My girlfriend got this movie from net flicks on recommendation from her friends and I loathed every moment of it.
The plot was predictable, tone was preachy and condescending, the acting was flat, the script was uncomfortable, clumsily written, and some of the characters seem more like borderline fantasy cut outs than say, real people.
I can understand that this movie wants to send a strong Christian morality message out to it's audience, and that's fine. Heck, I even think the black empowerment message is a pretty nice one. But they deliver it in such a way that it feels like Tyler Perry is constantly underestimating and being condescending to his audience.
In this particular case, I feel that the moral message has taken precedence in this movie over the substance and quality of the writing.
The inclusion of some of the other characters felt also very unnecessary like Cecily Tyson, China Anderson, and Maya Angelou. (Maya Angelou's poetry was a nice touch, but having her in the movie just so she can deliver that bit was unnecessary) These characters could have been condensed into Madea alone and that would have helped develop rapport with the audience. Madea's character is probably one of the more identifiable and ultimately more real characters in the movie. As such, I felt that any messages delivered through her would have been a bit more convincing.
And then there's the whole polar extremes of good and evil. The characters in this movie are either extremely good, or extremely evil. They have either no redeemable qualities or no clear flaws in their character that required development. Or rather, their short comings are a result of circumstance and not one of character. Why? Because it's painfully clear that the characters are each meant to be a symbol. Unfortunately, such a symbol took precedence over the development of the character. And as a result, these characters are single dimensional and just not believable.
The movie continuously hammers away at the Christian values morality to the point of absurdity and sometimes I feel like the movie tries to white-wash the moral landscape that is reality. I guess if you're just want to sit down and enjoy a movie with very clear messages and little after thought, this movie is good for just that. (in a way, it functions very much like an action flick. you enjoy it, you put it away, you move onto other things.) It spells out everything for you so clearly that you should have no delusion as to what the movie is trying to say. However, if you like movies that can sustain a bit more discussion and god forbid, a second viewing, this movie is not for you.
The plot was predictable, tone was preachy and condescending, the acting was flat, the script was uncomfortable, clumsily written, and some of the characters seem more like borderline fantasy cut outs than say, real people.
I can understand that this movie wants to send a strong Christian morality message out to it's audience, and that's fine. Heck, I even think the black empowerment message is a pretty nice one. But they deliver it in such a way that it feels like Tyler Perry is constantly underestimating and being condescending to his audience.
In this particular case, I feel that the moral message has taken precedence in this movie over the substance and quality of the writing.
The inclusion of some of the other characters felt also very unnecessary like Cecily Tyson, China Anderson, and Maya Angelou. (Maya Angelou's poetry was a nice touch, but having her in the movie just so she can deliver that bit was unnecessary) These characters could have been condensed into Madea alone and that would have helped develop rapport with the audience. Madea's character is probably one of the more identifiable and ultimately more real characters in the movie. As such, I felt that any messages delivered through her would have been a bit more convincing.
And then there's the whole polar extremes of good and evil. The characters in this movie are either extremely good, or extremely evil. They have either no redeemable qualities or no clear flaws in their character that required development. Or rather, their short comings are a result of circumstance and not one of character. Why? Because it's painfully clear that the characters are each meant to be a symbol. Unfortunately, such a symbol took precedence over the development of the character. And as a result, these characters are single dimensional and just not believable.
The movie continuously hammers away at the Christian values morality to the point of absurdity and sometimes I feel like the movie tries to white-wash the moral landscape that is reality. I guess if you're just want to sit down and enjoy a movie with very clear messages and little after thought, this movie is good for just that. (in a way, it functions very much like an action flick. you enjoy it, you put it away, you move onto other things.) It spells out everything for you so clearly that you should have no delusion as to what the movie is trying to say. However, if you like movies that can sustain a bit more discussion and god forbid, a second viewing, this movie is not for you.