I am usually not a fan of Tyler Perry. For one thing, if you've seen one of his movies, you've pretty much seen them all. They often revolve around an aging plot of over the top dysfunctional relationships that somehow work themselves out by the end of the movie. Most of his movies also includes the Madea subplot, which usually is out of synchronization with the rest of the movie.
Why Did I Get Married Too shows Perry's potential as a legitimate screenplay writer when he let's go of his overrated Madea act. Married Too feels like it belongs on the big screen, whereas other films produced and directed by Perry feel like plays adapted for the movies. It could be that the whole Madea act, while I must admit is often very funny, is just too over the top and unbelievable for some of the serious material he tries to mix it with. Stevie Wonder could see Madea is just a man in a fat suit! It could also be the more colorful beach scenes that add flavor to this film, whereas most of his other films are set mostly in Atlanta or some other urban area. With those films, you only get mediocre set pieces with generic pictures of the city backdrop thrown in just to let you know where the story takes place. It's rather boring, and the whole thing with Atlanta as the main setting for his films is getting rather old. Just like M. Night Shyamalan and his affinity to write his story lines in and around Philadelphia, it shows a laziness to screenplay writing and providing the viewer with a different experience. We know that you lived in Atlanta at the time of your big break, Tyler. And trust me, I understand if you don't know one thing about other urban areas. However, let me point out that the great screenplay writers go out and do their research on other locations and other details of a storyline in order to be more diverse in what they offer the viewer. Perry will never get past the black community as his base viewership or his core fans if he doesn't change things up. John Singleton, F. Gary Gary and even Spike Lee understand this.
Anyway, once again, Perry relies on star power to camouflage his lack of depth as a screenplay writer and director. Married Too has a nice cast that includes Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Malik Yoba, Tasha Smith, Michael Jai White, Cicely Tyson, Lou Gossette Jr., Dwayne Johnson and Tyler Perry minus Madea.
The reason I give it such a high rating is because unlike most of Perry's films most of the performances and scenarios weren't over the top and the problems the couples faced here seem reasonable. It's hard to mix comedy and drama in the same film. Perry has tried it in the past, but he's not at all good at it. However, he does a good job in this film. Comedy is kept in check here, while drama takes the front seat. With his other films, the drama elements are often overshadowed by the Madea routine and her shenanigans.
This film also stood out because unlike most movies, it doesn't have a sappy, "all bad things turn out good" ending. I love the two main plot twists in the movie. They were totally unexpected.
Could this movie have been better? Yes. Do I still recommend it? Yes. Now, if we will get more effort out of Perry in his future movies remains to be seen. Let's hope so. Tyler Perry has an excellent opportunity that other people of color in the film industry don't. Please be more responsible and creative with this opportunity.
Why Did I Get Married Too shows Perry's potential as a legitimate screenplay writer when he let's go of his overrated Madea act. Married Too feels like it belongs on the big screen, whereas other films produced and directed by Perry feel like plays adapted for the movies. It could be that the whole Madea act, while I must admit is often very funny, is just too over the top and unbelievable for some of the serious material he tries to mix it with. Stevie Wonder could see Madea is just a man in a fat suit! It could also be the more colorful beach scenes that add flavor to this film, whereas most of his other films are set mostly in Atlanta or some other urban area. With those films, you only get mediocre set pieces with generic pictures of the city backdrop thrown in just to let you know where the story takes place. It's rather boring, and the whole thing with Atlanta as the main setting for his films is getting rather old. Just like M. Night Shyamalan and his affinity to write his story lines in and around Philadelphia, it shows a laziness to screenplay writing and providing the viewer with a different experience. We know that you lived in Atlanta at the time of your big break, Tyler. And trust me, I understand if you don't know one thing about other urban areas. However, let me point out that the great screenplay writers go out and do their research on other locations and other details of a storyline in order to be more diverse in what they offer the viewer. Perry will never get past the black community as his base viewership or his core fans if he doesn't change things up. John Singleton, F. Gary Gary and even Spike Lee understand this.
Anyway, once again, Perry relies on star power to camouflage his lack of depth as a screenplay writer and director. Married Too has a nice cast that includes Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Malik Yoba, Tasha Smith, Michael Jai White, Cicely Tyson, Lou Gossette Jr., Dwayne Johnson and Tyler Perry minus Madea.
The reason I give it such a high rating is because unlike most of Perry's films most of the performances and scenarios weren't over the top and the problems the couples faced here seem reasonable. It's hard to mix comedy and drama in the same film. Perry has tried it in the past, but he's not at all good at it. However, he does a good job in this film. Comedy is kept in check here, while drama takes the front seat. With his other films, the drama elements are often overshadowed by the Madea routine and her shenanigans.
This film also stood out because unlike most movies, it doesn't have a sappy, "all bad things turn out good" ending. I love the two main plot twists in the movie. They were totally unexpected.
Could this movie have been better? Yes. Do I still recommend it? Yes. Now, if we will get more effort out of Perry in his future movies remains to be seen. Let's hope so. Tyler Perry has an excellent opportunity that other people of color in the film industry don't. Please be more responsible and creative with this opportunity.