Review of Why Did I Get Married? (2007) by Onyx L — 14 Dec 2011

Writer/director/star Tyler Perry has become quite the money-making machine at the box office lately, and from watching his films it's easy to see why they're so popular with the target audience. His films are like soap operas, and that is very much true about his latest "Why Did I Get Married?". And frankly, this overly familiar, sometimes silly and totally predictable melodrama is also very watchable.

It pulled me in right from the beginning, and I was hooked all the way to the end, as sad as that is for me to admit. There are a few standouts in the ensemble cast, but oddly enough one of them is not Janet Jackson marking her return to the silver screen. She comes off as cold and impersonal playing an award-winning author. I was much more impressed with Jill Scott, and of all the intertwined stories here, hers in the most involving. She handles the role with dignity and respect, and even though I was fully aware of being manipulated, I felt for her sympathetic character.

Perry himself also plays a character that audiences can relate to, and it's nice to see him play himself without the dress. He has retired the Madea persona, but I'm sure that's only a temporary thing. He balances the screenplay nicely between the sexes so that this doesn't become yet another lazy, baby's daddy hating tirade that we're used to from black cinema. In this film, the women are just as blame-worthy as the men.

I don't know that they ever answer the question, but "Why Did I Get Married?" is praise-worthy even if there aren't any surprises along the way. It's a soap opera made for the big screen with all of the trimmings.