Why Did I Get Married?

Like other reviewers of this movie, I can't believe the low ratings that some people gave it. I rented this movie as a lark. Other than hearing his name, I was not really familiar with Tyler Perry nor had seen any of his other productions. My Hubby (of 30+ years) is out-of-town, and because we have only sons, I get out-voted a lot and thus don't get to see many "chick flicks." I discovered that this film is neither a "chick flick" nor a "black flick." It is a comedy-drama HUMAN interest film about four married couples who vacation together once a year to reaffirm their marriages. The situations that these couples face are those that anyone who's been married any length of time might relate to. I loved it! It made me laugh and cry and think. What more can you ask of a film?! It was beautifully filmed and the acting was top-notch. Sure there were a few weak spots here and there, but all-in-all, well-crafted.

I just caught this film it is about relationships, marriage and the concept of expecting perfection vs. the reality of every day life weighing in on relationships. I laughed often and cried several times as well.

On the whole this was white cinema done with black faces but such a trend is long over due (if I have to watch one more trailer about how hard life in the hood without anyone fixxing their situation or the benefits to selling drugs and pimping I may go on a shooting spree). However, don't let this fool you-the writing was top rate and while some dialogue rehash there was a lot of very original dialogue as well. My only real complaint of the film was its sterility in many shots a lack of warmth within some home settings and among the performers as a whole.

There seemed to be little genuine commaraderie between the actors particularly in the earlier scenes. They were supposed to be friends since college but they were stiff in their reuniting with each other.

Also there is the scene were the overweight wife is forced to drive to the reunion by herself and all the women are worried for her safety yet when she enters the cabin the next day no one runs over to greet her they wait for her to come to them. Despite some of these often repeated mistakes (not just here but in other movies) this movie was very very good. I enjoyed it almost as much as The Four Seasons but unlike the Four Seasons this film follows all the characters all the way through the film- a nice touch in giving overall closure. Janet Jackson was my least favorite; portraying the celebrated novelist who lost a child but the the other performances were powerful enough to over shadowed her lack of depth. This was the first Tyler Perry film I have seen and I must say his 2 weeks at top box office is well justified here.

I really like all the conversations throughout. Despite the drama it's not bad. Some of it is hilarious too, hit or miss type, you either hate it or fairly enjoy it. I must say a lot of the drama escalates which is unfortunate so I understand why IMDb has it at 5.8. A lot of beautiful scenery and great dialogue that's for sure!

You have to credit Mr. Perry for presenting to us what we so rarely get to see in American film; upper-class, professional African-American couples working through real-life relationship problems. Unfortunately, it's execution leaves a lot to be desired. Though Jill Scott turns in a spectacular performance, and Malik Joba and Tasha Smith are solid, the performances are uneven at best. It's a classic morality tale with more melodrama to fill an afternoon's worth of soap operas. Some of the characters are far too one-dimensional to be credible, including the absurdly sadistic Mike, and the nearly as absurd (and conveniently single) knight in shining armor, Sheriff Troy. There's something oddly antiseptic about the film. Even the arguments seem neat and clean, with well-defined in and out points. Sometimes it is shot like a film, sometimes (with awkward stage-like blocking), it is shot like a play being filmed in a theater proscenium. The screenplay (and direction) has some gaps of logic, but even more egregious is its exposition, which could be held up as a lesson to any aspiring screenwriter on how NOT to write it (eg, "Did you ever think we'd all turn out like this? Diane's a lawyer, I'm a doctor, you're a real estate mogul"). Unfortunately, this type of sloppy exposition abounds throughout. Realism and subtly take a vacation on this one, however, it's still a pleasant, if overly-simplistic, morality tale that's likable enough.

The film touches on some heavy points, but never really digs very deep. It's light weight, but that's fine.

The acting on the whole is good.......... Janet Jackson is a tad weak..... she was not that convincing.

I did like Jill Scott though.

I did like when the guys were just chatting, it felt really real and made me smile.

It's not ground breaking, it won't change your life, but it's fun in parts and some parts made me laugh out loud.

I think this a solid 5/10.