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?jlilct PTyler Perny's
hit parade
BY MICHAEL GILTZ
,{* yler Perry's l/eet the Browns" opens today,
Si but it wasn't screened for critics. why
bother? The movie, about a single mom
(Angela Bassett) raising hef kids and finding
a good man, was made tor audiences, not critics.
Perry turned Hollywood on its head with the
smash hit "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" in 2005.
Soon, the 38-year-old New Orleans native was
everywhere: on best-seller lists; on the "chitlin"
theater circuit, where he'd made his name; on TV,
where "House of Payne" received an unprecedented
100-episode order (the largest in history), and, of course, at the movie!.
Perry's films -.they're usually promoted with his name in the title - may have
broad comedy but they also have strong messages of faith and family. Here's a
look at his first four hits.
DIARY 0t A lt|AD BTACK W0l'lAl'l (2005)
The stors Helen (Kimberly Elise) has it all - a handsome husband and a
mansion on the right side of the tracks - until the no-good dog shows up with
another woman and sends Helen packing. "l'm not bitter," she says at one peint,
"l'm mad as hell!"
fhe moral: Be strong! Helen learns to be strong with the advice of her momma
(cicely Tyson) and a few less noble comments from gray-haired matriarch Madea
(Tyler Perry). soon she has a qood man by h€r side.
I'IADEA'S FA]'|ITY RIUI{ION (2006)
The story: Victoria (Lynn Whitfield) is engaged to the handsomest man in town.
The catch? Blair Underwood is a no-good dog who beats her. When Nladea is asked
what they should do, she says, "Before or after his funeral?" Cicely Tyson returns
as Myrtle and Maya Angelou adds to the starry supporting cast.
The moralsr "No matter who vou are, there's always one thing you can counl on:
iamily." A man who beats you can take some counseling but that doesn't mean you
shoulri take him back
DADDY's I-ITTI.E GIRI-S(2007)
The storyi In a major switch,
this one's aboul a man who's
been done wrong i,4onty (ldris
Elba ol "The Wire") is a terrifrc
dad until his no-good ex-wife
takcs custody of his little girls
and iirnits him to one day a
week. while her punk lover will be around them all the time That ain't rigirt
The moral: "Havinq kids made him a daddy Taking care of them will rnake him
a man " Finding a super-hot divorce lawyer (cabrielle Union) to take on tlru case
helps your love life, too.
r tryHY DrD I GET I'|ARRTED? (2007)
i The story: A weekend getaway for some married friends exposes the shaky
I foundations of their relationships lanet Jackson, Malik Yoba and Richard T.
Jones head the cast. singer Jill Scott as the overweiqht Sheila has to decide if she
I deserves to be loved alter her no-good dog of a husband reveals a secret
The moral: "WhQever fate brings you, wherever life takes you, whatever faith
I showi you, love is what matters most." Especially when love comes in the shape of
i a strapping, sensitive sheriff (Lamman Rucker).
hit parade
BY MICHAEL GILTZ
,{* yler Perry's l/eet the Browns" opens today,
Si but it wasn't screened for critics. why
bother? The movie, about a single mom
(Angela Bassett) raising hef kids and finding
a good man, was made tor audiences, not critics.
Perry turned Hollywood on its head with the
smash hit "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" in 2005.
Soon, the 38-year-old New Orleans native was
everywhere: on best-seller lists; on the "chitlin"
theater circuit, where he'd made his name; on TV,
where "House of Payne" received an unprecedented
100-episode order (the largest in history), and, of course, at the movie!.
Perry's films -.they're usually promoted with his name in the title - may have
broad comedy but they also have strong messages of faith and family. Here's a
look at his first four hits.
DIARY 0t A lt|AD BTACK W0l'lAl'l (2005)
The stors Helen (Kimberly Elise) has it all - a handsome husband and a
mansion on the right side of the tracks - until the no-good dog shows up with
another woman and sends Helen packing. "l'm not bitter," she says at one peint,
"l'm mad as hell!"
fhe moral: Be strong! Helen learns to be strong with the advice of her momma
(cicely Tyson) and a few less noble comments from gray-haired matriarch Madea
(Tyler Perry). soon she has a qood man by h€r side.
I'IADEA'S FA]'|ITY RIUI{ION (2006)
The story: Victoria (Lynn Whitfield) is engaged to the handsomest man in town.
The catch? Blair Underwood is a no-good dog who beats her. When Nladea is asked
what they should do, she says, "Before or after his funeral?" Cicely Tyson returns
as Myrtle and Maya Angelou adds to the starry supporting cast.
The moralsr "No matter who vou are, there's always one thing you can counl on:
iamily." A man who beats you can take some counseling but that doesn't mean you
shoulri take him back
DADDY's I-ITTI.E GIRI-S(2007)
The storyi In a major switch,
this one's aboul a man who's
been done wrong i,4onty (ldris
Elba ol "The Wire") is a terrifrc
dad until his no-good ex-wife
takcs custody of his little girls
and iirnits him to one day a
week. while her punk lover will be around them all the time That ain't rigirt
The moral: "Havinq kids made him a daddy Taking care of them will rnake him
a man " Finding a super-hot divorce lawyer (cabrielle Union) to take on tlru case
helps your love life, too.
r tryHY DrD I GET I'|ARRTED? (2007)
i The story: A weekend getaway for some married friends exposes the shaky
I foundations of their relationships lanet Jackson, Malik Yoba and Richard T.
Jones head the cast. singer Jill Scott as the overweiqht Sheila has to decide if she
I deserves to be loved alter her no-good dog of a husband reveals a secret
The moral: "WhQever fate brings you, wherever life takes you, whatever faith
I showi you, love is what matters most." Especially when love comes in the shape of
i a strapping, sensitive sheriff (Lamman Rucker).