I realize that I may possibly be breaking a cardinal sin with this admission, but it must be said that I am not a fan of Tyler Perry's films.

Outside of the occasional chuckle, I find them to be largely stereotypical, irrational, and poorly developed. In a nutshell: If you've seen one Tyler Perry film, you've seen them all.

I do understand why his audience lauds them, though. Fans of his work essentially want a good laugh and a message that follows their own beliefs.

Amen.

I think that's fine, actually. But for me, there's just something about yet another black man donning a wig to emasculate himself portraying the same trite stereotype from the brainchild of a white person of an overweight black women we've viewed again and again that bothers me. I'll admit that I have laughed at the Madea character a number of times. I've grimaced at the character almost an equal number of times, however.

I, surprisingly, saw this film on Valentine's Day with the Queen-to-be herself. It was exactly what I expected: The same plays on themes employed in Perry's previous films and plays that draws hysterical laugher from audiences and visual frowns from me. The usual hokey dialogue that reminds me that there are books and courses centered on screenwriting for a reason. And of course, the same tragic beginning and miraculous ending that's devoid of reality --- which is what the audience seemingly wants.

I knew how this movie would begin and end based on the trailer I saw several months ago. To be fair, albeit minuscule, Tyler Perry has shown growth as a writer and filmmaker. There seems to have been some effort on his part as a director, screenwriter, and cast director to make this film of greater quality than previous offerings.

Idris Elba did well. Gabby played the same character she normally does in films, but to her credit, I enjoyed this portrayal at least 79 times more out of the total 85 she's done it.

I don't knock Perry's hustle. I congratulate him on his success. Despite the minstrel-like quality present, he means well. You realize his good intentions by the myriad of messages Perry incorporates in the dialogue of his films and plays.

That of course, brings me to the point of this entry.

Can someone - and hopefully a Tyler Perry fan - explain to me how a man who fills his movies with messages that hark on uplifting the race, in addition to the Christian overtones dominant in his work can start off his latest film with an R.Kelly song - a pedophile?

Before you say, "It's alright to separate the man from the music," I encourage you to research the story of the Pied Piper, and then proceed to look at his discography and really think about the parallels present. Pissy is throwing it our faces that he loves the kids. Most people are just too busy moving their body like a snake to notice.

A movie entitled Daddy's Little Girls is kicked off with a song performed by a man obviously on a bet to discover the number of different ways he can escape court dates that will tackle his illegal affinity for little girls.

To quote another popular trend that combined faith and commerce, "WWJD?"

Labels: perverts, soap box films