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"TYLER PERRY'S DADDY'S LITTLE GIRLS" (2007) (Idris Elba, Gabrielle Union) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Moderate Moderate Minor Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor None None None Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate Minor Moderate Moderate Moderate QUICK TAKE: Romantic drama: A hardworking mechanic and a big-time law partner fall in love, face obstacles, and make the case for him to recover his three children from their irresponsible mother. PLOT: When his big-hearted ex-mother-in-law dies of lung cancer, earnest mechanic Monty (IDRIS ELBA) moves his three young daughters into his one-bedroom apartment. To cover increased costs, he takes a second job as a driver for high-priced, highly successful lawyer, Julia (GABRIELLE UNION). Despite initial tensions -- he thinks she's stuck up, she thinks he's "common" -- she soon feels sympathy when she sees the troubles he faces as he tries to keep his girls from his selfish ex, Jenny (TASHA SMITH), now living with a local drug dealer and "gangsta," Joe (GARY STURGIS). At the same time that Julia agrees to represent the girls in court (insisting she will out for their best interests, rather than any of the adults'), she's having trouble meeting a "decent black man" to date. Repeatedly frustrated by the blind dates set up her friends Brenda (TERRI J. VAUGHN) and Cynthia (TRACEE ELLIS ROSS), Julia is pleasantly surprised to find that she honestly likes Monty, who treats her well and, even better, treats his daughters "like princesses." Their romance runs into troubles, though, namely, her friends' snobbish complaint that she's "sleeping around with the help." The couple also has to win the custody case, which turns urgent when Monty finds out that not only is Jenny a reckless mother, but Joe is also abusive, instructing Sierra (SIERRA AYLINA McCLAIN) to sell marijuana, hitting China (CHINA ANNE McCLAIN), and generally scaring Lauryn (LAURYN ALISA McCLAIN). Alone after a fight with Julia, Monty makes a desperate decision, assaulting Joe and Jenny (literally crashing their car with his) and facing the brutality of Joe's gang. The neighbors then join this violence, long weary of Joe disrupting their own lives. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of Gabrielle Union or enjoyed Tyler Perry's previous films featuring his drag character, Madea, they might. But while this movie takes up similar themes (the good, working class black man, the confused, independent-minded black woman, community politics, etc.), it's less broadly comedic. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For thematic material, drug and sexual content, some violence and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: IDRIS ELBA plays a hardworking mechanic named Monty, convicted of rape 16 years ago and sent to prison, now trying to look after his three young daughters and start his own garage business. GABRIELLE UNION plays Julia, a successful, ambitious lawyer who hires Monty as a limo driver, agrees to argue his custody case, and falls in love with him. LOUIS GOSSETT JR. plays Monty's boss at the garage, Willie, who urges the neighborhood to stand up against the dealers and gang-bangers. TASHA SMITH is Jenny, Monty's ex, now living with a drug dealer and determined to gain custody of her daughters, though she was happy to leave them with her mother before she died. GARY STURGIS plays Jenny's boyfriend Joe, a bully and drug dealer. MALINDA WILLIAMS plays Maya, Julia's assistant and Monty's friend from the neighborhood, who gets him the initial job driving for her boss. TRACEE ELLIS ROSS is Cynthia, Julia's friend, who encourages her to "get laid" but maintain her standards when it comes to her potential man's wage earnings. SIERRA AYLINA McCLAIN plays Monty's oldest daughter, 12-year-old Sierra, who resents her mother's meanness. LAURYN ALISA McCLAIN plays Monty's seven-year-old daughter Lauryn, mostly silent and afraid of her mother and Joe. CHINA ANNE McCLAIN is five-year-old China, whose beating by Joe inspires Monty to attack Joe and Jenny physically. