I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• EightThirty .

  
  02/01/2012 (PS3, NETFLIX)

• Brad W

  
  I Can Do Bad By Myself may possibly be Tyler Perrys best film and has shown he is sometime a very good director. The plot focuses on one story instead on a bunch of them. and thats a good thing because then we get to know the characters and we care about them, but I really did get… More
  I Can Do Bad By Myself may possibly be Tyler Perrys best film and has shown he is sometime a very good director. The plot focuses on one story instead on a bunch of them. and thats a good thing because then we get to know the characters and we care about them, but I really did get into the story. The cast was very good, Tyler Perry is funny as usual, and Taraji P Henson plays a great and very emotional role and she made me cry near the end. The music wasn't for me, many people may enjoy that but its just boring music to me, but hey, its my opinion. If I have said it once, ive said it a thousand times, we want more Madea in these films, you can't just use her like three times and make us laugh and cry, its really hard, but I still love Madea. I Can Do Bad By Myself has some pretty big flaws, but what it doesnt make a mistake in is acting and story, I really enjoyed this film and I recommend it.

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  Cast: Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Brian J. White, Hope Olaide Wilson, Mary J. Blige, Adam Rodriguez, Kwesi Boakye, Frederick Siglar, Gladys Knight, Marvin Winans, Eric Mendenhall <br/> <br/>Director: Tyler Perry <br/> <br/>Summary: Jennifer (Hope… More
  Cast: Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Brian J. White, Hope Olaide Wilson, Mary J. Blige, Adam Rodriguez, Kwesi Boakye, Frederick Siglar, Gladys Knight, Marvin Winans, Eric Mendenhall <br/> <br/>Director: Tyler Perry <br/> <br/>Summary: Jennifer (Hope Olaide Wilson) and her kid brothers realize they've picked the wrong house to rob when they come face-to-face with quick-tempered matriarch Madea (Tyler Perry), who promptly deposits them with the only family they have: their hard-living aunt April (Taraji P. Henson), a nightclub singer. April's got no room in her heart for the kids -- until a handsome new tenant (Adam Rodriguez) starts to crack her tough exterior. <br/> <br/>My Thoughts: "A typical Tyler Perry movie with the same premise as his other films. Another woman in a bad position being rescued by another "prince charming". Different story, but the same outcome. It's getting a bit boring. The women in these stories are all starting to blend into one another. Beaten, raped, molested, or being cheated on. Basically they all get treated bad by men in their life, and then here comes another man to treat them right. Although there is comedy to relieve some of it, its still the same feel of the other films. So if your looking for something new and he hasn't done before, this one isn't it. I would like to see him do something different. Also, why is the answer to every woman's problem in his films solved by a new man. Can't these woman be strong and independent? Not every woman needs a man to make it all alright. Just getting old with these story-lines. Tyler Perry needs to start looking outside the box he has put himself in, cause these concepts are played out and he needs new material."

• Cynthia S

  
  Gosh, I really wanted to love this movie. I didn't expect Madea to be in it, and when she showed up I laughed and laughed. Those parts are great, and the only reason why I gave it 3 stars...otherwise I would have given it 2. There were WAY too many singing performances in this… More
  Gosh, I really wanted to love this movie. I didn't expect Madea to be in it, and when she showed up I laughed and laughed. Those parts are great, and the only reason why I gave it 3 stars...otherwise I would have given it 2. There were WAY too many singing performances in this movie. I know that Madea's name was not in the title, so apparently she wasn't a big part of this movie. Well, she needed to be to make it better.

• Nani V

  
  Wanted to like it, but it wasn't for me.

• Mister C

  
  Every year around this time,we get another dose of Tyler Perry and his alter-ego Medea. This is another one of his films that brings positive messages with a sense of christian values in them. "I Can Do Bad All My Myself" is excellent in several areas,with Oscar nominated… More
  Every year around this time,we get another dose of Tyler Perry and his alter-ego Medea. This is another one of his films that brings positive messages with a sense of christian values in them. "I Can Do Bad All My Myself" is excellent in several areas,with Oscar nominated actress Taraji P. Henson conquering the film with her breakout performance here and it shows along with a stellar cast that includes Brian J. White, Gladys Knight, Adam Rodriguez, Marvin Winans,and Mary J. Blige(who also sings the title track of the picture).

• Bradley W

  
  I Can Do Bad By Myself may possibly be Tyler Perrys best film and has shown he is sometime a very good director. The plot focuses on one story instead on a bunch of them. and thats a good thing because then we get to know the characters and we care about them, but I really did get… More
  I Can Do Bad By Myself may possibly be Tyler Perrys best film and has shown he is sometime a very good director. The plot focuses on one story instead on a bunch of them. and thats a good thing because then we get to know the characters and we care about them, but I really did get into the story. The cast was very good, Tyler Perry is funny as usual, and Taraji P Henson plays a great and very emotional role and she made me cry near the end. The music wasn't for me, many people may enjoy that but its just boring music to me, but hey, its my opinion. If I have said it once, ive said it a thousand times, we want more Madea in these films, you can't just use her like three times and make us laugh and cry, its really hard, but I still love Madea. I Can Do Bad By Myself has some pretty big flaws, but what it doesnt make a mistake in is acting and story, I really enjoyed this film and I recommend it.

