News Taffy

Hey guys! Hope you’ve all had a fantabulous week. I can’t say that I’ve done anything particularly fabulous myself, but this week has been a pretty chill one and I’ve enjoyed being able to relax a little.

Over the weekend, I saw Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds with my dear friend Allison, who is a huge Tyler Perry fan, and I was really looking forward to it; but, I must say that I couldn’t be more unenthusiastic about the film. Let me set it up first, and then I’ll tell you why.

In the film, Perry plays businessman Wesley Deeds, a man pushed to live the predictable life that others want him to. Life seems perfect for Wesley; he has a gorgeous fiancé Natalie (Gabrielle Union) and a successful company, but it’s obvious that riches and a beautiful woman aren’t enough. Wesley also has the job of watching over his drunken hot head of a brother Walter (Brian White), which only adds more tension and displeasure to his life. At the same time we see the story of struggling single mom Lindsey Wakefield (Thandie Newton), a janitor in Wesley’s office building, who has just been evicted from her home, and threatened by a call to child welfare after her daughter reveals to her teacher that they are living in their car. After almost getting her car towed for parking in Wesley’s spot and after Wesley finds her daughter sleeping in a closet, they meet yet again when Wesley sees her sitting in her car late at night and takes her and her daughter out for pizza. It’s evident from the beginning that sparks are there and with Lindsey’s tell it like it is personality, she threatens to break through his stuffy exterior. While things start to sizzle between Lindsey and Wesley, the relationship between Wesley and Natalie is falling apart. She is frustrated with his lack of spontaneity and his predictability and the pressures of the wedding and to have children starts to weigh on her.

You can probably guess where the rest of the movie is heading, so I won’t tell you too much more than that. The rest of the movie entails an in-office brawl, a long-awaited motorcycle ride and some big decisions. All this sounds really great right, like there should be no reason why I wouldn’t give this movie at least and eight, but that is simply not the case here.

Good Deeds has all the makings of greatness but it’s lacking in originality and memorability. I feel like I’ve seen this rich guy saves the poor down on her luck woman from her crappy life movie before and if you think hard I’m pretty sure you can say the same thing (cough cough Pretty Woman). After seeing Perry’s incredibly moving and memorable For Colored Girls, I just expected so much more. Perry usually gets it right with his funny movies with an underlying moral message, but this one is just OK.

I was originally going to give it a 6, but upon further reflection, I think it might actually be worth no more than 5.5. It somewhat pains me to give it such a low score because I really love Tyler Perry, but this movie just fell flat for me. I will say that the stand out performance for me was that of Phylicia Rashad, who played the role of Wesley’s mother. She is just incredible in everything she does, and at 63 years old, is absolutely gorgeous. I really hope that “black don’t crack” saying is true, because I want to look that good when I get older.

Well that’s all I have to say about that. This week I have absolutely no idea what I’ll be seeing, so if any of you have suggestions, let me know.

Until next time,
Raven