I've watched enough romantic comedies to know the drill. I knew that our heroine Tia, played by Jasmine Burke, was not going to end up with her initial boyfriend Malcolm, played by Todd Anthony. But that didn't stop me from totally shipping them.
"Angrily Ever After" is the story of Tia, a popular broadcast journalist who is engaged to a successful attorney, Malcolm. Malcolm will do anything to get what he wants and is a bit controlling, but Tia is ready to happily walk down the aisle. That is until one day while trying on her wedding dress, she catches Malcolm canoodling with another woman. Clad in the wedding dress, Tia confronts Malcolm and the other woman. The expletive-filled confrontation was recorded by a passerby and goes viral. So Tia not only calls off the wedding, she is also fired from her job.
Enter Tyrone, who knew Tia from grad school. He hires Tia for his burgeoning gossip talk show. In my opinion, there was zero chemistry from Tia and Tyrone's interactions, but Tia and Malcolm? OMG, the screen smoldered. I think the audience was supposed to root for Tia and Tyrone because he was the exact opposite of Malcolm. Nice guy, very beta, does not directly ask her out, and gave Tia the freedom to make her own decisions-like ordering her own drinks. I mean, big whoop (eyeroll).
After the breakup, Malcolm, who goes after what he wants (LOVED HIM!!!), never stopped pursuing Tia. There is one scene where Malcolm invites Tia over to his home. She goes reluctantly. He asks her why she didn't use her key. She says, "It's in the box of the stuff of yours I set on fire." Malcolm chuckles. Did I mention how much I loved this man? So during that visit, a Kenny Latimore song starts playing. Tia immediately protests, as she loves Kenny Latimore. That's when the artist himself appears serenading Tia on Malcolm's behalf. And the lyrics were absolutely perfect and fit Malcolm so much. "For you, I give a lifetime of stability. Anything you want of me. Nothing is impossible. For you, there are no words or ways to show my love or all the thoughts I'm thinking of..." While Kenny sang and Tia freaked out, Malcolm stood there calmly, wearing his signature plaid pants (Malcolm could rock some plaid dress pants!), with his hands clasped behind his back, gauging Tia's reaction.
In a previous scene, Malcolm says in terms of his association with the other woman that "cheating" was a stretch. But he admits to having some involvement with the other woman because he got nervous right before their wedding. He still wanted to marry Tia. Of course, after the live-in-person Kenny Latimore serenade, Tia and Malcolm fall into bed for a tasteful and beautiful love scene while the Kenny Latimore song continued to play in the background. Now, how on earth could I root for Tia and Tyrone after all of that?! I was Tia and Malcolm all the way, even though I knew how it would end.
There was another scene where Tia and Malcolm were on the patio just chilling. Malcolm was asleep next to Tia, who was on her computer. They were dressed in white, and the scene was just so gorgeous. Even lounging with no dialogue, they were the perfect couple. Malcolm regretted the cheating, and while he was a bit controlling, it's not like Tia was someone who could not stand up for herself. Her perfect match was with Malcolm. I felt like he would have done anything for her, just like the lyrics of the Latimore song, "For you, I share the cup of love that overflows, and anyone who knows us knows that I would change all faults I have for you..." We know that about Malcolm. After losing Tia, he learned his lesson, and he loved Tia deeply. But with Tyrone, there's still that lingering question. The movie left me pondering if the nice guy can truly prevail when faced with the relentless pursuit and fiery passion of Malcolm, who seemed very unlikely to give up even at the movie's end.
