"For Colored Girls" film review (directed by Tyler Perry)

****** The following review is likely to contain SPOILERS and notes on GRAPHIC CONTENT. You have been warned *******

As promised, here is my review of Tyler Perry's newest film, "For Colored Girls."

Going into "For Colored Girls" at the Madison Theater with two of my friends, my first observation was that hardly anybody was there. In the entire theater, it was only myself, my two other white friends, and about five to seven African-American/black movie goers. Although this was a fairly interesting observation, it does not really hold any significance, other than my two friends and I were clearly not a part of the target audience.

Regardless, a few things that I liked about this film (that differed from the 1982 PBS-affiliated film) were that all the women were connected in some way. The majority of the women in the film lived in the same run-down apartment complex, while others were employees, mentors or friends of those who lived in the building. Also, all of these women had names, professions and personalities, so they were easier to relate to, and while the poems did not always seamlessly fit into the narrative, they were more fluent than before. I also liked the addition of Janet Jackson's character, the self absorbed head executive of the stylish "Robe Rouge" magazine (think The Devil Wears Prada). Although I forget the character's name, I feel that she was added as a representation of the modern (black) woman who has acheived greatness, but at the same time lost her roots while fighting to get to the top. In the beginning of the movie, I liked when Juanita, the nurse who runs a women's center and has had an affair with a man for several years, tries to come to Jackson's character (Joanne) asking for a donation to her center. Joanne completely refuses to listen to her plea, so Juanita gives Jo a piece of her mind, especially after waiting in the office for two hours, only to be shot down within three minutes. At this point, Juanita exclaims that she is sick of being in the office, because of how "white" everything is. It was at that point that I noticed exactly *how* white it all was...the furniture, desks, walls, ceilings...even Jo's outfit was white. It was a symbol of how sterile and conformist the offie was, because in that office no one had any personality or attachment to their roots and culture--it was all about the big corporate identity that they all shared for this magazine. (Later on in the film, however, when Jo's employee's boyfriend drops their two children out the window and Jo witnesses it, does her personality become more soft and conflicted as her personal life escalates and she discovers that her gay (cheating) husband gave her HIV/AIDS, does she wear red, the color for HIV awareness, as well as a symbol for dominance).

One thing I did not really expect was the rape scene among Yasmine, a dance instructor and her up-until-then respectable seeming boyfriend. Within a matter of sixty seconds we see this man go from nice guy off the street to a man unpeeling his shirt and stripping off his pants and boxers to the surprise of Yasmine and the audiene as he brutally rapes her. This scene in particular reminded me of the rape scene we saw on "The Last House on the Left", because throughout most of it we see Yasmine's tortured looking face as she's raped within her home by a man she thought she trusted. Meanwhie, the beautiful Cuban meal she was preparing from her youth was burning on the stove, just like the love she held for that man.

A few things I did not understand or didn't particularly like in this adaption was despite the nature of the film--which I perfectly understand--this film makes all black men out to be rapists, abusers and the like. There was only one black man who did not engage in violence, and that was the only legitimately married couple in the film (the social worker and her police officer husband). Otherwise, nearly any man mentioned on or off camera (such as Whoopi Goldberg's abusive father who also abused her eldest daughter) was portrayed in a negative light, and once again I can understand why, but it seemed to send a message other than "regain your pride as a black/colored woman. Believe in yourself and help each other." It seemed to be more like "if you want to be happy, a white man is your best bet." I hope these statements do not affend anyone, but that is the message I got out of the film.

Another issue I had with this film was that a few of the poems did not fluidly fit into the film, such as the butterfly poem told simulataneously by Whoopi Goldberg's religious character and her eldest daughter Thandie. The camera constantly cuts back and forth between the two, so you hear a part of the poem, murmurs of the rest of it in the background, and then another part while the other woman mimics the other (in mumbling). It feels largely disjointed and hard to follow and you also feel as if the meaning and purpose behind the poem is lost.

If anyone else has any comments on the film, questions about it or whatnot, feel free to comment. For the sake of length, what I mentioned above where only the highlights that I had wanted to discuss. Overall I felt that it was a very beautifully done film that probably needs repeat viewings to get the full picture (especially with the scenes like the one mentioned above). The cast is excellent, the color symbology is in full force, and it discusses subjects not often talked about in mainstream society today (especially mainstream films).