Review of The Single Moms Club (2014) by Thomas W — 10 Aug 2014

Tyler Perry is easily one of the most "love him or hate him" directors working today and as for me I haven't come across a single film of his that I have held in high regard as I think his writing is mediocre, characters are stereotypical and his direction is unpolished.

He again fails to amaze me with The Single Mom's Club even though I think two of the film's actresses -- Nia Long (Alfie) and Wendi McLendon-Covey (Bridesmaids) -- give rather strong performances in it.

It is the story of five struggling single mothers brought together because their children have gotten into trouble at school and they've been asked to chair/organize an annual school event so that the school "can look the other way" and forget what brought them together in the first place.

The story may be much more realistic than Perry's films of the past but this is also the film's downfall as who wants to watch two hours of extreme realism about the hardships of motherhood? Amy Smart (Crank), Zulay Henao (Fighting) and Cocoa Brown (Lakeview Terrace) round out the club and Tyler Perry himself, Eddie Cibrian, William Levy, Terry Crews and Ryan Eggold play some of the women's men who may or may not be losers.

Perry tries to write strong women and at times he succeeds so I give him props on that but I believe he'll never be a masterful filmmaker.