The big screen adaptation of Perry's stage play about the trials of marriage, and what happens to one family when a sexy young temptress arrives on the scene (Source- Imdb.com)
Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COjDsU0K0fw
Rating- PG-13
Genre- Comedy/Drama
Warnings- Minor language
Never mind the fact that the year this was released in 2007 and I must have been 10 years old, this movie really resonated in my memory and whenever I catch it on television, I can't help but record it to watch it again every single time.
But recently, after watching this movie for the hundredth time I noticed a few things that I didn't enjoy and in fact, left me angry. Thinking over this, I figured I'd spread my knowledge to you on what I found to be the positives and negatives of this comedy-drama.
In addition, since this movie does come with a sequel, I will do two brief reviews over this and its sequel, "Why did I get Married too." So after I finish talking about this one, there should be a second review about the sequel. No spoiler section will be included for either.
With that being said, what was it about one of my favorite Tyler Perry movies that brought me to finally notice some cracks in its shell?
First off, I will talk about what I enjoyed. The story was original- at least for the time it came out- and I like movies that aren't always "out there" you know? It didn't need supernatural elements or a huge rescue story to make it interesting, and a couples retreat for four pairs of couples to relax only to bring up major problems in their relationships had me intrigued, even as a child.
My eyes were glued on the screen and I recall hearing several movie goers laughing, commenting, and gasping at the events being played before us. The huge reactions from them and myself were influenced not just by the story but by the characters.
Even now, I find every actor and actress to preform well with what they had. The script for the most part was pretty realistic in regards to how people normally speak, and each person made me pity them at some point in the movie, proving that no matter how different their personalities are or even how villainous some of them appear, they are still human and the story helps witness them as humans and not one note characters.
One moment that I adored for the way it was handled was a scene where the wives are shopping together and one of them is complaining about their issue involving children, but suddenly she stops and apologizes for even bringing it up to only one of the other wives, asking if it was hard for her to hear about it. Though the other wife says no, you can clearly tell something is up and I applaud that the characters didn't outright say, "I know this is tough because of so and so." It makes the audience think about what these people are hiding and drags on our curiosity for longer.
The music choices were good, especially the instrumentals that would play. It was just so calming and made scenes more somber or happier depending on what the director was going for, and it all worked. The pacing of the movie was also well done and the locations that the movie would take place in weren't all that bad either. For instance, most of the film takes place in a cabin where the couples are staying at and it brings off this warm and comforting vibe that we don't get from the couples themselves. It's a clever contrast in a way.
Now onto what I recently considered to be flaws in what used to be a perfect movie in my eyes. Like I said, the characters were preformed well- with what they had. Looking back at the movie, I recognize how cliche some of the dialogue is and there are bits of unnecessary exposition. In the beginning for example, Terry played by Perry himself (go figure) is arguing with his wife Diane (Sharon Leal) about how she is too busy to spend time with him and he says something like, "Well I'm a successful pharmacist and you're a driven lawyer" I'm sure that's not the exact jobs, but I hope you get my point. He literally stated what occupation they were in and how powerful they were in those positions, we couldn't just see that for ourselves.
Terry as a person too is incredibly selfish and cruel, I argue even more than Diane. Their conflict is that Terry wants to have more time with Diane and have a son. The movie makes it seem like Diane is in the wrong and in some ways she was by not being a good listener and not trying to compromise her time with Terry, but he is just as bad.
At least with the other couples, I can accept that the husband or the wife was definitely wrong, but Terry is placed in a good light like he deserves to have his way when that's not necessarily the case. From the way he speaks to Diane, he's practically forcing her to get pregnant again when she's clearly not in the best situation for it. She's a hard working woman who trying to support her family, and like she mentions in the movie, she compromised with Terry to have their first daughter. It appears as if Terry never appreciates that part of her and instead points out her faults and never said, "Hey, I know it was a lot for you to have our daughter and I want to say thank you for being there for her."
Terry even goes behind Diane's back to make sure no one from her job calls her during their retreat, which Diane- rightfully so -is upset about. From the movie's perspective, this is supposed to show how uptight Diane is and how she just can't budge when it comes to relaxation, however what if she missed an urgent call that was a make-or-break deal and if she didn't take it, she'd get fired? Now she loses her job and it would be Terry's fault. Diane not wanting to stop taking calls from work isn't automatically a sign of she doesn't care, but rather she cares a great deal about raising her family to have the best things she can earn for them.
