Why the Hell Did They Get Married?



In what I thought was one of the most competitive weekends at the box office in a long time, "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?" outsold several new and existing films beating out The Rock, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, and Cate Blanchett with a strong $21.5 million in revenue. But are we really surprised?

Tyler's films and stage plays are giving black movie goers what they want, something relatable with people they want to see. However according to Lionsgate President Tom Ortenberg, the film's distributer, "Box-office analysts, most of whom predicted Perry's new film would open in the $10 million to $15 million range, relied on consumer tracking surveys that continually underestimate the filmmaker because his audience comprises nontraditional moviegoers." While I agree mostly with what Ortenberg has to say... 'nontraditional'... really?

When me and the Dark Knight arrived at the movie theater at 1:00pm for the 1:15pm howing, I was only a little surprised that we were sitting 4 rows from the screen. Luckily I prepurchased our tickets. As we settled in and began to watch the film, I looked through some of the bad acting to see characters that I recognized. Although Janet was often billed as the front runner... the story was about Jill Scott's character, and Jill stole the show. Tasha Smith's an emasculating bigmouth character provided the needed comic relief and I think brought attention to the little alcoholic in ourselves. But my favorite and most believable character in the movie was Richard T. Jones. Jones plays the demoralizing husband of meek, overweight Jill Scott, but while he plays his role quite well, you see faults in the script because there is no way you could be close friends with a man like this.

Regardless of the millions and millions of dollars Tyler makes on his films, he is still a far cry from the cinematic masterpieces such as the Color Purple, What's Love Got to Do With It and Love Jones. This film gives you two hours of enjoyment. Hopefully we can get Tyler to do a film on voting next November.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

chillllle.... tasha smith was one ole kackle.

tyler... i dont know if he just can't act outside of a wig or his gayness just makes it unbelievable.

jill... amazing... janet much better

richard t jones i wanted to slap the shit out of him so job well done

the rest were just ok

Anonymous said...

i think he is getting better but i agree there is definitely an auidence the rest of hollywood is missing here

Anonymous said...

havent seen it yet but i heard it was good.

WhozHe said...

I had planned to wait for the video but from your review I might want to go ahead and give Mr. Perry a few of my dollars at the box office.

ShawnQt said...

it was very emotional for me when I saw it...

Ty said...

I couldn't get a ticket at the time that I wanted so went to see the movie with Phoenix and Wahlberg. Will try to make it this week to see it. I can't wait.

life said...

There are small opportunities in the film, but all in all...it was very entertaining. I think seeing these type of films reminds us of our family members, so they will always do well (i.e. everybody has a Tasha in their family). People keep talking about Janet, but Jill did it for me. She grew the most in the film and showcased it well.

Oh and about your comment on my blog...I was trying to help one of my best friends back on their feet..nothing dumb about that.

C. Baptiste-Williams said...

ummm no Tasha's in my family but I see your point.