Loading...Preacher Perry
I’ve never been a fan of Tyler Perry’s Chitlin Circuit to the big screen movies and I’m not starting now. His being in drag has never helped.
If you’re going to see Righteous Kill, and circumstance intervenes to prevent this, The Family that Preys is not a worthy substitute – thematically, dramatically or narrative wise. I know they aren’t meant to be comparable in any of those qualities, but without having seen the new Pacino/DeNiro flick I’m SURE it’s better – for one thing both veteran actors have better tastes in scripts.
Some of you may have never seen a Tyler Perry movie. Good news, seen one and you’ve seen them all. This is Truer than you may realize, as he has a virtual repertory company of actors that appear in one feature after the next, as they presumably scramble between non-monster roles. Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates are the big names that signed on and their performances are decent despite having woefully one-dimensional roles.
Their story is basically The Bucket List, with Woodard as average God-fearing Freeman and Bates as stinking rich Nicholson, but without the commitment to that storyline. Kathy’s gonna die and Woodard is supposed to learn to live for herself while she still has the time, but Bates isn’t really dying and Woodard isn’t the altruisitc family martyr. The racial difference is ignored as is the economic disparity – what is this relationship telling us? Were they lesbians, cougars, both or even – perish the thought – an actual full movie about how they change and support each other through tribulations I’d understand where the writer was going. This is the portion that makes it a comedy-drama, allegedly.
The other part of the movie is Woodard’s uppity got-a-degree daughter (Sanaa Lathan) hungering for power by having an affair with her boss, Bates’ former addict evil-for-no-reason son (Cole Hauser). Lathan is traumatized by her father’s abandonment of Woodard so she doesn’t support her husband’s entreprenuerial dreams, has a baby by the white man, hoards money he gives her and believes Hauser will leave his wife for her. Bates’ boy, being a rich white man, cheats on his wife with Lathan, fires her husband, disrespects female peers and seeks to supplant rich Momma to become more rich – you know, typical Caucasian stuff. The implicit moral: being successful will corrupt you and hurt your family whom you’ll turn your back on.
In the end, white mamma, with the help of black mamma, thwart and fire white son, whom then ditches evil black daughter. All the good (morally, not class of writing) support characters, whose roles don’t really mean shit to the story, live happily ever after. Bates kills herself rather than face Alzheimer’s and Woodard takes a much-needed vacation, although we do find out she’s a millionaire and could’ve avoided much of the plot’s issues.
Why? Because Tyler Perry writes racially targeted soap operas – like Latin novellas, but “hoavellas” since some hoe has to get her come-uppance. He’s expert with the heart string bullshit and good ole church values, but makes the characters shallow as hell to not make the audience think – just react. Lathan does actually get slapped by her too-stupid-to-notice-my-son-is-half-white husband. The audience went wild, but I saw it coming in the wedding scene during the first ten minutes of the flick – sadly I’d seen another of Preacher Perry’s movies before.I’ll give him credit though; his other movies have been far more dogmatically didactic. This one had only one baptism scene and the prudish Woodard throwing anoiting oil on strippers to ward them away – since strippers are like vampires in that way.