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this romantic melodrama that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of some mild expletives, while colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present as is the sight of a sex toy. Some making out occurs and sex is implied. Violence consists of people striking or beating up others, and those and other bad attitudes are present. Drinking and smoking occurs, and there's some drug related material (dealing) and related comments., while tense family material is present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE During the opening credits sequence, a person sits on a curb, looking like a stereotypical "junkie." At his apartment building, Monty steps over a man passed out on the outside steps. Monty's ex-mother-in-law sits at her kitchen table coughing: when she confesses she has lung cancer, the camera focuses on her prescription pill bottles and an ashtray with cigarette butts. Willie refers to "Jennifer and that crack dealer." People drink at a bar. Julia gets drunk at the bar, drinking shots. Jenny offers Sierra a drink (you don't see what happens after Sierra makes a face). Sierra brings a joint to school, and has been told to sell it by Joe. Unhappy to hear that Monty was convicted of rape as a teenager, Julia drinks wine with her friends. Jenny and Joe talk happily about his successful drug-selling business. Monty tells the court Joe gave his daughter "weed to sell" and "giving drugs to my kids." Outside a community meeting, Monty and Maya spot Joe and his crew selling drugs on the street. Monty tells Julia, "As my mama used to say, 'A drunk man never tell no tales.'" Willie says he's been attacked by a "crackhead" (this occurs off-screen). BLOOD/GORE After she gets drunk on her birthday, Julia rushes from the bedroom to throw up in the bathroom, repeatedly (you hear this, but see nothing). Willie has a cut on his face and bandage on his arm, explaining he was attacked by a "crack head" at the garage. After community members beat Joe, he appears in court with heavily bruised face, while Monty appears with a small cut on his face. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE At her mother's funeral, Jenny yells at Monty and grabs at her daughters, making them cry as they get in the car and leave with Monty. When Monty first drives Julia, they argue. He whistles, checks his cell phone, and turns on the radio, leading her to demand "Silence." During her blind date, Julia is appalled that he uses hot sauce, sucks his food, and uses rude language (he refers to her "sexy-ass lips" and "raps" that he wants her legs around his waist and then his face). In the courtroom, Joe acts tough and gets off, because no one will be a witness against him (his neighbors are intimidated). Seeing Monty as a driver, Jenny calls him names ("little massa's boy," "slave," "Step'in Fetchit"). The sisters "grill" Julia when she comes to visit, then come around to like her (but not before Sierra says she thinks Julia's "nice hair" is a weave"). Joe and his gangsta crew are repeatedly rude, snide, and intimidating. Monty has to contain his rage at Joe, as flashbacks reveal he's worried about going back to prison (a judge threatens him). A young boy calls Julia a "slut" and a "tramp" for dating his father (she does so unknowingly; the father is the cheat, and his wife is pregnant). FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" might also be unsettling or suspenseful to younger and/or more sensitive viewers. Monty is briefly alarmed when he hears his girls are at the hospital, following a small, accidental fire at his apartment. We see no effects on the home or girls, but he's upset and rushes to the hospital. One night Monty's three daughters arrive at his apartment door, saying they walked there at three a.m., crying and afraid because Joe has been hitting China. Monty slams his car violently and abruptly into Joe and Jenny's car (the scene happens fast, and with loud noise). GUNS/WEAPONS Willie wears a bandage, saying he's been knifed by a robber, but you don't see blood or the knife. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "I wanna suck your sexy-ass lips"; "Slut" and "tramp" (both used by little boy); "Kick his ass"; "I love me some black women"; "Load up! Load up" (as gangsta boys run outside to beat up Monty). Seeing Monty as a driver, Jenny calls him names ("little massa's boy," "slave," "Step'in Fetchit"). JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 2 slang terms for sex ("get laid" and "riding"), 4 asses, 4 hells and 1 damn. SEX/NUDITY Jenny wears several cleavage-baring tops, as well as tight pants. At the funeral (third scene in the film), Aunt Rita accuses Jenny of "whoring around." Julia's friends say she needs "to get laid." A blind date tells Julia he wants to "suck your sexy-ass lips" and her to put her legs around his "waist" and then his "face." Cynthia appears in bed with her boyfriend, both in their underwear and under the covers (very brief, no action). Monty tells Julia she needs to "get a man and get a life." Another blind date, who seems nice, is surprised when his pregnant wife shows up, and her young son calls Julia a "slut" and a "tramp." There's sexy dancing (close and sinuous) by miscellaneous couples at a jazz club. A male blues singer at a jazz club sings about a woman