Sometimes, when watching a movie like Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black, you grade them on a curve. This depends on the aspirations of the filmmaker(s) and the intended audience. After all, can you grade pornography in the same way you would evaluate Citizen Kane? Before you mock my point, remember that Roger Ebert used to review them, ensuring Russ Meyer received his due.
This brings us to another entry from the uber-successful filmmaker Tyler Perry. To put it politely, his latest film, Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black, has something for everyone. The truth, however, is that the movie is wildly uneven. Perry’s script morphs from a thoughtful story about a woman dealing with divorce into Sleeping with the Enemy territory.
Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black Review and Synopsis
The movie has a killer opening in the middle of a funeral, with a family quarrel turning into full-blown insanity. Ava (Shazam: Fury of the Gods’s Meagan Good) and her husband, Dallas (The Chi’s Cory Hardrict), are attending the funeral of her brother-in-law. Ava’s father, Clarence (Richard Lawson, the film’s comic relief), is a preacher who oversees the funeral and tells some hard truths about Dallas and his family.
Of course, Ava’s mother-in-law, Linda (an unintentionally comical Ursula O. Robinson), does not appreciate the constructive criticism. She rips off the dress Ava’s mother, Gene (The Hurricane’s Debbi Morgan), gave her and even has her three grown sons pull the body of the departed out of the casket so they don’t have to accept any gifts from Ava’s family.
Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black is Wildly Uneven
From there, Tyler Perry’s script provides a thoughtful and entertaining look at moving on from a marriage that isn’t working. At this point, the film doesn’t treat the issue flippantly. Dallas is going through a family tragedy, drinking too much, and demands a divorce. We have yet to find any particulars about why things are falling apart.
However, Perry slowly unveils a few layers that tell a good story for the audience. Black Lightning’s Taylor Polidore, who plays Ava’s best friend, Rona, hands Ava a list of what Dallas has done to her because sometimes, seeing it on paper makes it more real. This brings Ava’s parents into the fold, creating a lovely story of emergence, love, family, and rediscovering your worth that is relatable.
Is Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black Worth Watching?
Initially, I enjoyed Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black. However, it is ultimately not worth watching due to the uneven shift in the film’s never-ending third act into a generic stalker picture. At any point, the film could have ended with a simple phone call to the authorities. Even a character being shot with a rifle at close range and found on the assailant’s property doesn’t end the madness.
This is hysterically bad at times and continues to top itself repeatedly. If anything, Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black is worth watching if you are a fan of Perry’s dramas, the genre, and Meagan Good, who carries the film on her shoulders. However, as Tyler Perry continues to put his signature “something for everyone” mantra into all his films, none of them can be taken seriously.
This is a shame because Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black could have succeeded if it stuck to its insightful and pensive portrayal of Ava’s emotional recovery and old-fashioned romance. Even if you wanted to end the film with a dash of revenge, it would be preferable to the gluttonous, self-indulgent theatrics Perry ultimately delivers.
You can stream Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black only on Prime Video on July 12th.
4/10
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