I have noticed that the new car smell has worn of Tyler Perry...at least in the minds of many people. I, for one, still enjoy most his work. And there were aspects of this film which I really like...and a few things I didn't.
Let's start with the negatives. First. I don't see what Madea had to do with this film, and the insertion of her character for a few minutes seemed intrusive, unnecessary, and distracted from the film's story. I know a lot of people love the Madea character, but it had no place here. Second, a couple of characters seem to have rather drastic character changes during the course of the film, and while we all have our days, it seemed that these character changes were thrown in to make the film work. This is most obvious with Angela Bassett's character who goes from a fairly positive upbeat woman even when the chips are down, to a very bitter woman in regard to her love interest...and for no good reason.
On the other hand, the basic story here is solid. A mother is working her hardest (literally) to raise her high school son and two younger daughters in Chicago. She loses her job, through no fault of her own, and falls upon really hard times...absolutely broke. At the same time she gets word that she should travel to Georgia to her father's funeral...a father she never met. With no options, but bus tickets for her and her children, she does so out of desperation. The family she never met welcomes her in, and as is typical with a Tyler Perry film, at least a couple of the family members are...well, let's say funnily odd. And, despite her protestations, a romance begins with basketball coach (who has his professional eye on Angela's high school son) who takes an instant liking to Angela's character. And that's where the film breaks down a bit for me -- the coach (played by Rick Fox) is under suspicion for most of the film...for no good reason.
Angela Bassett is a darned good actress, and continues in that tradition here. In my view, it's director Tyler Perry who mismanages her character. Rick Fox, who is probably no great actor, is nonetheless pleasant here as the love interest, and you can buy into his character (and the remarkably white teeth). Lance Gross as the high school aged son is equally as pleasant, although it seems to me that there's a conflict between seeming to be the perfect son who briefly turns to drug dealing...again, I think Tyler Perry flubbed this characterization as writer and director. David Mann's character is too far over the top for me to feel right about his performance; this is not a real life character. I would say the same about Sofia Vergara's character. More and more I am liking Lamman Rucker, here a member of the Georgia family.
I do think there are too many inconsistencies in characterizations in this film. Yet, I still enjoyed it. I guess you could say that this Tyler Perry effort seemed just a tad bit amateurish. But then again, this was one of his earlier efforts. I'll squeeze out a 6 here because several of the characters were quite appealing and the film had a good moral behind it.
Let's start with the negatives. First. I don't see what Madea had to do with this film, and the insertion of her character for a few minutes seemed intrusive, unnecessary, and distracted from the film's story. I know a lot of people love the Madea character, but it had no place here. Second, a couple of characters seem to have rather drastic character changes during the course of the film, and while we all have our days, it seemed that these character changes were thrown in to make the film work. This is most obvious with Angela Bassett's character who goes from a fairly positive upbeat woman even when the chips are down, to a very bitter woman in regard to her love interest...and for no good reason.
On the other hand, the basic story here is solid. A mother is working her hardest (literally) to raise her high school son and two younger daughters in Chicago. She loses her job, through no fault of her own, and falls upon really hard times...absolutely broke. At the same time she gets word that she should travel to Georgia to her father's funeral...a father she never met. With no options, but bus tickets for her and her children, she does so out of desperation. The family she never met welcomes her in, and as is typical with a Tyler Perry film, at least a couple of the family members are...well, let's say funnily odd. And, despite her protestations, a romance begins with basketball coach (who has his professional eye on Angela's high school son) who takes an instant liking to Angela's character. And that's where the film breaks down a bit for me -- the coach (played by Rick Fox) is under suspicion for most of the film...for no good reason.
Angela Bassett is a darned good actress, and continues in that tradition here. In my view, it's director Tyler Perry who mismanages her character. Rick Fox, who is probably no great actor, is nonetheless pleasant here as the love interest, and you can buy into his character (and the remarkably white teeth). Lance Gross as the high school aged son is equally as pleasant, although it seems to me that there's a conflict between seeming to be the perfect son who briefly turns to drug dealing...again, I think Tyler Perry flubbed this characterization as writer and director. David Mann's character is too far over the top for me to feel right about his performance; this is not a real life character. I would say the same about Sofia Vergara's character. More and more I am liking Lamman Rucker, here a member of the Georgia family.
I do think there are too many inconsistencies in characterizations in this film. Yet, I still enjoyed it. I guess you could say that this Tyler Perry effort seemed just a tad bit amateurish. But then again, this was one of his earlier efforts. I'll squeeze out a 6 here because several of the characters were quite appealing and the film had a good moral behind it.