Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (2008)

Without going into the characters and who does what I can say I really like this movie. I watch it frequently. I thoroughly enjoy Kathy and Alfre in this and other movies. I think the plots and the morale issues at hand are presented nicely. I particularly love the ending. I certainly didn't see it coming and was ecstatic. One needs to see the movie and think about the concepts presented before judging it.

Note that this is a review from a biased, Tyler Perry hating, reviewer. I haven't liked Tyler Perry since he was solely making screenplays. But to get that out of the way, I will also note that I am writing this on my tablet and the spelling might be a little off.★ Don't Forget That This Does Contain Spoilers ★The story follows an upper class business owning family that has strong connections with a middle class family (and branch family). It is immediately apparent that Andrea (Lathan), who is having an affair with William (Hauser), has been having said affair for so long that she believes that she is better than her own family. Making it totally known that they are both antagonists of this film... and now to meet the protagonists. Charlotte (Bates) and Alice (Woodard) the mothers of the two antagonists and there is the incredibly faithful, god fearing husband (of Andrea) Chris (Dunbar) that is too dumb to see that his wife is not interested him in the slightest. From watching the film for the first time, I was very upset with how Perry portrays Chris as the lovable idiot/martyr. Tyler Perry hates black men and it's evident in all of his work, as all of the black men are either complete A**h***s or too dumb to know when they are being done wrong. But I have digressed. The story pretty much follows an intra company takeover attempt by William to take control of his mother's company. In the middle of all of this, Chris eventually asks Andrea if she is sleeping with William (I mean, there son is mixed, you realize that he's Williams bastard as soon as you see him). William gives Andrea a slap from the depths of hell (she kinda deserves it for playing the dumby for this long), and of course everything works out well with Chris at the end while everything winds up horribly for Andrea. The final twist of the film is that Charlotte has given her company to Alice and William didn't even know until she makes a grand stand. So now William isn't able to take control of the company... All in all, the Protagonists win and the antagonists lose. Now for my review, I must state that I absolutely hate how cut and dry Tyler Perry movies end. But I must say that this movie was much better than his last films because of the cast. At points though you hate Chris more than anyone because he's so dumb. I gave this a 7/10 because of the acting, the (though unlikely) ending twist but most of all because Chris was able to slap the evil Andrea. (Now I must note that I am not a woman beater and I don't condone hitting a woman unless absolutely necessary, but if you've watched this movie you will want to stand up when you see the slap). In just reading my last sentence I have changed my rating to an 8/10 because the movie did what it was intended. It made me hate some characters (while not successful in the right characters) and made me adore some characters. This movie is worth watching just to see if you can agree to whether Andrea should have gotten slapped.

This is a good movie. The story is interesting and engaging, the acting is excellent, and the plots and subplots worthy of attention. There's lots of melodramatics as relatives clash, feelings are hurt, and friendships are tested. The main characters are upbeat, positive, and despite their flaws, likable. There's even a rich bad guy which can hardly fail to generate interest, The main player is Kathy Bates who once again gives a strong, commanding performance. The rest of the cast is equally effective, together telling a story that is provocative and entertaining. When family members clash, anything can happen, and this is the stuff from which drama emerges. Anger, laughter, betrayal, redemption, all this and more are shown in this movie. It's worth watching.

3.9???!! SERIOUSLY people this movie is at least an 8 or 9 even if you don't like these kind of movies. It's a solid 10 for me. This movie is plain and simply BOMB with a capital B. As in freaking good. I always end up underestimating how good Perry's movies are. This one had some amazing performances (Alfre Woodard-WOW lady!) and if you have any of the following: in-laws, spouse, family problems, money issues--then this movie will lift you up, inspire you, and leave you feeling like life is gonna be okay. WATCH IT!!!If you are like me, you may have seen a Perry movie in the past, loved the heck out of it, and then forgot all about how great it was. Maybe you even cringe a bit when you see another Perry movie because you think "oh wow just how many times can you pull off this blatant kind of movie". Tonight, I hit play with hesitation on the tivoed "The Family that Preys" with my wife. It was so good I Facebooked it and then actually SIGNED UP for IMDb for this after I saw how low the rating was. 3.9?!? NO WAY! 10 baby!