Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All by Myself

MPAA Rating: PG-13

for mature thematic material involving a sexual assault on a minor, violence, drug references and smoking.

Reviewed by: Elisa A. Walker
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating:

Better than Average

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Moviemaking Quality:

Primary Audience:

Adults, Teens

Genre:

Comedy, Drama

Length:

1 hr. 53 min.

Year of Release:

2009

USA Release:

September 11, 2009 (wide—2,100 theaters)

Relevant Issues

Stealing in the Bible

Thieves in the Bible: Theft, Robbery, The two thieves

Mercy in the Bible

Discover God’s promise for all people—told beautifully and clearly from the beginning. Discover The HOPE! Watch it on-line, full-length motion picture.

Teens! Have questions? Find answers in our popular TeenQs section. Get answers to your questions about life, dating and much more.

Featuring:	Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Brian White, Hope Olaide Wilson, Kwesi Boakye, Frederick Siglar, Gladys Knight, Mary J. Blige, Marvin Winans, Eric Mendenhall, David Paulus, Randall Taylor, Tess Malis Kincaid, Joseph Edward Taylor, Cheryl B. Pratt, Judith Franklin, Jameaka Tubbs, Thomasina Walker, Jamilah Windham, Greta Glenn, Tanya R. Rodriguez, Toni Redd, Shedrick Garrett, Jean Witty
Director:	Tyler Perry
Producer:	The Tyler Perry Company, Roger M. Bobb, Reuben Cannon, Jerry P. Jacobs, Michael Paseornek, Tyler Perry
Distributor:	Lionsgate Films

“Hope is closer than you think.”

review updated Sept. 22, 2009

Writer, actor, director and producer, Tyler Perry has done it again. “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” is another great film filled with laughter, tears, and love. After breaking into Madea’s (Tyler Perry) house, Jennifer, Manny, and Byron (Hope Olaide Wilson, Kwesi Boakye, and Frederick Siglar) are sent to live with their selfish, drunk Aunt April (Taraji P. Henson). And so their story of finding love, God and a life worth living for, begins.

“I Can Do Bad All By Myself” is the quintessential Tyler Perry movie. With blunt comedy and intense drama mixed together, believable characters and a darn-good storyline, you’re sure to get your money’s worth. Madea is her usual, crazy, funny, and violent self; who gives wisdomatic biblical advice that isn’t always sound, but somehow always points to God. For example, young Jennifer asks Madea if she can teach her to pray; after some hesitation Madea agrees and ends up teaching Jennifer that in order to stop drowning, one must simply keep their eyes on Jesus and not get distracted; and that by saying a prayer in Jesus’ name, puts a stamp on that prayer and ensures it goes to Heaven. As funny as this statement sounds, it is true; without Jesus there would be no salvation or any personal relationship with Him, though her doctrine may be off, even Madea realizes that Jesus is the key. “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:27,30).

At first look, any Tyler Perry film, can be viewed as blasphemous or a film that simply makes fun of Christians; on the contrary, Mr. Perry is a self-proclaiming Christian that purposely weaves his comedic, no nonsense Madea character in with a Christian storyline. In order for the viewer to survive his intense storylines, they need the comedic relief that Madea brings. Particularly in this film, churchgoers are seen as good people who care about their neighbors and are there for each other. Pastor Brian (Marvin Winans) tells his congregation that they are worth helping, are valuable and will be alright because God will get them through whatever they’re going through. Other lessons are learned, Manny states that he doesn’t ever want to steal again because of how hard Madea is making him and his siblings work after they stole from her. “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” really shows viewers what a good community does for each other and how people should be treating each other. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these”; “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Mark 12:31; Matthew 7:12).

Offensive Content

Language: There were several uses of “Hell” and “Damn”, a couple uses of “A**”, and 1 use of “Hooker”. The cursing was kept mild as far as the actual substance of the words used and was moderate concerning the amount of times a word was used.

Violence: As usual Madea threatens people, April attempts to electrocute Randy (Brian J. White) in a tub, after he tries to rape her niece—also Sandino beats Randy up after this same incident.

Sex: April is sleeping with Randy who is married to a pregnant woman, but nothing is ever shown, except them sleeping in the same bed together (underneath sheets that cover them). And when Randy is in the tub and April attempts to electrocute him, he jumps out and for a split-second his backside is exposed.

Offensive content and behaviour such as this (and the miscellanous items listed below) were not glorified in any way and were shown to be wrong, and the film provides a godly resolution at the end.

Miscellaneous: There are a couple of scenes in the nightclub where April works, so drinking, dancing, and smoking is seen, but nothing extreme, just what you would expect at a nightclub. Jennifer has a horrible attitude towards everyone she comes in contact with, but soon realizes that there are better ways to treat others. Uncle Joe (Tyler Perry) makes a comment about his weed being stolen. Also, references are made to the children’s mother who was a crack head and was abusive to them. And, Tyler Perry does dress as Madea who is a woman, but cross-dressing is never glorified, the character Madea is a woman, not a man pretending to be a woman, but a woman—much like the film “Hairspray” with John Travolta’s character.

My Recommendation

The language, sexual, and violent content were kept at bay, making “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” a good movie for older teens (who can deal with mature thematic elements) and adults (who can look past the above-stated offensive content). This film gave my parents and me several different things to talk about and made our conversation very enjoyable. With a first-rate script, superior actors, and a skillful plot, “Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All by Myself” is a must-see (but not for kids)!

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.

