'For Colored Girls'

'For Colored Girls' (R) (3 stars)

Writer: Tyler Perry based on play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enough" By Ntozake Shange

Produced and Directed by Tyler Perry
Starring: Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, Phylicia Rashad, Loretta Devine, Janet Jackson, Anika Noni Rose, Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington, Tess Thompson, Michael Ealy, Hill Harper, Richard Lawson, Omari Hardwick, Khalil Khan

It is a very good thing for our movie industry that we have Tyler Perry as a voice in cinema. At first I did not think that way for I found his style of movie over the top and maudlin. Each movie seemed like a play that was adapted to the screen with no sense of cinema quality. Tyler Perry has made at least one movie a year and I must say over time his movies have gotten better even though he is not a good visual director still. His movies have toned down the theatrics and told better stories one by one. I can't stand the Medea character in more than small doses so I hope he leaves her out from being the center of any movie he makes. It all started with "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" which I hated. I could never fully recommend a Tyler Perry movie yet but I keep getting closer. I kind of liked the last few but I doubt that Tyler Perry would find that my favorite so far, "Why Did I Get Married", would be his best film. With "For Colored Girls" I had reservations but I think I am coming around to the Perry mystique, this is his best film to date.

With his latest I am happy that Tyler Perry gives black women a voice and I love seeing the large crowds of black women this past weekend. I love movies about women and I am also glad that women are dragging their men to go see it. "For Colored Girls" has a few problems but I love the acting, how all the characters are juggled and at the end I got comfortable with it. The movie is based on a series of short poems by Ntozake Shange dealing with 20 characters. They are all women dealing with alcoholism, rape, self esteem issues, abortion and abuse of women. The strongest characters to me with the best acting belong to Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise and Kerry Washington. All the characters in here will connect with each other and share each other's stories.

Kimberly Elise is a very great actress who gives a heartbreaking performance of a woman dealing with a war veteran husband who is an alcoholic. She is amazing in this movie dealing with a story that will have the most devastating climax of all the stories. There is another great performance by Thandie Newton, who is getting Oscar buzz, as a loose woman with a few self esteem problems. Thandie Newton has been a talented actress who has been ignored a lot but that will change. The third great performance is a more subtle one and the best performance in the movie for being that. It is by the beautiful and talented Kerry Washington who should be a star already. With this she proves she could headline a movie very soon and become a star. She plays a social worker who is in the middle of a few stories and also has to deal with a trying to have a child. Her performance is measured, quietly powerful and touching.

There are some other great performances including Loretta Devine who runs a clinic and deals with a cheating boyfriend who won't commit. Also Nona Anika Rose is very good here as a woman dealing with a date rape. There is a good, solid performance by newcomer Tess Thompson as a young teenager dealing with abortion. Now there are great characters here and some compelling stories and some of them have powerful moments. The only thing is there are a lot of weak and maudlin moments and characters and acting that are not so good. First a very religious character played by Whoopi Goldberg is one note, phony and unbelievable. Whoopi Goldberg overacts and doesn't fair so well but I think that is Perry's fault. Also Janet Jackson is very stiff but there is also a nice performance by Phylicia Rashad.

Another problem I have is the male characters who all seem under written. I don't mind most of the male characters being mostly evil and bad but please write them better. There is a very good performance by Hill Harper as a cop and I like the character but he is dropped and given no voice. I also think having the characters speak verses of the poems as dialogue is very weak and distracting. Perry should have taken the stories, dropped the verses and used them at the end credits. Usually I won't talk a great deal about a Tyler Perry movie but I have a lot to say here and that means something. I finally found a Tyler Perry movie that has a voice and says important things. Now if he improves on his weaknesses and tightens a few things then watch out because he could come up with something special.