Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tired of the "ghetto fabulous" antics that are delivered in most movies...this should do the trick., April 22, 2008
My husband and I enjoyed this film very much and we both agreed that Perry done a great job with this film. Though he continues to put out films with an obvious "stagey" feel to them that don't work as well as they should even though they do work better than one would expect. In his second feature film without the Madea character, Perry again brings one of his stage plays to the big screen with "Why Did I Get Married," a film that works because of the heart and soul of the cast even when it feels like Perry's over-the-top preachiness is about to cave everything in. The film centers around four couples who gather each year at a Rocky Mountain retreat for your basic "save our marriage" therapeutic weekend. Being a Perry production, the weekend will be filled with lots of laughs, lots of tears, lots of revelations, a few heartbreaks and a solid Christian center that without the preachiness that often accompanies such a central core.
Janet Jackson leads the cast as the relationship expert who guides the weekend supported by her husband (Malik Yoba). There's a power couple (Tyler Perry and Sharon Leal), a drinkin'/fightin' couple (Michael Jai White and Tasha Smith), and an obviously abusive couple (Jill Scott and Richard T. Jones). Before the weekend is over, in typical Perry fashion, secrets will be revealed and lives will be changed for the good and the bad. The ensemble cast is solid throughout, most notably a well-padded Jill Scott as a gentle, sweet woman trying to deal with a cheating hubby, and Tasha Smith, who's blessed with the film's best lines and she nails every one of them.
While it's certainly easy to knock Perry's inability to produce anything approaching subtlety, it seems almost pointless to do so. Perhaps because of his lack of subtlety, Perry's films inevitably say things that most of today's filmmakers don't have the balls to say and it's rather refreshing to have a filmmaker actively speak out on issues. The scenes between Jill Scott and Richard T. Jones, for example, are almost achingly painful in their honesty and brought vividly to mind the utter shock of Blair Underwood's domestic abuse scenes in "Madea's Family Reunion."
Other solid performances are turned in by Janet Jackson and Perry himself, who proves he needn't be dressed in drag to be an accomplished actor. Toyomichi Kurita's cinematography is solid given the film's inherent staged feeling and that all of Perry's films continue to be modestly budgeted productions. Aaron Zigman's original music complements the scenes nicely, and, while the production design doesn't quite tear us away from the staged feeling, it nonetheless fits the proceedings well.
Tyler Perry doesn't really need film critics. While his first turn away from Madea, "Daddy's Little Girls," was a box-office disappointment, Perry's modestly budgeted films continue to successfully reach Perry's targeted urban markets and, with a typical box-office in the $50 million range, Perry's future as a filmmaker continues to be on solid ground.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really good :-0, July 11, 2008
This was only my third movie I'd seen of Tylers (behind Diary Of A Mad Black Woman and Daddy's Little Girls) but I'd heard so many positive reviews about this, that I bought it and I'm so glad I did. I truly enjoyed it.
It is a story blending four married couples who each have their problems. They go away on a couples weekend in the mountains and various senarios take place. It was good to see a plus-sized character in here (Jill Scott who played Sheila), but the verbal and emotional abuse she took from her husband was extreme. He was an outright pig of a man (although he's cute and played very well by Richard T Jones) who bought to this couples weekend, his 'bit on the side'. During the course of a dinner one night, accusations go flying about each of the couples relationships or infidelities etc and it gets pretty ugly. There are break ups and make ups and it is done really well. I thought one of the best actors in this movie was actually Janet Jackson. I thought she was very very good in here and I thought Jill Scott was only average. She isn't the best of actresses, yet she did make us really feel for her and her issues with her husband and her weight.
Yes the movie is a little long, but it is very enjoyable and overall it's well acted out and interesting and a new favourite of mine. I really loved this and glad I bought my own copy so I can re-watch it every now and then. It's great.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
At times, they don't know why they got married..., February 20, 2008
I almost always enjoy a Tyler Perry movie. However, there are moments in his movies where the goings-ons seem a bit too far-fetched or too sappy/mushy. When considering the casting, cinematography, and story line, this is easily one of his best films. He gives Madea a rest and we are enabled to see him play a serious role, and have a leading role. My favorite entertainer, Janet Jackson, stars in it, so I can write a very accurate synopsis of this film because I've seen it a number of times (smile).
We are introduced to four married couples, all with problems, some apparent and some harbored. Sheila and Mike, Diane and Terry, Angela and Marcus, and Patricia and Gavin. Mike isn't physically attracted to Sheila anymore, so he decides to date her friend, right before her eyes. Sheila and Mike are supposed to be traveling to meet their friends at a resort, but he tells her she has to drive at the last minute. As the film progresses, we feel and see Sheila's pain. Jill Scott did a marvelous job; she had the folks in the theatre cheering for her. Diane and Terry are at odds about many things; having children and schedule conflicts being chief among their marital issues. Marcus and Angela are easily the most entertaining couple of the bunch. Angela cannot seem to stay sober and her husband despises her behavior as a drunk. Also, he has children by another woman and, of course, that causes strain on their relationship. Gavin and Patricia have the best relationship of the bunch, or so it seems. As the film progresses, they endure their share of hardships that were previously unmentioned. There is a lot of comedy in this movie, but also many serious issues are addressed.
This movie is a bit lengthy, but you most likely won't have a problem watching it all the way through, especially those seeing it for the first time. I enjoy it every time I watch it, and you probably know why (Janet!) 4 stars. Great movie!
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