by Selam Aster
How will “For Colored Girls” fair upon its release this weekend? Interestingly enough, Tyler Perry, the filmmaker that everyone loves to hate, is getting mixed reviews from unexpected places. For the first time in Tyler Perry history, his film has been been branded a “critic’s pick” in the New York Times. One of The Times‘ toughest critics, Manohla Dargis, gave the film a favorable review. The fact that the Times even considered the film for a proper review is a departure, for they have often relegated Tyler Perry’s films to 300 word summaries done by contributing reviewers.
After making it clear that Perry “has not been a good filmmaker,” and that “whether you like Mr. Perry’s work may depend on your color or sex or love of boiling melodrama, ribald comedy, abrupt tonal shifts, blunt social messages, unforced talk about God and flourishes of camp, sometimes whipped together in one scene,” Dargis praises Perry’s handling of the classic work, written by Ntozake Shange, and credits Perry with evolving as a director. “As it turns out, Mr. Perry, while busily establishing his economic independence, has been finding his voice as a filmmaker.”
On the other hand, The Root’s Teresa Wiltz review of the film is less than stellar. When it was announced that Perry would be involved with adapting this play into a film, many people feared that Perry would ruin it with his tacky style of filmmaking. Obviously, for Wiltz, her fears came true as evinced in her negative review of the work. “It doesn’t work. At all. It’s an exceedingly hard slog, 2 hours and 14 minutes of overwrought melodrama, bleaker than bleak, and unleavened by humor or wit,” she said.
So the white critic at the New York Times loves it and the black critic at The Root hates it. It should be interesting how the endorsement from one of the most respected publication in the world will impact the film’s box office receipts in the long run. Perry has obviously been financially successful thanks to the massive support he receives from his African-American following but he’s never had the critical reviews to drive more discerning moviegoers to his shows. The boost can help “For Colored Girls” be the most successful box-office hit for Perry yet.
“Madea Goes to Jail” is Perry’s biggest hit yet,opening with $41 million in ticket sales in its first week and generating over $90 million.
