REVIEW | Tyler Perry perfects his trilogy in ‘Why Did I Get Married Again’ - TimesLIVE
It has been nearly 20 years since the debut of the Why Did I Get Married Again series. And since then, the movie has stood the test of time as one of Perry’s most meaningful outings.
Desperately seeking a cinematic release, the third instalment brings back the holidaying gang, but this time it’s their children and their relationship woes that have them on their toes.
Janet Jackson originally led the cast, playing Patty, the perfectionist friend of the group whose inability to communicate her own struggles led to divorce and a vengeful warpath that saw her lose her husband in the sequel Why Did I Get Married Too.
As the glue of the social group, her baton is passed on to the very bonding agent that holds them together, the larger-than-life Angela (Tasha Smith), who seemingly stepped up to the plate as the core alongside her husband Marcus (Michael Jai White).
Janet Jackson (Bang Showbiz) We meet the pair as they prepare for their daughter’s wedding to Wesley (Everett Osborne), who is the son of their more distant friend, Roselyn (Taraji P Henson).
The upcoming wedding is strained once again by secrets among the group, particularly the question of whether Wesley should marry Angela and Marcus’ daughter, Jasmine (Armani Greer).
While Perry’s work (he writes and directs, as usual) often leans into soap fodder, with theatrical confrontations and peddling just about every negative stereotype out there, he may have finally cooked his finest offering with this flick.
As we navigate the typical stereotypes with his cast, he subverts the usual expectations. Sheila (Jill Scott) is not just burdened by the history of having an emotionally abusive husband, she overcompensates for it by trying to protect Jasmine from Wesley. She crosses boundaries and is learning that she has become too violent with the young man when wrongfully accusing him.
Tyler Perry made a life-long dream a reality on Saturday with the opening of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. ( Paras Griffin) Angela’s anger is not directed at the wayward woman sleeping with her son but at MJ for being active in a dishonest relationship. While it might seem that she’s still stuck in the rut of being the angry black woman, it’s really her insecurities about being cheated on that come to the fore. Luckily, they are treated as a normal part of her and Marcus’s relationship. Mole hills that they no longer make mountains out of.
This all sets the stage for the big blowout that happens later in the film, allowing the younger children to express the pressures of growing up with perfect parents.
Sure, it’s like any other fan fiction you might find out there, or the typical route of any major franchise or movie series where the baton is being passed on to a generation too overwhelmed by the success of their predecessors.
In this case, it works beautifully. Especially aided by Terry’s son TJ (Jaden Michael), whose storyline teeters on an awkward coming out as everyone around him is baffled by his shyness and awkwardness around women. However, we learn that he is too afraid to let any girl he dates meet his family due to their high expectations.
Rather than Roselyn being a victim of a failing marriage, it would have been more intriguing to see her challenge the young and old cast.
The bride and groom have the same issue. They do not have their parents to counsel, as the success they have in marriage and careers eclipses the mistakes they’ve made.
While many other counterparts struggle with the art of passing the baton, Why Did I Get Married Again is more than ready to let the sun set on its stalwarts.
Hitting so many high notes, its weakest points come from Henson’s inclusion. Her introduction is seamless, and her character holds some of the strongest monologues and one-liners. However, there is no defining quality that really helps you understand her in the midst of the characters we have come to love.
Roselyn is written for the big plot twist that drops at the end, to help buffer it and knock the wind back into her son’s sails. She becomes an antithesis to the group’s perfectionism. She is dating a younger man like the group’s outcast member, she divorces her husband and doesn’t keep a relationship with him as expected with Sheila and it would have been great to see them explore a new challenge to the dynamic rather than someone who would attempt to conform to their standards. Rather than Roselyn being a victim of a failing marriage, it would have been more intriguing to see her challenge the young and old cast as a woman who stepped out with her younger beau (who used to tutor her son in middle school).
All in all, Perry’s magic for making cash-cow productions may lie in lazy writing and pandering, but Why Did I Get Married Again continues the legacy of his most unblemished attempt at touching lives through the art of filmmaking.
