Click to read the article
Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:37
Fresh:23
Rotten:14
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: Though somewhat formulaic and predictable, Perry succeeds in mixing broad humor with sincere sentimentality to palatable effect.
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis:
When Madea, America’s favorite pistol-packing grandma, catches sixteen-year-old Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home, she decides to take matters into her own hands and delivers...
When Madea, America’s favorite pistol-packing grandma, 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 her married boyfriend Raymond, April wants nothing to do with the kids. But her attitude begins to change when Sandino, a handsome Mexican 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.
Lionsgate and TPS Present A Reuben Cannon/Lionsgate Production. An uplifting drama infused with music and Tyler Perry’s trademark mixture of laughter and heart, TYLER PERRY’S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF stars Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Brian White, Hope Olaidé Wilson, Kwesi Boakye and Freddy Siglar, and features dramatic and musical performances by Gladys Knight, Marvin L. Winans and Mary J. Blige, who performs an original song penned by chart-topping R&B writer/performer/producer Ne-Yo. --© Lionsgate
Starring: Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Brian White
Starring: Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Brian White, Hope Olaide Wilson, Kwesi Nii-Lante Boakye, Frederick Siglar, Gladys Knight, Mary J. Blige, Marvin Winans
Director: Tyler Perry
Director: Tyler Perry
Screenwriter: Tyler Perry
Producer: Tyler Perry, Reuben Cannon
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself
Contrived, sentimental, tonally bipolar, and as predictable as clockwork, this latest from chitlin' circuit impressario Tyler Perry is just a fat slab of ecstatic entertainment.
I Can Do Bad All By Myself may not be a model of tonal restraint, but it's well acted, it's funny, the music is phenomenal, and the religion is sincere.
Perry sticks to his storytelling principles, doing what he does so well.
Tyler Perry's latest crackles with electricity, thanks to heaps of boffo acting talent, high-octane musical interludes, and the most easy-to-root-for electrocution scene since Ernest Goes to Jail.
Lurches around for nearly two hours before concluding that all its heroine needed all along was a good (and hunky) man and Jesus.
Tyler Perry does good all by himself, but having Henson on board helps.
If the Atlanta impresario is just bored with cranking out two adaptations a year of his earlier stage work, the audience is getting restless, too.
It is easy to knock the Tyler Perry formula, but you have to give the man credit: He knows how to create meaty roles for women.
Though no one would cite him for the cinematic qualities of his visually pedestrian films, Perry is a master conductor of emotions.
Mr. Perry has his moviemaking machine running smoothly, which is to say somewhat predictably.
Unashamedly fond of mixing messages of vengeance and piety, Perry nevertheless manages to reduce the tonal whiplash, so that this newest entry glides a little more easily from broad laughs to teary anguish and finally sweeping uplift.
It’s the best Tyler Perry movie to date -- the writer/director/actor/mogul’s most confident and competent mixture of uplifting black middle-class melodrama and low-down comedy.
After a summer of phony, pasty rom-coms, do this: See a movie where old-fashioned notions of love, faith, strength, and the possibility of redemption are taken seriously.
If Perry continues to surround himself with great talent like this, maybe it'll force him to step up his own game and make a movie that departs from his increasingly tired formula.
The songs and Henson's sensitive portrayal of the woman who has neglected herself and her home keep us involved.
Latest News for Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself
September 13, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Tyler Perry Does Good All By Himself
This weekend Tyler Perry ruled the charts once again as fans flocked to North American multiplexes for his latest film I Can Do Bad All By Myself which gave the filmmaker his... More...
September 10, 2009:
Critics Consensus: 9 Looks Great, But The Plot's Weak
This week at the movies, we've got post-apocalyptic conflict (9, with voice work by Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly); Antarctic intrigue (Whiteout, starring Kate Beckinsale... More...
July 21, 2009:
Official Trailer with with Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Mary J. Blige, Hope Olaide Wilson, Brian White, Kwesi Nii-Lante Boakye, Frederick Siglar, Gladys Knight, Marvin Winans, and Adam Rodriguez ![]()
More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself at Rotten Tomatoes
- Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself at IGN
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