The Chitlin Circuit was a result of segregation, which has never existed in my generation, so its appeal to me is wasted. Ironically, if you love chitlins you may like this movie. Like eating boiled pork intestines, some things are better left in the past.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Well its no secret that Im (somewhat) of a Tyler Perry fan. I’ve seen damn-near all the plays, and I have seen all the movies (with the exception of this one). But Im not the average fan, I think he plays on black stereo-type emotions. The “Oh ma Godddd”, “Amen”,”You tellem girl”, “Praise Jesus” and “Oh no he didnt” etc. EVERY Tyler Perry Movie has that bullshit. Personally I dont mind having those phrases in movies every now and then (like watching Good Times), but thats the only substance he goes for. He dosent treat any of his movies like real life, he drags his characters so deep in the dirt then by the end with a few Amens they’re back to normal. That bothers the hell out of me, life isnt like that, I recently saw the TP movie “Daddys Little Girls” (which I think is his best one, might be becuase he’s not in it, I’d really recomend this one for the Digg). The shock in the movie is that the main character (Montey, whose dating Gabrielle Union, whose a lawyer helping him get his daughters back from his ho ex-wife)was convicted for rape of a 17 year old girl, in which case when Gabrielle finds out about so she dumps him and DOGGGS him, but when she realized rthat he was wrongly charged, he just took her back like they got into a fight over who left the toilet seat up. Another problem thats easier to explain that I have is simply that in a TP movie the “Good”(/Christian)character is sooooooooooo good, and the Bad character is the most evil Bitch or Bastard that ever walked the planet, in both cases its to over exagerated in “Why did I get married”(one of my favorites)Jill Scott and Richard T. Jones were so un-beliveable on both ends. First off, I’ve heard husbands/boyfriends make fun of their wives/girlfriends to their face. In the movie, this man crossed the husband line, he was making fun of her like you would your younger sibling. In the movie Jills character pointed out she’s from Detroit, most big girls I’ve come in contact with in Detroit wont put up with that shit, either they’d make fun of his ass too, make him stop, or leave. Jill didnt do any of that, she let him dump her ass for her best friend. It aint real, not for a Detroit girl anyway, and its usually the ones that bragg about being from Detroit that tend to be the tougher ones, but no Jill was the one soft sister.
But the reason I support Tyler Perry movies is because I mostly like his black-star leads like Alfrie,Snaa, Janet, Kimberly, Angela, Gabrielle, etc.,( I just realized he just any black actress that’s cried in movie before). I like the way they’ll take those shitty roles and do a good job with them (most of the time). And I still dont mind supporting a brotha when it comes to the films, I do the same for Spike Lee, John Singleton, Robert Townsand, and Keenan Ivory Wayans. Im definately not saying he’s anywhere near their writing style at all, but I dont mind, hell I’ll sit through all of his shitty movies if he keeps up with the fine sistas he puts in lead roles, dont have a problem with that at all. I also must admit, though his movies are to “christian” for me, Tyler can write alot of single lines in movies, that I personally like or can say “thats kinda deep”, or “I never thought about that” and I hold on to that kind of stuff in movies, it can help sometimes, but its still nothing you cant go into a black church and hear a preacher say every now and then just in a different way.
If you admit to sitting through a shitty movie just for the cute actresses – you may as well be watching porn. You also invalidate your whole point.
No self-respecting actress seeks shitty roles. They make do with them for the paycheck until they can get a better one.
At the end of the above clip, youtube queues up related clips. The second to last is an interview with Sanaa and Taranji. Sanaa doesn’t look very proud of the film. Maybe not, but when you talk more about the behind the scenes than the movie content it’s a bad sign.
I dont watch the movie to look at the movies just for faces or the hot asses (like you said, porns straight to the point with that) but I meant, it dosent hurt, and most of the fine actresses can make the shit smell like roses. Another reason this movie sounds interesting is because Sanaa plays a bitch. She’s never fully played that role she was always the good girl or good girl turned bad. Apparantly she’s a full out bitch and I’d like to see that. Usually when theres a “Black bitch” role in a movie, Gabrielle is the first person anyone thinks of or ask for, but Sanna? The same girl that Gabrielle was doggin in Love & Basketball? Oh I gotta see this
Well enjoy yourself.
But, the bitch she plays is so overtop I wouldn’t call it entertaining.
Its Tyler Perry, I expect it to be over the top, that was one of the points I made. I expect it to be over the top, have huge fight/argument scenes and alot of badly hidden religious messages. Is that assumption accurate, from your post it sounds pretty much like all of the above.
One over the top scene actually, the bitch slap one. You see it coming a mile a way.
Perry predictablity isn’t what folks pay money to see, though it may work for a TV show. It can be excused if there’s good acting, dialogue, or story.
This had none of those.
WOW!!!!! thanks for the heads up Im going to have to still see it, cause this sparked my curiositty