Why Did I Get Married Too Review
April 6, 2010 by Tanya Lane
Filed under feature overlay, Movies
There are some things in this world that you might not like, but you’ve got to respect. For me that’s Duke Basketball, Condoleezza Rice, and Tyler Perry. Perry’s pedestrian but popular movies are a force to be reckoned with. When he and Lionsgate come together, African-American moviegoers flock to theaters. Yes, I’ve mentioned race, because he unabashedly markets his movies to Black audiences, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. I do, however, find fault with most of his movies. I just can’t get into the melodrama, over-simplified plot-lines and a grown man consistently dressing up in drag. Fortunately 2007’s Why Did I Get Married represented Perry’s first foray into real filmmaking, at least to me. It was sort of like a Black, less well-written version of The Big Chill, but I enjoyed it. I was hoping the sequel would improve upon the original, but Why Did I Get Married Too fell flat for me.
Instead of a snowy Colorado landscape, our original players reunite for their annual Couples Retreat in the Bahamas. Terry & Dianne, Gavin & Patricia, Angela & Marcus, and Sheila & Troy (Lamman Rucker) are back to discuss their marriages. Honestly, who does that? Why discuss your intimate marital problems in front of your friends? It’s cool to have a vacation with your buddies, but when you assign tasks and discussions, you take all the fun out of it. I was amazed at how some of the same problems remained for some of the couples. So much for the big resolution and happy ending in the original. We need a sequel! Forget that we fixed everything at the end of the first movie! Angela (Tasha Smith, Couples Retreat) is still a nagging shrew, terrorizing Marcus (Michael Jai White, Black Dynamite) at every turn, belittling and berating him whenever possible. Gavin (Malik Yoba) and Patricia (Janet Jackson) seemed to have made a breakthrough in the original movie, moving past their bereavement over the death of their son and vowing to overcome their grief together through open communication. Fast forward to the present and it seems like communication has shut down and they are once again living in an empty marriage. Patricia, a best-selling author and psychologist, is adept at fixing everyone else’s problems but can’t seem to fix her own. In the first movie Terry’s wife Dianne (Sharon Leal, Dreamgirls) secretly had her tubes tied, ending any hope of him having a son. Well she apparently untied her tubes (who knew?) and had a son, but she’s still keeping secrets. Everyone can notice her bubbly new demeanor, and I even I noticed that Dianne seemed to glow right through the movie screen. Kudos to Sharon Leal for conveying the proverbial spring in her step that is brought on by a new love. Is she cheating on Terry? When she accidentally calls him Phil, it certainly seems so.
Subtlety is not Perry’s strong suit, and neither is originality. One storyline involving Jill Scott‘s character was lifted right from the movie Soul Food, which was a much better film, I might add. I often say that you can make or break a movie in the last ten minutes. Audiences might forget some of the crappy parts in the middle if you can just send them out on a high note. Sadly, the last ten minutes of Why Did I Get Married Too were probably the worst of the entire movie. Do you want to know how and why all of the conflicts were resolved? Because Janet Jackson’s character Patricia demanded that the other characters “fix it,” and so they did! I don’t trust you, you were having an emotional affair? It doesn’t matter, kiss and make up. This is just awful for so many reasons. You can’t take shortcuts like that. If you don’t have the time or creativity to resolve the problems, then just scrap the happy ending. Leave everyone effed up, at least it will be realistic.
I think I’ve sufficiently trashed the movie, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the good moments, because they were there. Janet Jackson’s acting has improved by leaps and bounds. Maybe she was able to tap into her own personal heartache to bring forth the necessary emotion required to convey the demise of her crumbled marriage. Whatever the source of her inspiration, she was very moving and believable. She and Malik Yoba shared the most powerful scene in the movie, and Janet shocked with me her palpable fear and vulnerability. I slammed her in the first movie because she had a powerful scene that called for her to have a breakdown, and she just couldn’t get that damn tear to fall. I looked closely, and I don’t care how much whining and hand-wringing you do – if moisture doesn’t hit your cheek you are not crying! Well she got those tears to fall this time around, and she simply nailed the performance. The acting wasn’t really the problem with the movie; this group of actors is quite experienced. The problem was a few really bad scenes and not enough good ones. The problem was also a script that was downright nonsensical at times. Remember Mike, Jill Scott’s husband in the first movie? You might ask yourself how does this a-hole end up back on vacation with everyone, considering that Jill Scott sent him to the hospital the first time around? Well Perry finds a way to reintroduce him and it just doesn’t make sense or ring true. It doesn’t matter how good your actors are, if their material doesn’t measure up, then the movie will fall short.