who "plays hard to get." Julia dances with Monty, takes off her jacket, her belt, and her shoes, then hugs and kisses him on the dance floor as the camera transitions to her apartment, where she kisses Monty. At Julia's apartment, Monty finds a pink dildo in her medicine cabinet. At Julia's apartment, a man takes off his shirt (still wearing an undershirt) and they kiss and roll around on bed, but she gets up to vomit in the bathroom (off-screen). At lunch with her friends, Julia "glows" and they assume she's had sex, though she has not. When her friends ask if her new boyfriend is married, she says, "I'm not a hooker!" When they learn she's dating Monty, Cynthia tells Julia, "He's supposed to be driving you, not you riding him," and worries about his "baby-mama drama" (they ask if all his children have the same mother, assuming he's a stereotypical "player" from the hood). Monty and Julia kiss in his kitchen, embrace tightly, and the scene cuts to another, implying they have sex. Brenda asks Julia, "What do you think your partners will say about you sleeping around with the help?" Monty and Julia kiss in his car. In court, the opposing attorney reveals that Monty was convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl 16 years ago (a flashback reveals that this white girl lied about her age [18], slept with Monty willingly, then, discovered by her angry father, said she was raped; a later TV report reveals the conviction was "wrong"). SMOKING Jenny smokes at least three times. Monty's ex-mother-in-law sits at her kitchen table coughing: when she confesses she has lung cancer, the camera focuses on her prescription pill bottles and an ashtray with cigarette butts. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Monty is sad when he learns his ex-mother-in-law is dying, and tries to comfort her, saying, "Everything will be okay." She answers, "No, everything will not be okay." At her mother's funeral, Jenny yells at Monty and grabs at her daughters, making them cry as they get in the car and leave with Monty. Monty is briefly alarmed when he hears his girls are at the hospital, following a small, accidental fire at his apartment (you see no effects on the home or girls). On several occasions, China cries, such as when her mother spanks her and sends her away; Monty tries to soothe her; and she cries that she doesn't want to live with Joe and her mother. Jenny tells Sierra she will have to "get [her] own hustle," as Jenny can't support her. Then Jenny offers her a drink and Sierra looks horrified. Busted at school for trying to sell a joint Joe has given her, Sierra cries. When Jenny and Joe show up to take her home, she cries and clings to Monty, and he jumps at Joe, resulting in a fight. Jenny laughs at her daughters when they cry on seeing Joe's thugs kick and beat a man in their apartment. Jenny explains she wants to prepare them for a "tough life." One night Monty's three daughters arrive at his apartment door, saying they walked there at three a.m., crying and afraid because Joe has been hitting China. He hugs the three girls and they all cry (Monty included). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Child custody cases. How the police and politicians fail underclass communities. Stereotypes of drug dealers, dealers' girlfriends, lawyers and mechanics. Selling drugs to find a way out of the oppression of the "hood." The tensions that arise in relationships when women make more money than men do. VIOLENCE At her mother's funeral, Jenny yells at Monty and grabs at her daughters, making them cry as they get in the car and leave with Monty. China cries when her mother spanks her and sends her away. Willie has a cut on his face and bandage on his arm, explaining he was attacked by a "crack head" at the garage. Monty attacks Joe, who overpowers and threatens him. In his apartment, Joe has Jenny punch a guy who owes money in the face. Once he's on the floor, Joe's goons attack him, kicking and punching him. In court, the opposing attorney reveals that Monty was convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl 16 years ago (a flashback reveals that this white girl lied about her age [18], slept with Monty willingly, then, discovered by her angry father, said she was raped; a later TV report reveals the conviction was "wrong"). One night Monty's three daughters arrive at his apartment door, saying they walked there at three a.m., crying and afraid because Joe has been hitting China. Monty slams his car violently and abruptly into Joe and Jenny's car (the scene happens fast, and with loud noise). Angry neighbors use a frying pan and a metal pipe to beat back gangstas. Reviewed February 14, 2007 / Posted February 14, 2007

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