"TYLER PERRY'S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF" (2009) (Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson) (PG-13)
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QUICK TAKE:
Dramedy: A selfish, young woman is suddenly faced with responsibility when she must care for her teenage niece and two young nephews.
PLOT:
One night, the elderly, hulking Madea (TYLER PERRY) and her husband, Joe (also PERRY) catch three children - teenage Jennifer (HOPE OLAIDE WILSON) and preteens Manny (KWESI BOAKYE) and Bryon (FREDERICK SIGLAR) - burglarizing their house. Realizing they are the products of a broken home, Madea feeds them, lectures them on right and wrong, and then attempts to collect damages from the kids' Aunt April (TARAJI P. HENSON).
April is a bitter, young woman who works in a nightclub, drinks and smokes profusely, and carries on a sexual relationship with a married man. She has no interest in raising her niece and nephews and wonders where her mother is (the kids' legal guardian). Eventually, it is learned that the grandmother has died, forcing April to consider whether she wants to embrace her family and all of the joys and heartaches that come with them or continue leading a misguided, self-centered life.
April is also torn between two men - the married jerk Randy (BRIAN J. WHITE) she has been sleeping with or the good-hearted, Latino handyman Sandino (ADAM RODRIGUEZ) who the local church has sent to help her.
OUR TAKE: 5.5 out of 10
Our reviewing policy for films that aren't shown in advance to critics is that we'll only provide a paragraph or two about the film's artistic merits.
Tyler Perry's new "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" is the latest in a string of sermon-like films featuring the playwright/filmmaker/actor as his signature alter ego, Madea. As the film opens, this massive, sassy, African-American senior (Perry in drag) catches a teenage girl (Hope Olaide Wilson) and her two brothers (Kwesi Boakye and Frederick Siglar) trying to burglarize her home. After giving them a good whooping and an even better lecture, Madea returns the children to their Aunt April (Taraji P. Henson).
April soon becomes the center of the film. The movie is really her journey from being an angry, selfish woman consumed with her own vices to a loving caregiver eager to love and be loved. Perry will never be described as the most subtle storyteller. As with his previous flicks, you know exactly where the story here is going after the first 15 or 20 minutes. It then takes seemingly forever to get there. And, wow, does he love to elongate his films with full-length, live song numbers by the very talented likes of Gladys Knight, Marvin Winans and Mary J. Blige.
But Perry knows his audience, and he delivers here with his usual brand of broad humor and heavy morals. He also gets a terrific child performance out of Wilson, who has a couple of truly heartbreaking scenes late in the film as her character fears being shipped off to foster care and separated from her two brothers. Her performance, the casting of Henson and the sincere messages at the film's core help this rate a decent 5.5 out of 10. (T. Durgin)
Reviewed September 11, 2009 / Posted September 11, 2009
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