I Can Do Bad All by Myself

If you haven't guessed it by now, I am ride or die for Tyler Perry. And Taraji P. Henson. I was dying to see "I Can Do Bad All by Myself," and I'll be honest, I didn't even have high expectations. I just wanted to support black folk making major motion pictures with nation-wide distribution. (Even though I don't want to see "Precious," but that's another story.)

A number of ppl disliked the movie for a number of reasons. They can list many issues, and here are just a few:

1. Why was the little girl's attitude so bad? It didn't have to be that bad. Why didn't she even say thank you when Sandino bought her brother's medical supplies?
2. Why did Sandino just sit there and let that man go off on him without saying a word? If he wasn't even Mexcian, why did he let that fool call him "Mexico"?
3. When does April's man work if he's at her house all day and night?
4. Why do April and Sandino leave their wedding to jump on a stage and attend a Tanya concert? Why was Tanya's song about you can't keep a good woman down, at a moment when she just got married? Why wasn't the song about them, and their love?
5. What was up with that god-AWFUL scene in the kitchen when April was singing that church song like she was possessed?
6. Why was there little to no chemistry between Taraji and Adam Rodriguez, and what the heck was she talking about when she said 'Why did you hug me like that?' That lil hug looked lame to me.

To this I say - people, people, people, you're asking for too much. You want a TP movie with character development and no unanswered questions? You want all loose ends to be tied and every detail to be realistic and logical? I'm sorry, that's too much to ask. Theater requires overdramatization, while film allows you to be more subtle, so there's still some adjustments to be made in his writing. That's why the bad guys are sooo extra bad. They have to jump out and say, "Hi, I'm the bad guy! Watch out for me, I'm evil."

For a Tyler Perry movie, all you need is a handsome leading man
and a pretty leading lady. The lady must have a grudge over some wrong that happened in her childhood. (Usually molestation of some sort.) With the man's help and with a church scene in there too (that reminds her of what her grandma used to say about trusting in the Lord when she was little), she gets over it and falls in love. That's it. That's the formula. Films that have broken this mold ("Why Did I Get Married?" and "The Family That Preys") were supremely engaging and entertaining. But everything else sticks to the script.

I love TP to life, so I keep watching anyway. If you want a little more than that, like some editorial growth, for example, then I'm sorry. IDK what to tell you.