Starring Tyler Perry, Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam, and Viola Davis
Written and Directed by Tyler Perry
Written and Directed by Tyler Perry
I've never seen a Tyler Perry movie before and had I not taken on this "every movie quest," I don't think I ever would. The trailers for his flicks all seem so stereotypical and the humor seems way too over-the-top for me. Well, having seen my first Tyler Perry flick, I can wholeheartedly say that the trailer presents things correctly -- I did find it incredibly stereotypical and filled with over-the-top humor. However, the movie was actually okay, filled with some decent performances, despite the hokey story.
Unfortunately, the flick is two different movies in one. One side is the drama -- Josh (Derek Luke) is a young district attorney who, while in court one day, meets up with Candy (Keshia Knight Pulliam...Rudy from The Cosby Show!) a former childhood friend who is on trial for prostitution. He feels guilt over an incident in the past and takes Candy under his wing. This doesn't make his fiancé too happy and tension ensues.
The other side of the movie is the comedy -- It involves Madea (Tyler Perry in drag) who apparently gets into crazy, law-breaking situations all the time. She has some anger issues, wrecks some lady's car, and heads to jail (hence the title).
Both sides end up combining once Madea gets to jail and meets up with Candy, but for the most part, it really plays like two separate movies. My problem with the storylines is this: Neither is strong enough to be its own movie, but it just seems silly for these two movies to be smashed together into one. In addition to the lackluster stories, the dialogue (particularly on the comedy side) was weak and I rarely laughed. The drama side fares better, although it was holier-than-thou at times, in part because of Viola Davis's preacher character. Davis was quite strong, but she is forced to spout some "better yourself" motivational junk.
In addition to Viola Davis, Derek Luke (who was also fine in Notorious) is pretty good here, too. Little Rudy -- I mean Keshia Knight Pulliam -- gets better as the movie goes on as she's able to move on from the stereotypical prostitute to a changed woman. I'm trying to avoid talking about Tyler Perry as Madea because Madea is the stereotype that brings this movie down to a base level (that and the fact that Perry also paints all non-African Americans in broad brushstrokes as well...Note, Perry's not alone in this depiction -- see Obsessed or Not Easily Broken...better yet, don't see them).
Unfortunately, the flick is two different movies in one. One side is the drama -- Josh (Derek Luke) is a young district attorney who, while in court one day, meets up with Candy (Keshia Knight Pulliam...Rudy from The Cosby Show!) a former childhood friend who is on trial for prostitution. He feels guilt over an incident in the past and takes Candy under his wing. This doesn't make his fiancé too happy and tension ensues.
The other side of the movie is the comedy -- It involves Madea (Tyler Perry in drag) who apparently gets into crazy, law-breaking situations all the time. She has some anger issues, wrecks some lady's car, and heads to jail (hence the title).
Both sides end up combining once Madea gets to jail and meets up with Candy, but for the most part, it really plays like two separate movies. My problem with the storylines is this: Neither is strong enough to be its own movie, but it just seems silly for these two movies to be smashed together into one. In addition to the lackluster stories, the dialogue (particularly on the comedy side) was weak and I rarely laughed. The drama side fares better, although it was holier-than-thou at times, in part because of Viola Davis's preacher character. Davis was quite strong, but she is forced to spout some "better yourself" motivational junk.
In addition to Viola Davis, Derek Luke (who was also fine in Notorious) is pretty good here, too. Little Rudy -- I mean Keshia Knight Pulliam -- gets better as the movie goes on as she's able to move on from the stereotypical prostitute to a changed woman. I'm trying to avoid talking about Tyler Perry as Madea because Madea is the stereotype that brings this movie down to a base level (that and the fact that Perry also paints all non-African Americans in broad brushstrokes as well...Note, Perry's not alone in this depiction -- see Obsessed or Not Easily Broken...better yet, don't see them).
The RyMickey Rating: C-
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