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!

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.

This film wasn't the best movie ever and I don't understand why people hate Tyler Perry his films aren't bad and they aren't the worst. I watched this with a group of friends mostly black and we enjoyed the parts with Madea were hilarious. And the drama was okay too. The acting was fine I like Taraj P Henson she was good in this movie. The only thing that bugged me was the sets most of them looked really fake but that was it. Anyways this film wasn't bad and the rating shouldn't be low at 2.8 it should be 4 or 5 stars. The acting was was good and had a fine cast. I recommend renting it or getting it on DVD. If you like tyler perry and his movies then you'll like I can do bad all by myself

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.

Tyler Perry whole motivation is family and faith many people attack Perry for his way of portraying, African-American families. I can do bad all by my self takes a look at how families and faith are intertwined, when April's life is turned upside down with the unwelcome knock on the door by Madea(Tyler Perry) with three children. As April(Taraji P. Henson) has to learn about the value of family. The Church plays a major role as well without the Church the faith of April would not have been as strong in overcoming her inter-conflicts that she was dealing with her selfish ways and wanting a married man, but with the help of Sandino(Adam Rodriguez) April not only finds her way in finding what true love is but learning how to love herself. Tyler is still learning how to direct a good film, but will every movie be a great one, those who feel that Perry is in above is head need to take notice of what his movies symbolize, faith, family, and love. Tyler's problem is all of his movies are based on the same thing African-American families with some type of issues. This may not be Tyler's best film; however $23,446,785 on an opening weekend is not bad. So say Perry is not a good director, but Perry keeps growing in the film industry, and his television shows. This is a must see movie that is great for family to see as a family.