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Janet Jackson and Jill Scott ask, “Why Did I Get Married?”

Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? — the film adaptation of Perry’s stage play of the same name — opens in theaters today. And for the first time ever, I plan to actually pay money to see a Tyler Perry film.

Janet Jackson costars in the movie with the tricky little title. And by “tricky,” I mean that one has to be careful when reading the title out loud and answering it out loud within earshot of one’s life partner, or it may become the inspiration for a sequel titled Tyler Perry’s How Did Your Ass End Up Sleeping on the Couch for a Week?!

Having Janet Jackson as part of the ensemble cast gives the film version an immediate crossover (from exclusively black to a more general audience) appeal and a publicity push.

My interest in the film is not solely because Jackson is part of the ensemble (that’s a large part though). The film also costars Jill Scott, who is a favorite poet, songwriter, singer of mine. Wow. Janet Jackson and Jill Scott in the same film? That’s a must-see for me. Yes, I know that without a doubt I’d prefer to listen to them both on an album collaboration together, rather than acting on screen together in a Tyler Perry film, but still. I must. When I pay the $50,000 for my movie ticket (that’s what a movie ticket cost these days, right?) I’m doing it primarily for the sistahs.

The movie tells the story of four married couples, college friends, who gather annually for a week-long reunion. But as the synopsis warns, “the cozy mood is shattered when the group comes face-to-face with one pair’s infidelity. As secrets are revealed, each couple begins questioning the validity of their own marriage. Over the course of the weekend, husbands and wives take a hard look at their lives, wrestling with issues of commitment, betrayal and forgiveness as they seek a way forward.” Whoa … there’s going to be some drama, y’all. Even the synopsis is long-winded and detailed and drama-filled. Frankly, the movie seems a tad too melodramatic for my taste, as are most of Perry’s films. (I’ve watched a couple while channel-surfing over the years.)

For those who are unaware of Tyler Perry, he is well known in African-American popular culture. He’s actually best known for a woman he transforms into for many of his stage plays (some of which have been made into movies). To some, Mabel “Madea” Simmons is better known than Tyler Perry himself, and that might just be why Perry tends to use his own name in the title of most of his ventures. So six-foot-five-inch Tyler Perry dresses in drag and doles out the comic wisdom of an elderly Grandmother type — but he has at times been accused of being mildly homophobic in his joke telling as Madea, all the while of course being suspected of being gay himself.

He made his name writing plays and turning those plays into films. But the type of drama that works on stage does not always translate to the screen, mainly because the axiom for movie writing is “show don’t tell.” The same cannot be said for stage writing; often the plot point “reveals”

come by way of dialogue because there is such physical confinement in theatre. Perry does not seem to care about the apparent lack of respect shown towards his plays-turned-into-films by the professional critics. He doesn’t care all the way to the bank, and I can just picture Madea driving the Brinks truck right up to the teller’s window for withdrawals and deposits.

I’m also supporting the film with my paid attendance because it has a predominantly black cast, and from what I can tell, there is not a gang member, prostitute, pimp or parolee among the group! Imagine that! But getting back to the largest motivation for my interest, it’s good to see Janet Jackson back on screen, rather than merely her malfunctioning breast.

Goodness, one would have thought that the woman’s breasts caused war, famine, homelessness and illiteracy! Of course, I would have preferred her return to the screen in something other than what I am assuming will be a melodrama with stilted dialogue, but at least she is on screen and not fading into the sunset. She’s too talented for that. She has grown up in front of our eyes. Good Times still replays on TV Land, and seeing little “Penny Gordon” turn 41 confirms that Jackson was not a flash in the pan, or just a cute little face, or just well known because she was born into a famous family. I find Jackson to be an excellent triple-threat entertainer.

There are not many African-American female superstars at the moment, and in my opinion, Jackson still tops the list. (Of course, her brother could have shared that honor with her, having been born an African-American, but somehow he grew up to be a Caucasian woman!) Oh, I’m only kidding, everyone; calm down! In all seriousness, in order for Janet Jackson to remain there at the top, she must make movies, or do TV, and make albums and perform live. Janet Jackson has lived under the media’s eye and its fickle scrutiny her entire life, and she has proven to me that her talent has both exceeded her hype and silenced her detractors.

So here’s hoping that Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? will once again show why Jackson is still beloved by many. Aside from Jackson, Scott and Perry, the film also stars Denise Boutte, Sharon Leal, Malik Yoba, Tasha Smith, Richard T. Jones, Lamman Rucker and Michael Jai White. It was written and directed by Perry and is being released through Lions Gate Films. If you get a chance to see it, post your thoughts in the comments.

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