For Colored Girls (2010)

A representation of black women in different households.The film is an eye-opener to the different issues that can surround different types of people. Tyler Perry's choice of representing black women in a range of ways is particularly imaginative and intriguing. He focuses on representing confused black women who do not fit into society's diaspora, and seek to belong. There are also women who do fit into society but shut away from the world; through being anti-social or controlling in order for their problems to be hidden behind a mask. None of the women seem 100% happy with their lives but put on a brave face in order to face society and carry on with their lives.All the women have downsides in their lives that they feel ashamed to share with others in order to get a shoulder to cry on. However, one major event unites all the black women. Tyler Perry shows elements of moral panics that surround society such as abuse. The representations of the women are to point out issues that affect relationships, lives and stability, not only in black women's lives, but the life of every woman in the world. The film affects the audience in a range of different ways. To those who find the film very enjoyable they will empathise and sympathise with the women in relation to their lives, or simply because the events that occur build an emotional response within them. However, to those who did not like the movie their response could be that the film misrepresents black women and the events that happen are too hyperbolic and would not happened to a majority of black women in society.

I just recently caught this film and I loved it. This was an artistic film. I think those that don't get poetry and film meshing together, won't understand this concept. It was brilliant. All of the characters had situations that I believe ALL women, not just AA women can relate to. SPOILER DO NOT READ FURTHER-Unfortunately there are many women that have been raped, abused, sex addicts, had an abortion, loved someone that didn't love them back, etc. I must say the acting by Anika Noni Rose was perfection. The horror on her face when she saw Khalil Kain unbuttoning his shirt was what I imagine any rape victim would look like. Her body language and somber mood after the rape seemed very real. Millions of women are victims of sexual assault every day. Anika brought the horror of sexual assault to the forefront in an honest way in her scenes. I do agree with other posters that say the back alley abortion didn't seem realistic for today's times. Yet the tragic reality is abortion still exists. My only problem with the scenes were they focused too much on the physical pain endured by the character and not the mental anguish that would surely come with this act. I love Elise Neal in all that she does. However, I found it strange that a woman who is abused and lives in what appears to be a ghetto, is working for a high powered executive. Usually, assistants to high powered execs get paid pretty well. So her occupation and living arrangements didn't mesh. And most women with a great job/career I believe would have high self esteem and not subject themselves to the abusive treatment. I know that women get abused but the occupation/living arrangements didn't work well for me. Janet Jackson was cold in a creepy way. If she was trying to channel the brilliant Meryl Streep it did not work AT ALL. She just cannot act. Period. Point Blank. When I saw her in Why Did I Get Married, I laughed during all of her scenes. They were supposed to be serious scenes, so that is not a good sign.Phylicia Rashad (sp?) was brilliant as the nurturing apartment manager. She did not overact. She showed concern in a sincere way and executed her lines well.Thandie Newton was brilliant. It was odd seeing such a pretty woman act as a sex addict (not a prostitute) It was a contradiction, but I guess these women exist.Whoopi Goldberg played the cult-obsessed mother very well. I am sure everyone has encountered a person obsessed with religion at one point or another.Loretta Devine is great at everything she does. She can do no wrong in my eyes. She just has the acting chops. Kerry Washington was great at highlighting the pain of infertility. The conundrum of having to work with people that don't want their children when she so desperately wanted children for herself.The male actors: Khalil Kain-you portrayed a monster. Very real. Very scary. Omari Hardwick-you portrayed a down low guy exceptionally well. Richard Lawson-you portrayed a jerk very well. Hill Harper-you do these subtle nuances that are so brilliant. You came across as caring, loving and very supportive in the few scenes that you had. Perfect acting as always. Kudos to all the men in this film. Great job even for those with difficult roles!Needless to say with the exception of Hill Harper, all of the men were creeps, jerks, abusers, rapists, drunks, down low. This male bashing formula is something I notice in all Tyler Perry films. He surely has a disgust for his own gender, which may be because he was harmed by men when he was young. I never really see Tyler Perry portray AA men in a positive light. Being that his films are seen by so many AA people that isn't a good thing. Young black men need some films to inspire them and portray them in a positive light. Regardless of the scene or the character this movie had my attention from beginning to end. It was very intense, I cried a few times. It was raw and gritty. It was not slow whatsoever. It was very deep, sad and disturbing. It is not the type of movie I would want to see again because of that. That does not take away from it executing N. Shange's poetry perfectly. The pain that these women experienced in their film is real and it happens to women every day.

There are just too many negatives in this film.1. Why are the overwhelming majority of the women in this film pecan colored, with long-hair? A vicious distortion of the 'real life' its supposed to be portraying.2.The writing one dimensional and is at or below the 6th grade level. Janet Jackson's office scenes were so thin and badly written (phoned-in for sure) I was actually embarrassed for her!.. poor child had nothing to work with!3.The set-designs, strictly 101.4. The poems of were a cute artistic insertion but mid-way through became laboriously pretentious considering everything else in this movie had the subtly of a Hummer. Why do "Black" films still, to this day in age, feel the need to "teach" the most banal life lessons? It's 2010. We've already had domestic abuse & HIV scenarios hammered into us for years already. NEXT! This movie is an after-school special, for colored people.

I have to start this review by saying that it is with great reluctance I had to mark this film as disappointing. I was drawn in to the story of these women because I really wanted to see how they survived the traumas they were dealing with and the anger they were facing. I really wanted to find something in these characters to like, but other than a few of them, I really didn't find them likable enough to sympathize with their plights.The film has an amazing cast of black actresses, many of whom I have had the delight of seeing live on Broadway. I think it was well intended to make a film version of this, but unfortunately, the movie doesn't come off as pro-women as much as man-hating and angry. Not all of the women presented here are negative characters; The abused mother beaten up by her veteran boyfriend I definitely sympathized with, as with the younger daughter of a religious fanatic whose older sibling is a sex addict. Totally lovable is the nurse who opens her own clinic. But along with the sexually addicted sister, there is her fanatical mother, the nasty CEO, as well as practically every man in this movie.I really wanted to find something in these men to identify with as well to make them seem more real, but it seems that every man here has the hidden intention to hurt their women, whether they were addicts, rapists, bi-sexual, or just flaky. For the CEO's husband's secret to totally come out of left field (on the down low) I was glad I was watching this on DVD so I could rewind it to make sure I heard what I just heard. There's three sides to every story, they say, and here, you only get one side.As for the performances, everybody is outstanding. The acting is not where the problem lies. The hearts of the women played by Phyllicia Rashad and Loretta Devine are bigger than all of Central Park, and in one key moment, Rashad has one single line that reveals more about herself than most of the characters do in the rest of the movie. Devine's character is the epitome of "Earth Mother", and if you're like me, you just want to give her a huge hug. As for Whoopie Goldberg, this has to be the strangest character she has ever played, but she does so brilliantly. The problem with the younger actors (save Anika Noni Rose, whom I think is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful and talented young actresses on stage and screen today) is that their parts are not layered enough to show any humanity under the anger. "Love Story" taught us that "Love means never having to say you're sorry." This film tries to tell us that "Too many sorry's mean a ton of sorrows."