Positive

Positive - All that is in this review is correct. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised at how good this film was a must see.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
—Joe Petrone, age 53 (USA)

Positive - I thought this was Tyler Perry's best film yet. The directing and acting were fantastic. I found myself sitting in the theater with hands raised praising God at certain points, tears flowing at others, and laughing in between the two. Without giving away too much of the plot, Tyler Perry was a trendsetter with this movie. It is one of the first of its kind as it relates to relationships with African-American women. Hooray for Tyler Perry. When I first heard the title of the movie, I thought about a woman talking about her finances. (I did not see Tyler Perry's stage play stage play which the movie was based on.) The movie deals with so much more than that.

April's situation is a reflection of a lot of women's situation in way or another. Either her childhood or adulthood. Of course Madea added her special touch to the film, without necessarily being one of the main actresses. When you watch Madea in action, don't take her too seriously. That is not her purpose. She is strictly there to add a bit of comedy to an otherwise very serious storyline.

For example, her account of Peter and his “walking on the water” experience was obviously inaccurate, but don't take it seriously. It was meant to be funny. Or when Madea was reluctantly teaching Jennfer how to pray, that was funny but the beginning of it had a ring of truth for some African-American churches. She did explain, in rather simple terms, the importance of ending our prayers “in Jesus' name.” In other words lighten up in regards to Madea.

There were a very limited amount of curse words in the form of he__, da__, and a couple of a__es (I can count them on my hands) dispersed throughtout the course of this almost two hour movie. No F-bombs or anything like that. Much better than the average PG-13 movie.

I do not recommend taking young children to see this movie, but it may be a good movie for mature teenagers. I think some great dialogue between parents and children could come from it. I give Tyler Perry two thumbs up for this one. Bravo.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
—Rulanda Taylor, age 34 (USA)

Positive - “I Can Do Bad All by Myself” was outstanding. I am a single mom and strong Christian. I am thankful for the message this movie sends to single moms and women not to lower their values in order to pay bills and put up with abuse. I brought my teenager with me. It was a movie that touched his heart. He a strong athlete and not many movies has ever got his attention like that one. He was open to listen/talk about the things of God after this movie. Also I appreciate that Tyler Perry showed “true love” is greater than racial barriers. You must watch “I Can Do Bad All by Myself.” I believe it was one of the best Christian movies I seen in a long time.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
—Ann, age 50 (USA)

Positive - This movie is fantastic! There are funny moments and moments that will grab you. I too felt like raising my hands up to praise the Lord at one point. We need more movies of this genre. Hallelujah!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
—Jerry, age 55 (Canada)

Negative

none

Comments from non-viewers

After reading the review for “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” I must strongly disagree with how the reviewer rated the film “Better than Average.” I have not seen this film nor do I plan to because of the amount of filth contained in it. Fornication, adultery, profanity, “weed” (drugs), alcohol, violence, false doctrine, attempted rape, attempted murder (all of these came from the review). Does the list ever end? Please, my brothers and sisters, no not be deceived into thinking that watching these kind of films is “OK.” We should not recommend watching these types of films to other believers or unbelievers, we should be warning each other to steer clear of the filth that Hollywood is producing. Older teens, adults, or persons of all ages should not be supporting films that contain extreme worldliness to include “I Can Do Bad All By Myself.” Please ask yourself this question before you pop a movie into the DVD player, “Would I be able to play this film in front of my congregation?” 1 John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Please friends, do not see this sin glorifying movie. It does not deserve a “Better than Average” rating on this website. Grace and peace in Him
—Karl, age 24 (USA)

Neutral - My comment is for Karl, whose post particularly struck me in a negative fashion this morning. Dearest Karl. I know that you long for the world to be a perfect place, and for the film industry to portray the world as such a place. However, this is quite simply not the case. Now, with that being said, I do not proclaim Tyler Perry as the voice of a generation. His films are flawed in many ways, and I believe that are a bit overrated.

With that being said, I must also point out that his intentions seem to be pure. As an artist, whether it be Tyler Perry or Stanley Kubrick, it is your job to present “truth.” What is truth, you may ask? People have been asking that same question for many years. Why, Pontius Pilate himself even pondered upon this from time to time! To me, truth, as it is portrayed in art, should be a reflection of the world around us.

Now, I personally cannot speak for you, Karl, but the last time I stepped outside of my home and into the real world, I encountered things at work and at school that may have been unpleasant. I heard language that some may consider offensive. Heck, I even have friends who have made various mistakes throughout their lives. Some of them were pretty bad! And yet, when I got home, and looked in the mirror, I realized that I too had made some of the very same mistakes that my friends had made, and that I was, indeed, not perfect. The most shocking thing was last night, when I opened my Bible to read it. I mean, this is God's word, and all of the naughty things that you had listed in your post were indeed present: “Fornication, adultery, profanity, ‘weed’ (drugs), alcohol, violence, false doctrine, attempted rape, attempted murder.” Now, I don't know much about the weed, but I do know that God felt that all of these elements were important enough to include them in His book, the Book of Life!

Really, when you think about it, the Bible is a book about sin, and God's grace intersecting and redeeming sinners. Seems to me like this is what Tyler Perry is trying to convey with his film. Really, when you think about it, this is what most artists, whether “Christian” or “secular” are trying to do with their work. I guess some of us just think we are above sin, or something to that effect. My brother in Christ, Karl…dear Karl, let us not fall into the trap of righteous pretentiousness. Let art speak for itself.

Clearly, it's all there in your Bible as well, so no matter what you do, you can't escape the fact that sin exists, and must be dealt with, whether that be through Bible study or a particular art form. It may be a tough concept for most people to handle, but that's just the way it is. If I have offended you, Karl, in any way, I apologize, for that was certainly not my intention. As for the film itself, not one of Perry's best, but better than the rest!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 2½
—Steven Adam Renkovish, age 27 (USA)