The Family That Preys (2008)

Two families from different walks of life learn to work together.

Director:

Tyler Perry

Writer:

Tyler Perry

Stars:

Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan, Rockmond Dunbar

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alfre Woodard	...	Alice Pratt
Sanaa Lathan	...	Andrea
Rockmond Dunbar	...	Chris
KaDee Strickland	...	Jillian Cartwright
Cole Hauser	...	William Cartwright
Taraji P. Henson	...	Pam
Robin Givens	...	Abby
Tyler Perry	...	Ben
Kathy Bates	...	Charlotte Cartwright
Sebastian Siegel	...	Nick
Santana Pruitt	...	Christopher
Kaira Akita	...	Robin (as Kaira Whitehead)
Ron Clinton Smith	...	Construction Foreman
Jeffrey Alan Chase	...	Austin
Johnell J. Easter	...	Customer

Storyline

Alice Pratt, a hard working Christian woman, raised her two daughters while managing a simple diner of her own. Her snobbish and arrogant daughter Andrea graduated in Economic Science and works in a construction corporation while her sister Pam stayed with Alice and worked in the diner. Andrea is married to construction worker Chris, who works in the same corporation as his wife but dreams of starting up his own business. However she is being unfaithful to him - with their boss William Cartwright. William is the son of Alice's best friend, the wealthy Charlotte Cartwright. While Alice travels with Charlotte on a road trip, the ambition and infidelity of William triggers a series of events that will affect relationships in both families.

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Plot Keywords:

infidelity | river baptism | millionaire | forced baptism | biracial child | 

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Taglines:

Follow your heart. But watch your back.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, sexual references and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$17,381,218 (USA) (12 September 2008)

Gross:

$37,019,849 (USA) (17 October 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Louisiana Producers Film Source, Tyler Perry Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the scene where William breaks up with Andrea, it switches between two different camera shots as they are speaking. In one camera shot, Andrea's hands are on William's shoulders, and in the other, they are not.

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Quotes

William Cartwright: [Approaching Andrea and Chris] Is something wrong with the site?
Andrea: No, Mr. Cartwright. This gentleman was just leaving.
Chris: [Shaking William's hand] Hey, Mr. Cartwright. Chris. Andrea's husband.
William Cartwright: It's been a long time.
Chris: Yeah.
Abby: [Shaking Chris's hand] Oh, hi. I'm Abigail Dexter. Andrea, you never told me you were married.
Andrea: [Smiles uncomfortably at Abby]
Abby: So, I guess we'll be seeing you at the gala?
William Cartwright: Um, gala?
Abby: The opening of the Prestige building?
[...]

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Connections

References The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986)

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Soundtracks

"Have A Little Faith"
Written by Jim Tullio & Jim Weider
Performed by Mavis Staples
Publihsed by Tools Music (BMI), Moon Haw Music (ASCAP) & Staples Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Alligator Records

User Reviews

wow. have this negative reviewers even seen or understood the movie!?

there are 2 things i need say here:

1-as a features(direction, acting, etc) this is a well done movie. i would even consider it for an award or two( not Oscar since this particular award is anything else BUT real life movies anymore). all the actors give outstanding performances except maybe Tyler Perry which one can see he is not a professional in this particular field. but even on this aspect he is at least putting the effort in. Taraji P. Henson, Cole Hauser, Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan and Kathy Bates are all well casted. my main star here would be Taraji P. Henson , both as an actress as much as the character itself. this woman can be VERY expressive beside being still beautiful while not as young anymore. Robin Givens is engaging while Rockmond Dunbar is truly at his best! i give it an 8 rating at this chapter.

2- subject matter is NOT preying on a "certain audience" as some reviewers keep implying. it does cross the border of being BLACK or WHITE and that is its STENGHT. to sum this up, race does not matter anywhere as much as CLASS does. the present day stereotypes are all here, especially the corporate ones, and in a realistic form, that MANY of us could identify with on a general level( maybe not the wealthy ones that pay reviewers to "diss" this movie just because it obviously does hurt their PERCEPTIONS of living the life at the "top"). i give it a 10 rating for the plot and subject development even if i do not agree with ALL the points made here( but most of them).

the movie is not politically correct YET it does not play on viewer's emotion and expectations. it seems i am indeed a fan of Tyler Perry's production now that i think of it because i can not recall any of his movies that i do NOT like. also i am not part of the visible minority that most of the actors here are. doubt that this has any relevance as in WHY i like this particular feature(i really do not think it does).

i recommend this to any adult viewers and adolescents( no matter race) that is CONCERN with present day social values as they are being imposed from the TOP,( mass media, etc) and NOT from the old fashioned COMMON SENSE, that made this word spinning around, long before Hollywood came alive.

just give it a shot, the 3 star rating makes NO SENSE, really.