Strong and Moving!

A different way of telling a story

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Tyler Perry tries to make good films and in recent films he has tried to get away from the Madea films but he's still relying on the same clichés that make his films really hard to sit through.The main problem with this film is that it is as dull as a slice of bread. This review is going to be short because, by God, I don't remember what happened. Something about a guy not enjoying his life despite being rich. An unbelievably cliché story with unbelievably cliché characters that you have honestly seen in hundreds of other projects.I really don't remember anything about the film so I do not remember anything that was salvageable about it, it was boring, recycled. I know a lot of people probably like this film but I just think it was one of the worst I've ever seen. If your not a Perry fan, I'd say skip it.

I am astonished that this film has an overall score of 5.2, compared to many of the movies on IMDb rated higher.This is the first "Tyler Perry" movie I've experienced, and was impressed.The pacing, script, sub-plots, and overall plot were well crafted for a movie in this genre. Perhaps most impressive though was the acting: both lead actors were compelling, especially the female who had the slightly tougher role to pull off. The supporting actors were impressive as well. This is a heartfelt film and character study. Highly recommended.

Wesley Deeds (Tyler Perry) seemingly has it all. He's the CEO of his Father's company. He has the perfect fiancée Natalie (Gabrielle Union) everything seems like paradise for Wesley. In reality, Wesley is bored, so is his fiancée, but neither one are willing to admit it to the other. Wesley is also dealing with his pretentious mother, and his alcoholic brother. Natalie wants Wesley to be more spontaneous and less predictable. Wesley meets a single mother named Lindsey (Thandie Newton) She just so happens to be a cleaning lady in his building. Wesley quickly learns that his lifestyle might not be all that gloriousThis is another underrated Perry film. It's funny how so many of his movies are in the 4.0 or 3.0 range. What do people have against him? I really don't understand it. Are you even watching the movies? Anyway, this movie works on a lot of levels. It has many different messages. I felt Perry did a really good job at exploring the issue that money doesn't buy happiness. Wesley Deeds has it all, and he's as unhappy as can be. Lindsey is broke, homeless, and has every reason in the world to give up, but she doesn't. It was a stark contrast in characters, and Perry did a terrific job of telling a great story. Many of us succumb to the pressures of what our parents wants. Often in life your parents want to live vicariously through their kids eyes, so they can relive things they didn't get done when they were younger. That's not the way to do things, and it's a mistake parents often make. Tyler Perry gives us the "insensitive" mother that he tends to do in a lot of his movies. It's a formula that works often, and it works again in this movie. Tyler Perry is rock solid as the lead. He conveys all the emotions perfectly, and I felt he was extremely sympathetic. Perry oozes charisma. I also liked that he delved deeper in what could have been a generic part. Tyler makes sure to make Wesley Deeds a very interesting character. I thought he was great. Thandie Newton is excellent as the struggling mother. It's impossible not to feel for her precarious predicament. Her chemistry with Perry was above average. Gabrielle Union does what she has to do well, which isn't much. Brian White is a great prick. He's done it before, and he did it again in this movie. His indignant character will annoy you heavily. Rebecca Romjin is barely in this movie. I suspect she was here, strictly for name value. Phylicia Rashad plays a pretentious witch, and does it well. You may recognize her from the Cosby show. If you're a bit of a romantic like I am, you'll most likely smile at the ending. When you fall on hard times, it seems like the world is against you. Relationships grow stale and predictable if you let them. Communication is very important. Perry's heart is apparent here, once more. This is a good movie. It's heartfelt, genuine, entertaining, and touching. I have no use for Tyler Perry haters. He doesn't always create winners, but he does make some quality films7.4/10

I am not a Tyler Perry defender, but I have to call foul on the 3.1 rating. Those who reviewed the movie average about a 6 or 7, so I'm led to believe many who have voted on this movie did not in fact see the movie. Considering the assault Perry receives from critics--myself included at times--it would not be hard to believe some would undermine the rating system here and seek to sabotage anything with the name "Perry" in front of it. Moving on...I will go out on a limb and say this is Perry's highest quality effort to date. It's the first movie I remember seeing of his that did not run with the trite good-guy/bad-guy story line. This movie had more depth than any of his previous. There were no bad guys. Every character was troubled and coping and...human. Many I think missed the real theme of this movie. It has absolutely nothing to do with a man coming to save a woman. It is about having the courage to follow your own path. It is a universal theme, one that hits home for virtually everyone. Sure there may be better movies out there who execute this theme, but this movie does it competently in my opinion, and by Tyler Perry's standards, it is more than competent. It is dare I say, actually "good?" I liked the acting. Once I got past Thandie's always-strange accent and the little girl's initially poor acting performance, and Brian White's sometimes over-acting, the movie caught its groove and all of the actors delivered. Newton played a particularly touching role. I have to admit her ability to cry on a dime regarding the loss of her child, made me tear up a bit. To say that I was shocked to find myself actually tearing up from a Tyler Perry movie is the understatement of the day. Perry and Gabrielle Union also delivered. Both portrayed their complex characters well and competently showcased the true ambivalence that often accompanies a relationship, especially one that occurs when the couple is past their twenties and have to grapple with all the life expectations that entails. This brings me to the next highlight--the script.It seems like Perry actually took his time--or at least more time than he usually does, say on the horrible movies like "Madea Goes to Jail" or the like--on this script. There was more character development, more growth, more nuance, and unpredictability. There were plot holes, sure, but in general, you didn't feel short-changed as a viewer, like the writer was just trying to rush something through to meet a deadline so that he could ultimately get your money--ahem--"Why did I get Married 2" looking at you! Finally, I liked the pace of the movie. Some may think it was slow, I think it was mature...a mature movie about mature matters. I liked this for a change, especially in comparison to the low-IQ slapstick I had previously associated with Tyler Perry. And let me leave this little tidbit: If you, like me, happen to currently be in a similar place in life as these characters--about to make big life decisions but fear you are not making the right ones--you will doubly appreciate the meditative pace. You will appreciate the more introspective tone than is found in Perry's other movies.The movie is not perfect, but I will give it a relatively high rating simply to combat the unfairly low rating it has as of this writing. We should applaud growth when we see it. "See it" being the operative phrase. See the movie before low-rating it. Have some integrity folks.