I Can Do Bad All by Myself (2009)

When Madea catches sixteen-year-old Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home, she decides to take matters into her own hands and delivers the young delinquents to the only ... See full summary »

Director:

Tyler Perry

Writers:

Tyler Perry (screenplay), Tyler Perry (play)

Stars:

Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyler Perry	...	Madea / Joe
Taraji P. Henson	...	April
Adam Rodriguez	...	Sandino
Brian White	...	Randy
Hope Olaide Wilson	...	Jennifer
Kwesi Boakye	...	Manny
Frederick Siglar	...	Byron
Gladys Knight	...	Wilma
Mary J. Blige	...	Tanya
Marvin Winans	...	Pastor Brian
Eric Mendenhall	...	Man #1
David Paulus	...	Miller
Randall Taylor	...	Mr. Bradley
Tess Malis Kincaid	...	Ms. Sullivan
Joseph Taylor	...	Announcer

Storyline

When Madea catches sixteen-year-old Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home, she decides to take matters into her own hands and delivers the young delinquents to the only relative they have: their aunt April. A heavy-drinking nightclub singer who lives off of Raymond, her married boyfriend, April wants nothing to do with the kids. But her attitude begins to change when Sandino, a handsome Columbian immigrant looking for work, moves into April's basement room. Making amends for his own troubled past, Sandino challenges April to open her heart. And April soon realizes she must make the biggest choice of her life: between her old ways with Raymond and the new possibilities of family, faith ... and even true love.

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Plot Keywords:

aunt | immigrant | love | nightclub singer | looting | 

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Taglines:

Hope is closer than you think.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving a sexual assault on a minor, violence, drug references and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Lionsgate [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 September 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All by Myself

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$23,446,785 (USA) (11 September 2009)

Gross:

$51,697,449 (USA) (23 October 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tyler Perry Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Jennifer: You brought his insulin. I was gonna do it.
Sandino: Well, now you don't have to.
Jennifer: Why are you so nice to us?
Sandino: I don't understand that question.
Jennifer: You nice, why?
Sandino: Why not? You shold expect people to be nice to you. You shouldn't expect people to be mean.
Jennifer: Not in ths world.
Sandino: You get what you expect, right?
Jennifer: I guess.
Sandino: You do a great job with your brothers.
[...]

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Connections

References Free Willy (1993)

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Soundtracks

"Contagious"
Written by Xavier Dphrepaulezz
Performed by Chocolate Butterfly
Published by Position Music Publishing
Courtesy of Position Music

User Reviews

Beautiful nuanced performances

The person who called this drivel never saw the film, guaranteed. The actors in this film are stunning, and the story is touching and real. Oscar nominated Taraji P. Henson not only carries the dramatic arc of the main character's transformation, she also kicks butt in her singing performance as self-centered club singer April. Mary J. Blige and Gladys Knight and Marvin Winans all deliver the goods in their acting and then blow the roof off with their singing performances.

And Hope Olaide Wilson's performance as 16 year old toughie Jennifer is simply remarkable. You can't quite grasp how remarkable it is until you watch an interview with her off camera and realize how completely and totally her character was invented. Totally convincing as the unwanted daughter of an American crack addict, with a nasty-ass inner city attitude and a volcano of anger inside, it's mind boggling to find out afterwards she is a luminous, joyful young woman who was classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and who naturally speaks with a lilting British accent. I will take bets on this... you will see her accepting an Academy Award one day. Absolutely brilliant. Like Meryl Streep / Kate Blanchett / Nicole Kidman

There are 6 full musical performances in this film, by Henson, Blige, Knight, and Winans, and they are better integrated into the story, more organically placed and more suited to the story than in any film I can recall. So it's not a "musical" per se, but a drama with humor and musical performances incorporated. And it works well.

I had never seen a "Madea" film before, nor anything of Tyler Perry's. To be honest, if I had known Madea was in the film I might have missed this gem, because I probably would not have watched it. I'm not into genre films or drag queen humor. I watched it because of the cast list. But although Madea appears in the film, it's as a supporting character. Fortunately. Because the Madea scenes are the weakest overall, and kind of rubbed me the wrong way in the context of the more naturalistic style of the rest of the film. Still, even Shakespeare used buffoonish clowns at various times to move the action along, so I think we can forgive Tyler Perry for boosting the box office appeal with a proved draw.

So I would not call this a Madea movie, nor would I label it an African American movie. Those labels are deceptively limiting. It's much bigger than you might expect. It is a very effective and entertaining drama (with music and comedy) that touches deeply on the human condition, and affirms the transformative power of love... both romantic and spiritual love. And it deserves a wider audience. And better reviews than someone who hasn't actually seen the film would give it.