"Why Did I Get Married?"

Seen on: October 14, 2007

The players: Director: Tyler Perry, Writer: Tyler Perry, Cast: Tyler Perry, Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal, Jill Scott, Denise Boutte

Facts of interest: Based on Tyler Perry's own play.

The plot: Eight married college friends spend a week in the mountains to celebrate love and marriage. What starts of as a great vacation soon turns into a marital disaster.

Our thoughts: Earlier this year, playwright-turned-director Tyler Perry took a break from comedy and experimented with drama in “Daddy’s Little Girls,” a lifeless film about a single father struggling to retrieve custody of his three young daughters. In “Why Did I Get Married?,” his latest adaptation, Perry returns to his usual formula and does what he does best: combining comic with saccharine elements into a simple, yet refreshing feature with enough surprises and howls of laughter.

Every year, four married couples retreat to different location anywhere in the world to enjoy their vacation and to discuss love and question the institution of marriage. But this time, they’re in for some unexpected troubles. Tyler Perry stars as Terry, who’s constantly arguing with his wife Diane (Sharon Leal) about her obsession with her job. Then there’s Angela (Tasha Smith) and Marcus (Michael Jai White), who spend most of their time cussing and yelling.

They are joined by top architect Gavin (Malik Yoba) and psychologist Patricia (Janet Jackson), who’ve been struggling with a tragedy that has had a negative impact on their marriage. As for Mike (Richard T. Jones), all he does is mentally abuse his wife Sheila (Jill Scott) while flirting with her best friend Trina (Denise Boutte). Originally the trip was meant for relaxation and fun activities, but since everybody in the group seems to keep a dark secret, now is the time to speak up and get even.

“Why Did I Get Married?” addresses a horde of common marital problems that otherwise would be unsurprising, but Perry succeeds to make them appealing enough to his audience via awkward confrontations, shocking revelations of secrets and a solid dose of hysteria among his main characters. You won’t find much subtlety in most of the outbursts of anger and emotion on the screen, but especially the first two-thirds of the plot are fast-paced and hilarious enough to keep the spectators (this reviewer included) rolling in the aisles.

The characters actually spend more time cursing at each other and talking about sex than focusing on the serious questions that directly involve their marriage. Is everybody ready to give up the “me” for “us;” how can husband and wife spend more time together, and why is it so hard to talk about important issues when it is so easy to live with secrets?

These real-life questions about what it takes to lead and protect a good marriage are overshadowed by the silliness of most of the jokes during the first part of the film, but they resurface in the second half, when the plot takes a sudden twist and the gags transmute into emotions. That’s when the film almost derails and succumbs to a sappy atmosphere, with a lot of unconvincing crying and melodramatic epiphanies. The humor works but the emotions don’t.

Perry has assembled a group of talented actors (and musicians) who feel comfortable mastering the comical scenes but struggle with the dramatic aspects of the script. Perry himself delivers one of the most honest performances among his male co-actors, and Jill Scott undoubtedly stands out among the girls. I had my troubles to connect with Janet Jackson, not only because of her static look, but also because she’s playing the most annoying of the characters, always preaching to the others.

Freaky quote: “No, I slept with him. I got my shot. I was just waiting for you to say something.” – Tasha Smith

The final word: Technically, the film is a slight improvement on “Daddy’s Little Girls,” which looked the epitome of dreadful cinematography. Perry’s scripts always work much like his plays, and this is clearly observable in his camerawork. He’s doing a lot better now though with shorter takes and increasing close-ups of his actors. As a light afternoon diversion dealing with serious issues addressed in a humorous way, “Why Did I Get Married?” is definitely worth a trip to the theater, even with your spouse.