Source: Lions Gate
If you ask me, Why Did I Get Married was one of Tyler Perry’s best movies. Sure, it was still overly dramatic at times; but I know I was invested in the characters and their stories. It was funny, heartbreaking at times–especially when Mike was dogging Sheila out– and it even provoked a little discussion. You know the plot…in fact, you have the DVD at the crib; but, we bet you don’t know what the stars of the film had to say about the process. Check it out in the pages to follow.
Source: Lions Gate
Where’s Jesus?
Up until Why Did I Get Married?, all of Perry’s movies had strong religious presence and message. This time he didn’t want to beat people over the head with religion; but instead, wanted his audience to look for the deeper spiritual message. He told Essence that the film touched on a whole other spiritual level.
Source: Lions Gate
Ms. Jackson
Janet Jackson was a hot commodity for Tyler. He’d been trying to work with her for years, when he was first filming Madea’s Family Reunion. She couldn’t swing it at the time; but, Perry finally got an opportunity to work with her for this film.
Source: WENN
What does Tracee have to do with it?
Long before production started, Perry invited a group of seasoned and upcoming actors to have a roundtable discussion centering on marriage and relationships. These actors also did a preliminary reading the script. It may comes as a surprise that Tracee Ross read the script but ultimately didn’t get a part.
Source: Lions Gate
His best movie
In an interview with movies.about.com Tyler explained why this was a film he could be proud of…
“I try to grow on every film, but I’m walking now. I was crawling on everything else. The way this story was told I think was very unique. Using the camera the way I did was very different for me. There’s some people who really get into camera movement and all this other stuff, but for me, I really stretched it. And having an amazing cast really made the movie come alive because everybody brought their own personality to it.”
That was back in 2007 though. Wonder what he feels is his best film now. What do you think is Perry’s best work to date?
Source: Lions Gate
How is Janet like her character?
Actors often say that they are a little bit like their characters. And you may remember that Janet’s character, Patricia, was the friend who knew everything, how to solve every problem except her own. Janet explained how she’s like that in the same interview with movies.about.com:
“Yes, yes. A lot of my friends they call me ‘the therapist’. They come to me looking for advice. I must be doing something right because they keep coming back. But I’m not very good at kind of looking into my own world and trying to pick apart what is really wrong and fix those things. I like to kind of shy away from certain issues and turn away.”
Source: Lions Gate
Jill as an actresses
Being that Jill made the transition from singer to being an actress, you would think it took some serious preparation, a completely different gear shift. But Jill said it wasn’t that much of a stretch.
“I don’t know that it’s really different, really. When I write a song, I tap into the emotion and the feeling, and then I use the emotion to write the words. It’s the opposite when I act. I use the words and tap into the emotion. It’s basically the same for me, in a lot of ways. I don’t know how different it is.”
The issue that was a struggle for Jill though, was putting on the 30 pounds that Perry requested. Jill, who had just lost 28 pounds, told People how she felt about the request.
My heart dropped. I was happy in my new size-12 jeans. They needed me to be an 18. I was happy to have the role, but there was sadness.
I stopped riding my bike. And ate. A Philly cheesesteak is a joyous occasion!
Source: Lions Gate
The fat suit
Not only did Jill have to gain those 30 pounds back, she also had to put a fat suit on. In an interview with AALBC , Jill talked about her experience in the fat suit and how people looked at her with such pity when she was wearing it.
“That’s been really interesting. I’ve never, well I won’t say never, but it’s been a long time since I was a small girl myself. I’m on average about a size 14. My character is about double my size, about a size 28, so I wear a lot of padding over the course of the film. And it’s been interesting the difference in the way that people look at and talk to me when I put Sheila’s costumes on. It was very interesting to see that.”
Source: Twitter
Would you get married?
At the time, in 2007, Janet had some interesting thoughts on marriage, which she shared with About.com
“I don’t know. I don’t know if I would actually sign the piece of paper and actually get married. I think for myself, especially going through it twice, being divorced twice, it would be more of a spiritual commitment. Finding your soul mate and exchanging vows, that’s still marriage in a different way. That’s enough for me. I don’t really need anything else to validate what we have, not saying that you guys do, but that’s the way I think I would want [it].”
That’s interesting, considering now Janet claims she’s married now. Amazing how things can change.
Source: Lions Gate
Tasha’s Divorce, Angela’s Anger
While many felt “Angela” was a bit too a loud, a bit hoodratish, Tasha Smith found liberation in the character. She was going through some things at the time and Angela’s frankness helped her express herself. She explained the process to AALBC:
“I tell you that role was interesting for me in that it helped me get freedom, because I was going through my own divorce at the time, and I think that we can live vicariously through our characters. So, the stuff that I might not have been able to say or do in real life, I could live all that as Angela. And I joke with women a lot, because they come up to me and say, ’I love the way you spoke up and got him. My intention was for her to be every black woman’s hero. I wanted her to be that woman who would put every ho in check. You know how we’ve all had that kind of woman come into our lives? Well, we needed a spokesperson, and I wanted Angela to be that for us.”
Source: Lions Gate
Tasha’s divorce wasn’t the only thing that helped her tap into this character. She and Marcus, actor Michael Jai White, have some history together.
Tasha: And you want to know something that was great about Michael and I doing this role—and we never told anyone this before…
Michael: What people don’t realize is we used to date a long time ago. And Tyler put us together as a couple…
Tasha: And didn’t even know.
Tyler: I didn’t know that. This is another thing, like Jill was just talking about. How sometimes I write stuff and it’s so close and so personal. I didn’t know you too dated.
Michael: Yeah, it’s spooky.
Tasha: But you know what Michael’s like my brother. He’s like one of my best friends. And I love him. I love his wife Courtney and we’re all just a big, happy family.
Check out the video of the interview below.
http://dimewars.com/flashmedia/secureflvplayer.swf
Source: Lions Gate
Success
Critics seemed to review this movie a little bit more favorably than Tyler Perry’s other work. A Time magazine review said it was Tyler’s “usual artless mix of broad comedy, teary confessions and spiritual uplift,” but gave the movie overall a B. Regardless of what the critics had to say, the movie was a box office hit, coming in at number 1 its first week and number 2 during its second. The film, which cost an estimated $15 million dollars to make, ended up grossing over $55 million.
