MINI MOVIE REVIEW: Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself September 25, 2009

Tyler Perry’s latest film, “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” is a mixed bag. After three kids break into Madea’s home, she sets out to find their next of kin. Enter Taraji P. Henson as a drunken, affair-having nightclub singer, who reluctantly takes in the kids, who turn out to be her niece and two nephews, after tragedy strikes their guardian/grandmother (also Taraji’s mom). Meanwhile, Adam Rodriguez (from “CSI: Miami” fame) plays a handyman from Columbia, who needs a place to stay. And, with the help of church elders (Marvin Winans and Gladys Knight), Rodriguez’s character finds himself living with Taraji and the kids. How convenient! If  only love was that easy to find. Like so many of Perry’s films, there are way too many stories going on and not enough focus on the main plot and ONE subplot. In this film, we jump from one scene to the next, that may or not be related, and then we get a rushed ending that does not compute. Overacting by Taraji is also a letdown. We know she can act, but she needs to tone it down. Additionally, long solo singing performances by Marvin Winans, Gladys Knight and Mary J. Blige (who plays a bartender where Taraji works) also slows things down. The only bright spot in this film is that of the young actress, Hope Olaide Wilson, who plays the 16-year-old niece. She is definitely a talent to be reckoned with.