Review: Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Reviews

Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?

Another African-American life lesson

By TOM MEEK | October 18, 2007

2.5 Stars

SMALL-BUDGET WONDER: Why Did I Get Married cheaply analyzes the assaults of lifelong union.

Another African-American life lesson from Tyler Perry, who’s on a roll tapping out small-budget wonders that score big at the box office. Gone is Perry’s Flip Wilson–esque persona, Aunt Madea. More mature matters are at hand as four successful couples retreat to the Rockies for a chummy reunion. It’s an ideal setting for the eight to gloat about their achievements, but inevitably the reality of their crumbling marriages comes to the fore. Leading the list of assaults on domestic tranquility are infidelity, obesity, and dishonesty — all of which Perry analyzes with non-partisan persistence. Although the contrived plotting at first clogs the works, the film comes into its own as it moves from the mountains back to the burbs, where the real drama begins. The performances might underwhelm, but Janet Jackson as the staid academic “Perfect Patty” delivers a smoldering nugget that lingers on screen long after the moment has passed.

Topics: Reviews , Entertainment, Movies, Tyler Perry, More

| More

ARTICLES BY TOM MEEK

REVIEW: GOD BLESS AMERICA | May 17, 2012
The latest dark comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait tackles both vapid celebrity culture ( i.e. , Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, and American Idol ) and the indignity of being an office drone.

REVIEW: THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS | April 24, 2012
Peter Lord, animator behind claymation staples Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run , directs this very British, very dry romp on the high seas during the time when Britannia did indeed rule the waves.

REVIEW: GOD BLESS AMERICA | April 18, 2012
The latest dark comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait tackles both vapid celebrity culture (i.e., Paris Hilton, the Kardashians and American Idol) and the indignity of being an office drone.

REVIEW: UNDEFEATED | March 15, 2012
Dan Lindsay and T. J. Martin's Oscar-winning documentary about an underequipped high-school football team competing against big-time programs across Tennessee offers a potent contemplation on race and opportunity.

REVIEW: DR. SEUSS' THE LORAX | March 01, 2012
Regrettably, this team loses a lot of Seuss's quirkiness, though not the message about corporate greed and slash-and-burn imperialism.