If you are a fan of Tyler Perry you probably hate me. And you will probably go see this movie anyway, if you haven’t already. I’m sorry for calling a spade a spade. I respect Perry’s Hollywood hustle, but I am not a fan of his work. This movie did nothing to change that opinion. And you know what? It doesn’t matter. Tyler Perry can afford to thumb his nose at the critics because he has a loyal fan-base that will turn out in droves to support him. When I saw the movie on opening night, you would have thought Prince was about to jump out with his guitar. The line was out the door and wrapped around the corner. Just once I wish we would show a real filmmaker like Spike Lee that same support. Maybe if he dons a wig and a dress for his next movie we’ll do that. Tyler Perry recently presented at the Oscars, and he quipped that he better enjoy it while he could, because he wouldn’t be on stage at the Oscars again. He’s right. And that right there is why his movies are the ones I avoid. Don’t shoot the messenger.
WHY, WHY, WHY did the GREAT Tyler Perry end the movie like that!?!? To take such an AWESOME movie and then END it the way he did? It was almost like he became TIRED of the story and said screw it ……… On a positive note, I REALLY enjoyed the 1st movie and 3/4 of the 2nd one. Janet was EXPLOSIVE! Way to go Janet! Very impressed….. I couldn’t help but to think her acting came out in emotions with losing her brother.
THE ENDING KILLED ME!
Someone please tell me why did (i get married too) have to end like that…it made no sense at all, or it left janet husband in the end looking like the bad guy or not important at all, because she (perfect patty) went on to live a normal life….i’m really dissappointed in this so-called part too*
I feel that you give Spike Lee too much credit, He’s overrated. I do not believe in supporting a director just because he’s black. He’s only made one good movie, Malcom X. He does not make films that interest me. I found “She’s got to have it” to be disgusting. It was hard to believe that a woman like that would have sex with him, but it gave him a chance to live a fantasy. I like Tyler Perry movies, keep up the good work.
I’m not totally disagreeing with any of the assertions in your review. I just think it’s unfair that Tyler Perry is being held to a MUCH higher standard than other (read, white) directors.
Kudos Tanya for a well written, thought provoking review!
You just confirmed my desire NOT to see this movie. I do have to disagree with you about the first movie…it was horrible too.
I have yet to see the film, however I already agree and believe your review. For some reason Perry has this unrealistic view on film making although he tries to create a realistic one. The “over-simplified plot lines”…you hit the nail on the head. If the movie is as you say it is then my question is…Why Did You Make This Movie..Again? If he ended similiar to Madea Goes to Jail, then I will brace myself and try not to get as angry as I did watching his previous films. (By the way Tyler, I want my $5 back for that horrible movie.) In watching Why…Too?, I know to expect the following: emotions low..then emotions high for a long period of time..then crashes down at the end, completely cutting off the storyline.
Personally, if we set expectations with other film makers on the what quality screenwriting should be, then what make Tyler Perry an exception. I would criticize the same for Spike Lee as well.
Tanya, I love reading your reviews, especially Perry films because you speak clearly what I’ve already thought about is lack of screen writing/film making skills.
Your review was a bit harsh. Especially since you are coming from a place where you generally don’t like any of Perry’s efforts. The movie definitely seemed a bit under-developed. And The old couple played by (Cicely Tyson and Lou Gossett Jr) should have been scrapped to provide more room to fully develop each couple’s story. All that said, the movie was great entertainment. The acting was great. Janet did phenomenal!!! I’d go see again. I actually plan to see it again this weekend.
First let me say, you go Tyler Perry. Do what you do best! It’s just a movie WITH A MESSAGE. It’s entertainment. With this story, it just plain old made me think about marraige in general, my own bad marriage ending in divorce and others that I know of. This movie was sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and sometimes very realistic. The one thing I always get from Tyler’s movies is that there’s always a message. And in this movie there was a big message and that is that if you want your marriage to last you have to work at it. No marriage is perfect and you must “communicate.” The ramafications of non communication was displayed in the last scene with Gavin dying. I feel there was also a message and that was “Life is short, stop playing around and communicate in your marriage before something bad happen and you’ll regret saying or doing something you really didn’t mean and have to live with for the rest of your life.” “IT WAS POWERFUL.” Everyone played a good part, whether funny, serious or confusing. I really enjoyed the movie as I enjoy all of Tylers movies. Keep up the great work Tyler and continue writing materials with messages that cause one to THINK!
