting married' would've been a little more realistic in my opinion, but hey it's not my story.
As far as the acting goes, Jill Scott was magnificent. It was great to see Jai White in this kind of role, and he played it flawlessly. His 'showdown' between the two women outside was wonderful. I'm glad to see him out there; he's a talented actor who definitely needs more shine. I really hopes this does it for him. Yoba was good, Jackson had her moments, she was tolerable, but very bland. Perry was good as well, very grounded and balanced....I liked his character as well. Tasha Smith was a riot, she nailed it on the head and was very entertaining.
Overall, I must say that this movie is a must-see. Not at all perfect, but it gets its point across very effectively and engages the audience in issues that it can't help but relate to. The writing was good, the religious overtones were pretty abundant (as usual in Perry's material) but I didn't feel bombarded. All of the characters and their issues were BALANCED!!, which was essential in order for a movie like this to have credibility....unlike 'Waiting To Exhale'. When you can watch a movie and walk away from it with something to really think about, it's done it's job. Why Did I Get Married does that, and does it well.
8/10
P.S. Please go out and see the film for yourself, it's definitely better than a 3.2 rating.
Being very, VERY wary of the 'Waiting To Exhale' effect I expected here, I was very hesitant about watching this movie, but I was assured pretty quickly. I'm not a very big fan of Tyler Perry; he is talented enough that I can tolerate most of his material. With that being said, he really came through here with this film. While not at all perfect, it gets its point across very effectively and you can't help but have a good time watching. One cannot help but look into their own lives and re-evaluate it in some way. If you're married/involved with someone, you're the ideal audience. If you're single, you can't help but take things away from this film to help make your ideals and beliefs of companionship and marriage that much stronger for when you do finally decide to take that step.
I had a couple of issues with the film:
1. Sheila's husband, Mike's character was way overboard in my opinion. Besides the fact that Jill Scott is a beautiful, absolutely GORGEOUS woman...the way he acted towards her was damn near unbelievable (as in not possible). In a way I couldn't help but wait for him to say that the joke was on her and he was just playing around. As silly as that sounds, his whole character was complete overkill; he was too much of an a--hole. And we never got an explanation as to WHY he was acting the way he was.
2. The film ended a little too quickly. I felt that the last 30 minutes was a cop-out. It was like Perry & Co. said, 'ok time for everybody to make up' and, with one fail swoop everyone's happy again. The intensity of the issues raised at the dinner table that night was HUGE, and with everything being exposed so quickly at one time made it that much more intense. There was just not enough time given to FULLY resolve everything that was raised between the 4 couples. The Janet Jackson/Malik Yoba couple was the best as far as seeing the two people truly get to the core of their issue and coming to some sort of resolution. As much as Jai White/Tasha Smith argued and were about to kill each other (at one point, literally), a simple 'I'm sorry' between them and the sudden 'ok honey, whatever you say' attitude of Smith in that scene was a little cheap. The same goes for Perry/Leal; she's in a car trying to come up with the list, gives up and just says 'I'm sorry', and all is well again?? What happened to the tubes being tied? That is VERY serious, and her deception about the whole thing made it that much worse. I doubt that would've been so easily forgiven so quickly by Perry. Jill Scott's situation was fleshed out a little more, naturally because of everything she went through as well as the eventual transition to someone else. I don't know how long the ceremony was after the Colorado trip, but the ring on Jill Scott's finger seemed a little premature. 'We're getting married' would've been a little more realistic in my opinion, but hey it's not my story.
As far as the acting goes, Jill Scott was magnificent. It was great to see Jai White in this kind of role, and he played it flawlessly. His 'showdown' between the two women outside was wonderful. I'm glad to see him out there; he's a talented actor who definitely needs more shine. I really hopes this does it for him. Yoba was good, Jackson had her moments, she was tolerable, but very bland. Perry was good as well, very grounded and balanced....I liked his character as well. Tasha Smith was a riot, she nailed it on the head and was very entertaining.
Overall, I must say that this movie is a must-see. Not at all perfect, but it gets its point across very effectively and engages the audience in issues that it can't help but relate to. The writing was good, the religious overtones were pretty abundant (as usual in Perry's material) but I didn't feel bombarded. All of the characters and their issues were BALANCED!!, which was essential in order for a movie like this to have credibility....unlike 'Waiting To Exhale'. When you can watch a movie and walk away from it with something to really think about, it's done it's job. Why Did I Get Married does that, and does it well.
8/10
P.S. Please go out and see the film for yourself, it's definitely better than a 3.2 rating.