Meet the Browns

Pity my poor friend who spent all day telling me how hil-lar-ious Tyler Perry movies are, tsk-tsking all day that I had not ever seen one of his movies. Chuckling about how funny this was going to be and how i was going to run right out and rent all the others. Sadly, she spent the whole rest of the evening over coffee and cannoli reflecting on how great Tyler Perry's OTHER movies were. I forgive her - we're friends.

This movie was OK - it had its funny moments and good Lord don't we ALL have those family members? I don't care if you're black, Italian, Jewish or white-bread American - we've ALL got that same cast of characters sitting around our family table.

And OK, i understand that unless i saw the other movies i would not have a clue who Madea is or why she's being chased by the police. But that's OK - i can let an inside joke slide, especially considering the huge hoot and roar that accompanied her appearance.

Overall, i understand that this was not Tyler Perry's finest hour. But i sense that he has a LOT to say about families, standing proud, sticking with convictions when the rest of the world says "settle for less" and working hard to overcome circumstances. I will go out and rent his other movies, just to get a more fair picture of this filmmaker.

After seeing last year's excellent Daddy's Little Girls and Why Did I Get Married I thought Tyler Perry had finally come into his own as a film maker. Granted Mr. Perry doesn't have the visual flair of Spike Lee,John Singleton or the underrated Ernest Dickerson but what he does have is heart. Sadly even an A-list actress couldn't save Meet The Browns from being a trite affair that may hugely disappoint Perry's fans. For starters Mr. Perry needs to fire the editor of this film. Maysie Hoy who edited Perry's two previous films comes of as a first timer here which is ironic because she's been doing movies since 1992 and has worked with talented directors such as Robert Altman (The Player)and Theodore Witcher (Love Jones). I counted at least three scenes which didn't transition well at all and did nothing to progress the story. As for the script it seems as Perry wrote this script on a whim; and the film was just made to cash in on his success because it lacks the heart of Daddy's Little Girls and Why Did I Get Married. As for the acting Margaret Avery who was excellent in The Color Purple & the recent Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins gives a paper thin performance as does Lamman Rucker who was excellent in Why Did I Get Married. As for Angela Bassest she's good as always and plays the mother role very well, I'm anxious to see what she bring Notorious next year. I would say two of the strongest performances in the film come from Lance Gross as Angela and much to my surprise Rick Fox as her would be suitor. The big question though is how well does David Mann's Leroy Brown translate to film ? In my opinion not as well as Madea and some of his jokes seemed forced and unneeded. As for the big screen return of Madea it's unwelcome at best and she hasn't been missed. Tyler Perry has the potential to be one of the strongest black filmmaker in Hollywood, he knows a good story, has a knack for finding talent hence Lammon Rucker and Lance Goss who will both go on to do great things. But with his latest Perry sticks to a formula that he successfully broke out with two back to back winning film released last year. Here's hoping his next film The Family That Preys gets him back on track.

Tyler Perry is so talented. I was very disappointed with the casting of the movie. Frankie Faison, Margaret Avery, Jenifer Lewis and Angela Bassett are all well seasoned actors but their acting roles in this movie was that of an amateur. Their talents were not displayed at all. I was very disappointed in their lines, role, acting just everything. David and Tamela Mann were outstanding as always. They were the glue to hold the movie together. Jenifer Lewis was the worst. She did Vera no justice. The actress that played Vera in the play should have been cast for the movie. Actually all of the same actors should have been cast in the movies. I expected more from the movie.

this is the worst tyler perry movie yet! let me note that i am a huge tyler perry fan -- HUGE! but, this movie was stupid and the casting was horrible. sorry tyler -- but, i expected more. good luck on the next one! -- i'll still support it, but i feel like i wasted my money going to see this one..:( ...my favorite movies have definitely been diary of a mad black woman followed by family reunion. why did i get married was decent, but, angela bassett could not carry this movie on her own. it also didn't help that the screenplay was not very good. i didn't see this play, so, i can't say that after seeing this movie i would want to even see it.

This movie does not deserve the rating it has. Any more I can't go by the ratings here on IMDb because I must have a different taste in movies than everyone else. The acting in this was a toss up. Some of the actors/actresses were , imo, not very good. Angela Basset was terrific as well as Rick Fox. The Leroy Brown character was funny at first and then he just got annoying. Same goes for Vera. The story line was very good and very touching. I'm sure there is a lot of single parents, not just mothers, out there that have felt or do feel the same as Brenda does. I don't want to go in to the movie that much because I don't want to spoil it, but Brenda is a single mother that is struggling with money and finds out that her father that she never knew had died. She takes her kids to GA for the funeral and meets family she never knew she had. In the will he leaves a house for her that needs some TLC. Since she doesn't Have the money her new Family helps restore it without her knowing. Some of the previews may be misleading. It is not completely about basketball although it has some in it. It is a very touching story and I recommend it ton anyone. But like i said. Everyone has their own opinions on movies.