Meet the Browns

I have seen all of Tyler Perry's movies (that I know about) and have enjoyed them all...until now. Angela Bassett was very good in her role and I enjoyed the young man who played her son, but the rest of the relatives were WAY too over the top! One of the things I like about Mr. Perry's movies is the likable, believable characters...but Leroy and Vera? COME ON! Especially painful was the speech by Leroy in the church. I laughed very little in this movie, which surprised me. I was also expecting to see more Madea (my favorite character of Mr. Perry's), not the ridiculous 15 second scene they had with her. Unfortunately, if I was asked to recommend this movie to anyone, I would have to say, see something else. Sorry Tyler! I know you're an extremely talented man, but I would give this movie a "C" at best.

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.

My theater that I work at got Meet the Browns, I have never ever seen a Tyler Perry movie, so this would be my first. But I didn't see it opening weekend and it took me a while to decide to see the movie, because of one thing, the rating on IMDb. Usually most of the ratings on the movies are pretty accurate. But when I finally decided to just go ahead and watch the movie, I have to say that I am very much disgusted with the rating here. I just don't understand why people are being so harsh with this movie, I felt like it was just a decent and uplifting film. I agree the stereotypes are bit much, but I've seen oh so much worse. Angela Bassett, who must of made a deal with the devil to look that good at 50, pulls in a great and heart felt performance as a mom who is just trying to do right by her kids despite the hard times she's facing.

Brenda is a single mom in Chicago who is just struggling like crazy to take care of her three kids, trying to do the right thing, she looses her job, her electricity has been shut off, she's being judged by everyone, and the dad of her son just refuses to pay any child support what so ever. But when she finds out that her dad(who she never met) died, she and the kids go down to Georgia for the funeral, and she finds out that he gave her a house, which her family and a handsome family friend pull together to put her dreams back into place and to give her star basketball son a great future.

Meet the Browns is just generally a good film, there are things that are a little off key, but it's all good. This film made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me remember how lucky I am to have family and friends who love me and how I love them as well. The ending is just such a relief and makes you think about the good things in life that make it worth living. I would recommend Meet the Browns, it's a fun film that I'm sure will make you feel good, please ignore the harsh rating, this is a totally misjudged film.

6/10

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.

Meet the Browns (2008) is a movie I recently rewatched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows a single mother with three kids that recently lost her job. She gets an unexpected inheritance in the south and decides she may as well see what she received. Her and her children get to know an entire new side of their family and she may find love in the process.

This movie is directed by and stars Tyler Perry (I Can Do Bad All By Myself) and also stars Angela Bassett (Strange Days), David Mann (Madea Goes to Jail), Lance Gross (House of Payne), Rick Fox (He Got Game), Frankie Faison (Coming to America) and Margaret Avery (The Color Purple).

This is an underrated Tyler Perry movie that gets over criticized. The cast is outstanding and the chemistry is solid throughout. The characters are very fun and Mann delivers an entertaining performance. The dialogue is hilarious and there's some good zings. I really enjoyed the storyline being a healthy mix of romance and comedy. There's a dinner scene in here that's legendary. There's also uncertainty and doubt as the story unfolds and I enjoyed the unpredictable nature of the relationships.

Overall this is a worthwhile Tyler Perry picture that I would strongly recommend. I would score this a 6.5-7/10 and recommend seeing it once.