I Can Do Bad All by Myself

I am a masochist. That is why I am trying to see all the movies from Harry Medved's book "The 50 Worst Films of All Time" as well as all of the Bottom 100 from IMDb. Masochism is the only thing that would explain it. However, in my strange quest to see the best of the worst, I have occasionally run across some films that seem to have been included in the lists and you can't understand why. This is the case with I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF. Why is this film so hated that it made this IMDb list? To quote Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, "Where is the love?".

Now I am NOT saying that this is a perfect film--there are two major problems that negatively impact this film. But, the film has so many wonderful moments--so much good acting and excellent writing that I am just baffled at the negative reviews. Let's talk about the two main problems. Tyler Perry apparently plays the comedic Madea character in all his films. However here, this character seems amazingly out of place in this ultra-serious drama. A little less Madea would have helped the film maintain a tighter focus. The second problem is that while the singing was all very high quality, there just seemed to be too much. Less singing and less Madea would have left more time for character development.

What I really liked, though was the great story--at least once you got to it. Three kids are caught stealing in Madea's home. You soon learn that they are doing this because they are hungry. Their grandmother (who they live with) has disappeared and they chose a stupid way to deal with this. Madea takes pity on them--feeding them and taking them to their Aunt's house. The problem, however, is that the Aunt is a total mess--and one of the most selfish characters you've ever seen. Can all this work out successfully? Of course--that's a given. However, it's all handled very well and this one will most likely get you shedding some tears--so have some Kleenex handy. The acting was superb and the story very involving.

Overall, a wonderful film that could have been more wonderful. Still, it's well worth seeing and is a good film for older kids--even if the language is sometimes rough and there is a brief (but appropriate) nude scene. This is because the message is awfully good--though I could imagine some finding it all a bit heavy-handed (I know I didn't).

By the way, I am a middle-aged White guy. Tyler Perry movies are apparently NOT just for African-American audiences!

Set in the dirty dirty ATL, three delinquents break into Madea's (Tyler Perry) house and all her "Madeaness" turns them "childrrrns" into the right path of redemption.

Seeing they don't have a mother, she died, and their grandmother is MIA, it is up to Auntie April (Taraji P. Henson) to care for them. Church goer Wilma (Gladys Knight) tells April to do the right thing.

Unfortunately Auntie April is more concerned about her own independence and fawning for her married, good for nothing boy friend.

In comes handy man Sandino (Adam Rodriguez) who sees the good in people and sheds light to this troubled scene.

A good story of how a bad situation can not be as bad as it could be however Tanja (Mary J. Blige) said it best in her singing of "I Can do Bad all by Myself".

The three tough loves in life, God, family, and Madea is all you need to do the right thing.

This movies was entertaining, funny, heartfelt, and a great escape from the pandemic. Tyler Perry is so good at Madea. I will watch all of his films. Give it a try. The cast is excellent.

I think that this movie gives some really good insights into the dynamics of some dysfunctional families, especially when they don't have much money and there's sexual and child abuse involved. That often makes it hard for people to watch: whether they've never been a victim and don't believe that it really happens like that or whether they have been a victim and remember how it feels. I thought this was a really great story. The music was great and fit into the story line really well. And the vocalists, the musicians, etc. were excellent. (I'd love to have some info on the choir at the church.) The Medea scenes add a little comic relief although they don't really add all that much to the story.

All of those involved deserved the awards that they got and more. We just got a new TV with direct TV and netflix and my brother in law and I are looking up every single Tyler Perry movie I can find. T. P. tells it like it all too often is. And, btw, I love Medea. She's a hoot. Hope Tyler Perry keeps making movies - comedies and movies like this that aren't really comic but have a bit of comic relief.

The fact that this movie has 3.8 out of ten stars is laughable. That would indicate that many people gave this 1 star meaning it is the worst they have ever seen. I mean Slasher films with 9 sequels have higher ratings than this! I guess people hate moralistic stories. People say that it is too "Preachy?" This wasn't Tyler Perry's first movie and anyone who watched it knew what they were getting into. I think people purposely watch movies they KNOW they will hate in order to bash them. Very good movie, it gets your emotions going and has a great message. Madea is as hilarious as ever. Worth the watch. Maybe not the greatest movie you will ever see, but that can be said of a lot of movies.