I notice this rant on Terry is getting long so I'll keep the rest brief. When their big secret is revealed, Terry leaves their house, so Diane takes it upon herself to realize her mistakes in not wanting to have another kid and not wanting to settle down from her job and returns to her husband to get him back.
The following scene I'm about to address is what really enraged me and solidified by dislike for Terry. When Diane tries to get Terry to come home he pretends that he got one of his friends pregnant with twins just to screw with Diane. Diane is clearly upset but was willing to still be with him and he laughs at her for falling for it.
That just really got on my nerves because that's so cruel. It's one thing to not be around the house for a while because of work and not wanting to have more kids, but it's another thing to tell your wife I got another woman pregnant out of spite. I would have divorced him right there, if he wanted to play those games with me.
Aside from the irritating Terry character, I want to go onto one more character and my last complaint which is Mike (Richard T. Jones) who surprisingly enough wasn't as annoying as Terry even though he was supposed to be. Still, he has a big flaw and for those who've watched this movie probably already know: he is too mean! Being the only villain of the story, he's obviously going to stir the pot but almost every single sentence that comes out of this guy's mouth either insults his own wife or other people. I just don't find his behavior to be realistic, because he's so obvious as being a bad guy that I can't even hate him completely. It's like he's a cartoon and you just have to laugh and the things he says.
Other than that, I find "Why did I get Married" a good movie. Certainly one of the better ones Perry has done in his career. Although the few flaws it has are major, I can still enjoy it for the diverse cast of characters and the process each couple goes through to save their relationship, most of the couples at least. I would recommend seeing it because it does have some good lessons that you can keep for any relationship about how to treasure those you love even if they aren't perfect, and the jokes are funny, the music is nice and I'd gladly watch it again.
I give "Why did I get Married" a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
SCROLL BELOW FOR REVIEW ON "WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO"
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Four couples find themselves struggling to save their marriages once again on their annual marriage retreat, while each of them battle through financial, physical, mental, and emotional issues (Source- Imdb.com)
Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Hr5vuGq_I
Rating- PG-13
Genre- Comedy/ Drama/ Romance
Warnings- Minor language/ Violence
I will be incredibly brief with this review, just to get that out of the way.
There's not much I want to get into because frankly, I want to forget that this sequel even existed. Forgive me if it seems like I'm rushing through this but long story short, this movie was not needed.
Nobody was asking for a sequel to, "Why Did I get Married" but when it was released I went to the theater anyways to see it (because of my parents really but I didn't mind). I was still curious to see what more they could tell with a story that was already seemed resolved.
What follows after the events of the first film was new conflicts and darker moments that are exemplified as the driving force of the story. The four couples do another retreat I believe a year after the first movie, now with Mike out of the picture, and they reside in a beautiful beach house where once again their problems are being presented to us.
Terry believes Diane is cheating on him, Troy (the officer from the previous movie played by Lamman Rucker) is looking for a job, Angela (Tasha Smith) thinks Marcus (Michael Jai White) is cheating, and Patricia and Gavin (Janet Jackson and Malik Yoba) have a secret that brings their relationship to an all time low. Unlike the last movie where I only really hated Terry and his actions, I blame everyone for their actions.
Each character is not the likable, realistic adult we grew to love but now are acting like petulant children. Everything you loved or at least tolerated about each of them is thrown out the window and it's like they didn't learn anything from the past. I feel like Perry was trying to show that problems are not solved completely and there will always be more, but again no one wanted another movie and thus, no one was interested in seeing them deal with married life once again.
Some characters like Diane, Troy and Gavin are flipped upside down and it's like you don't even know who they are anymore. They were nothing like they were in the past and whether you liked their character or not, you got to admit that they were much more sensible in their actions whereas here, they're either inconsiderate, mean-spirited or down right insane. This movie rips apart the feel good moments you had with the first film because now you know things will never be really be okay with any of the couples because the issues they have now are too severe to resolve.
The ending to the movie is one of the most confusing and shocking endings I've ever seen, that it got me heated. Compared to the first ending, this came completely out of left field, removes the morals that the series was trying to present and sweeps the problems under the rug like they never happened.
Positives on this movie can be that the settings were nice, music was okay and pacing was still fine, but I try to avoid this film at all costs. I pretend it never existed and on that note, I am giving "Why did I get Married too" a 1 1/2 out of 5 stars.
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