I have to say agree with most of the review (bust still enjoyed the movie). He really could have done without Diane, and Terry in this movie (or started with their divorce). That way he could have given more time to a more realistic ending. Mike would have been a good nemesis that got it in the end. Ironically, Angie and her husband SHOULD HAVE BEEN the couple that had become solid in this movie. The crumbling of Patricia’s marriage is quite realistic…but killing the husband in the end? Huh? Janet Jackson should now officially say goodbye to the Tyler Perry B movies and enter boldly into mainstream acting. She proved believable and passionate. The storyline with Troy and Sheila was timely and very well developed. I refuse to go see Tyler in drag…but I’ll be damned if I miss any other of his underdeveloped movies…its not like I can see Black people as main characters in other films.
I completely agree to everything that was written in the review. The ending was horrible, that I laughed out loud and yelled THIS IS THE WORST MOVIE EVER in the theater. There was absolutely no resolution to Janet Jackson and her problems. SPOILER ALERT—so her son and husband die BECAUSE OF HER and she goes on a year later? really? Some of the dialogue dragged on and I didn’t understand half the movie because the dialogue was not drawn out well. Overall the movie is a big FAT F! The only reason I watched it was because the movie I wanted to watch was sold out and the tickets were FREE! I would never ever pay for a movie like this…everyone in the packed theater came out confused so I was not the only one…they all agreed it was a bad movie and they only watched it b/c it was Free and everything else was sold out.
I enjoyed the show and I am eager to see what he will come up with next. I am a fan and I go to the plays, watch the tv shows and I watch his talk show. Keep doing what you do its great and I loved all the actors role in the movie, and I truely hope everyone is not just watching what Janet role was cause I think she did great and both movies and I love her as an actor, a singer an I support all that she do. So I just really feel people are focus too much on her instead of all the great talent that appeared on screen. Looking forward to seeing all of you in another movie soon.
I totally agree with this review. I love Tyler Perry, don’t get me wrong, but I was depressed when I left the theatre after watching this film. I can’t believe people are on Facebook talking about how great this movie was. It was entertaining and I enjoyed most of it but there were three things about this movie that really disappointed me.
First, we already know “My-husband-is-out-of-work-so-can-you,-my-ex,-hook-him-up-with-a-job?” is a no-no from watching “Soul Food.”
Second, the fight between Patricia and Gavin should have been a deleted scene. He poured Vodka on her, then set the only photo album they had with pictures of their deceased son on fire. What was the purpose of that? Sorry, but I just didn’t “get” that scene.
The third and final thing that disappointed me about this film was the ending. The final scene just put a damper on the prior hour and a half I’d been wrapped up in it. This movie would have been so much better, if it had ended on a high note.
The final scene should shown Patricia and Gavin at their next vacation, giving their testimony and saying goodbye to Mike (who’d lost his battle with cancer) instead of saying goodbye to Gavin. I don’t understand why Mike was there, he shouldn’t have even been in this movie, but he and they threw some cancer in the storyline so..it would have made so much more sense to say farewell to him, rather than Gavin.
Instead, after only one short year of grief and possible guilt of not only losing her son, but her husband as well, Patricia picks up the pieces of her shattered life and sets her sights on a new man. Wow, how convenient.
One good thing I can say about this movie is the acting was superb. Jill Scott acted her heiny off, but Janet Jackson was the centerpiece. I don’t know if it was Michael’s spirit moving her, but something motivated her to nail this role. I hope she continues to get roles where she can show her acting abilities.
I still love TP and I’m still a fan. He just tends to “hit” or “miss” whenever he makes the play to movie transition. He “hit” with “Diary of A Mad Black Woman” the first “Why Did I Get Married” but he “missed” with “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” and this one. But hey, that’s life. All of us “hit” or “miss” at some times in our lives. That’s why I still love TP and I’m still a fan. Hope the next one is better.
stupid movie
I thought the movie was well develop and Tyler Perry’s movies are wonderful. Yes he targets black audience why because there is not much dedicated to black people on television. When you slip threw a magazine all you see is white folks 98% of the times its more whites then diversity. Yes Tyler makes black films so what Caucasian people also enjoy the movies too. Tyler Perry is a great director, writer and great film maker I am proud of his accomplishments and he will make history. By the way his movies again are well developed and the plot is certainly clear to the audience, just because you don’t get it that doesn’t mean the rest don’t.
I agree with you. It was good for the laughs when they were laughs but the last 10 minutes were horrible. I love Dwayne Johnson – why introduce a new character with so much unresolved issues?. Tyler struggles with his endings and this movie certainly proves that.
Although I am one of the loyal fans that you speak about in your article I am also realistic enough to agree with the majority of your review. I felt unresolved and rushed through this movie. Although I did enjoy Janet’s performance I could not stand her last two scenes. Not because of her acting but like you said the script did not make her rise to that level. It felt contrived but I must admit I do not regret paying my hard earned recession money to see Why Did I Get Married Too? I would do it again. Thanks!