Why Did I Get Married?
I recently had the opportunity to review Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married Too?” (2010); the movie is a sequel to Perry’s earlier effort, “Why Did I Get Married?” (2007). Ideally, I should have watched the original followed by the sequel, but it was the other way round. After watching, “Why Did I Get Married?,” I can’t help think that the two movies are very much similar, even though the first movie offers background on the events leading up to the sequel. In fact, the two movies are so alike in their narrative structure that at one point, I could not figure out the differences between the original movie and its sequel. Well, that does not say much for either movie.
Both the movies commence with a vacation trip to an exotic location. Taking a break for their busy lives, the four couples plan to spend their time in the snowy mountains of Colorado
In both the movies, “Why Did I Get Married?” and the subsequent sequel, women are shown as the root cause of all the problems in their marriages, and men are portrayed as trapped in bad marriages. Rather than setting up collaborative couple-based sessions for addressing and resolving marital problems, it is somehow the woman’s responsibility to come up with a workable solution or make necessary adjustments. Terry throws a tantrum about Diane’s schedule and leaves the house without working with Diane on a feasible schedule. Then, we have Angela, who is incredibly obnoxious and doubts Marcus all the time. Patricia is shown as a career-oriented woman who ignores Marcus’s needs. And Sheila’s obesity is the source of unhappiness in her marriage.
Tyler Perry’s story fails to create interesting and thoughtful situations that will bring these couples together. Instead, what transpires on the screen between the characters is completely artificial and lifeless. More so, I don’t know what Perry is trying to conclude by portraying these marriages. Are women solely to be blamed for failed marriages? Should women not be career focused? In Perry’s world, men are always accommodating and misunderstood most of the time. He tries to portray men sympathetically without presenting the full breadth of their relationships or presenting us with alternative cases highlighting the dual nature of the marriage. What begins as a soul-searching exercise in questioning why people marry turns out to be a series of abject revelations between immature adults.
As in his earlier movies, Perry’s narrative deals with several believable themes, such as marriage and the complexity of human relationships that comes with it. Unfortunately, with a botchy script, poorly fleshed-out characters and their situations, “Why Did I Get Married?” is a complete bore. Moreover, Perry’s unbalanced approach in setting up marital discords makes the film utterly one-dimensional, driven mainly from a male protagonist’s point-of-view.
The characters haven’t progressed much beyond their daily marital issues in both the movies. At least the sequel had Janet Jackson’s melodramatic performance; however, this movie does not even feature a single notable performance from its cast, not even from Janet Jackson. Perry’s ideas are certainly credible, but the uneven execution of the ideas leaves considerable room for improvement. Perhaps Perry should stop writing his own movies and just focus on directing.
Video:
The 1080p transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The colors are accurate, but they do not leap off the screen in HD. The close-ups reveal enough detail that stays consistent throughout. The detail and sharpness are definitely improved over standard definition. But for some reason the transfer does not have a polished look, probably owing to a limited budget.
Audio:
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track works perfectly. The dialogue is clear throughout. The soundtrack brings life to the surround sound, but the film is mainly driven by the front channels.
Extras:
This release features a number of interesting featurettes. First, we get a short segment, “Janet Jackson: Return of an Icon.” Janet Jackson talks about the significance of getting back to an acting career after seven years. Tyler Perry discusses his fears of including the megastar, Jackson, in the film’s cast.
Next, in the featurette, “Reflections on Getting Married,” we see several cast members chat about relationships in the context of the marriage and issues surrounding it. Up next, we are taken to the music studio in “The Music of Married,” where the film’s composer explains the designing and recording process for the music in the film. Next, a short segment, “Married Rides the Rails,” takes us inside the train where Marcus and Angela are arguing.
Following this, an interview segment, “Girls of Married,” shows us the female actors discussing their roles, which is followed by another similar featurette, “Men of Married,” in which male protagonists discuss their characters. Finally, in the on-location featurette, “Winter in Whistler,” the production crew provide details on the location and sets.
Parting Thoughts:
With a messy script and contrived characters, “Why Did I Get Married?” has nothing interesting to offer. Instead, we get a conventional take on marriage that is devoid of realistic emotions. With its long running time, the movie becomes a daunting viewing task, and after a while it only makes you wonder, Why did I watch this movie?
Comments
Post a Comment