Think of all the worst things that can happen to a woman in her life and they're all reflected in the flock of women gathered together in this sad tale, all of them living in the same building(or not far away) like this was The Women of Brewster Place. There's Jo(Janet Jackson), a wealthy upper class magazine editor with a haircut like a 12 year old boy, an icy glare, and an all too attractive dolt of a husband who might be gettin' a little action on the side; Tangie(Thandie Newton), the token slut; Yasmine(Anika Noni Rose), an inner city dance instructor; Kelly(Kerry Washington), a social worker who can't have kids because of an STD(seriously); Crystal(Kimberly Elise), who's veteran husband beats the snot out of her on a regular basis because he can't find work; Juanita(Loretta Devine) as a lady who keeps getting screwed over by the same dude; and Gilda(Phylicia Rashad) as the wise ol' sage mother hen of the building, imposing her furrowed brow at anybody she disapproves of. These poor women must've wandered into the next level of Tyler Perry Hell, where rape, child murder, botched abortions, and cheating spouses(HIV infected spouses at that!!) are the norm.
Men aren't treated much better. In fact most of them are buffoonish hard bodies with bowling ball heads. They smile and look pretty, but none of them have a single positive agenda. How could they? That would defeat the whole purpose, wouldn't it? Nobody wants to see a movie with a positive African-American male figure, do they? There's Donald(Hill Harper), as Kelly's cop husband. He manages to not smack anybody in the mouth, or date rape them....but I'm convinced if the movie had gone on another ten minutes he would've found something awful to do. Maybe kick a puppy on the way to buy a kid a pack of cigarettes.
It'd be funny if it wasn't so sad because in a lot of ways this is the first movie Perry's made that has the potential to make a statement. And yet you can pin point the exact moment when he appears to throw everything out the window and begins spoon feeding his audience exactly what he knows they want to see. It happens...ohhhhhh, let's just say when the first baby gets hung out a window. How's that sound? Or when Macy Gray shows up wielding her abortion providing coat hanger of doom. Where the heck do you even find a back alley abortionist nowadays? What is this, The Cider House Rules? The focus is so heavily swayed to the ugly that each woman is basically a walking shame magnet. They're never portrayed as positive figures even once after their ordeals. Just victims to be pitied, and in some cases embarrassed by. I doubt that was the message the usually feminist Perry was trying to get across.
In typical fashion, Perry's script is devoid of any nuance and broadly washes over ideas of homosexuality in black men; promiscuity; the devastating effects of unemployment and substance abuse on families; rape; and upper class guilt. By portraying every single one of these issues in the ultimate worst possible light there's no room to even think about how serious these problems actually are. There's no room to think about solutions, and honestly the movie provides none for any of these women. Basically it's "Let's just hug it out" and everything will be ok. There's really only room to laugh at the absurdity of it all.
A movie like Precious
, no picnic by any means, doesn't revel in turmoil the way For Colored Girls does. In conclusion, the women gather atop a rooftop to wax poetic about the hard lives they've led. It's a freeing moment, and a welcome breath of fresh air that we needed as much as the characters do. I'd be interested in seeing how someone with a more experienced, polished directing hand would've adapted such rich material. How someone better equipped could've managed such extraordinary talent. I don't fault Tyler Perry for making this movie, such as it was. I just think he should stick to putting on wigs and wearing old women's clothes. 