• Jason V

  
  Taraji P. Henson is a force of nature in this Tyler Perry film. Watch how she constantly and confidently changes tone from righteous indignation to emotionally broken to a soul sister over the course of two hours. The material is obvious and a bit demeaning...but she almost… More
  Taraji P. Henson is a force of nature in this Tyler Perry film. Watch how she constantly and confidently changes tone from righteous indignation to emotionally broken to a soul sister over the course of two hours. The material is obvious and a bit demeaning...but she almost overcomes the script by herself. Other actors help her out in fits and starts, though none have the sheer gravitas of Henson. (In regards to demeaning: there's the insinuation Henson's April needs a good man in her life. Not that she can do it all by herself, but the man is key. I have a problem with that. Then there's the revelation April lives literally next door to church but hasn't been there in ages. Really? REALLY?) The real downside here is Perry as the insufferable Madea. Perry's appearances drag the film from the family drama it should be into the realm of comedy, which is wildly off target for the material. Yes, I suppose the audience needed a familiar face to dive into the movie, but I wish that face hadn't been Madea. Really, though, I'd take a whole Madea movie as long as Henson was right there on the screen. What a magnetic personality and a terrific actress unafraid to do anything the script asks her to do.

• Jeff B

  
  Based on his past syrupy dramas with the plot structures of Little Golden Books, the prolific Tyler Perry can clearly do bad all by himself. Audience approved but critically disapproved, Perry's bottomless bottle of feel-good pills starring himself as a 7-foot granny have tested… More
  Based on his past syrupy dramas with the plot structures of Little Golden Books, the prolific Tyler Perry can clearly do bad all by himself. Audience approved but critically disapproved, Perry's bottomless bottle of feel-good pills starring himself as a 7-foot granny have tested the patience of this reviewer in the past. His latest, however, actually stands testament to this filmmaker's cinematic strengths as well as weaknesses. More than any of his works, Bad made each of these points glaringly apparent. The movie is still sub-standard, cloying fluff at best, but there shines a hope that success is making Perry a better writer and filmmaker...if only he could lose the 7-foot granny in drag. In this PG-13-rated drama, some delinquent siblings (Hope Olaide Wilson, et al) are put in the care of their aunt, a boozy nightclub singer (Henson) who wants nothing to do with them. Admittedly, your terminally cynical reviewer found himself drawn into the ranking and rising optimism of the powerful second act...only to be let down by Perry's endless sermonizing. Backed by rousing gospel music (and Gladys Knight), Perry built his very flawed main character up in a revealing worship scene only to chillingly have her confront a villainous boyfriend in the next. For 20 amazing minutes, it proved to be the only time that your reviewer completely bought the dialogue and intentions of these players. Rather than a satisfying wrap up, however, more histrionics ensued. The frustratingly unfunny scenes involving Madea also rankle what could have been a solid effort on Perry's part. Bottom line: Perry bad things.

• Dannielle A

  
  Writer-director Tyler Perry has done it again with perhaps the best of his career. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" has a title that just makes you cringe but it is a funny, heart-warming story. The story begins when Madea catches three children robbing her home. She brings… More
  Writer-director Tyler Perry has done it again with perhaps the best of his career. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" has a title that just makes you cringe but it is a funny, heart-warming story. The story begins when Madea catches three children robbing her home. She brings them to their aunt's house after giving them some dinner. Their aunt is an alcoholic nightclub singer who sleeps by day and parties at night. She is involved with a married man who pays all her bills and whose wife is pregnant again. The local church sends April a handyman to help fix her crumbling old house in return for room and board, the optimistic and caring Sandino in whom April later falls in love with. It's hard to care about April or anyone else in I Can Do Bad All by Myself because for the first hour, nearly every character is unlikeable. Then April turns her life around with the help of Sandino and an eye-opening revelation that her boyfriend is worse than a creeper. She goes to church, gives her life to Jesus, and lives happily ever after. The spiritual message in Tyler Perry's film is a little vauge. Probably because he doesn't want to offend people of different theologies but in so doing, he has left out an important part of the gospel. In any case, the movie does well, and even evoked a little tears during some of the singing parts.

• Fascade F

  
  Soulfully intoxicating story with a heart warming cast dealing with problems and solutions for trust and acceptance. I recommend this flick for those having problems with accepting family relationships. See this it is a gripper! Taraji P. Henson is a rising star that will never… More
  Soulfully intoxicating story with a heart warming cast dealing with problems and solutions for trust and acceptance. I recommend this flick for those having problems with accepting family relationships. See this it is a gripper! Taraji P. Henson is a rising star that will never disappear.

• Deb S

  
  Madea and her brother Joe catch three kids breaking into their home. You soon learn that they are doing this because they are hungry and their grandmother (who they live with) has disappeared. Madea ends up taking them to their Aunt April's house. The problem, however, is that… More
  Madea and her brother Joe catch three kids breaking into their home. You soon learn that they are doing this because they are hungry and their grandmother (who they live with) has disappeared. Madea ends up taking them to their Aunt April's house. The problem, however, is that their Aunt is a total mess--and one of the most selfish characters you've ever seen. This is a typical Tyler Perry and he definitely got several messages across tackling every modern social issue I could think of .... child molestation and how we can sometimes turn a blind eye toward it, pedophile step fathers, indifferent society, cheating, lying, dishonesty, disrespect to others, alcoholism and a screwed up child welfare system. The acting was superb and the story very realistic. Hope Wilson gives a star making performance as Jenifer while Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) gives a stellar lead performance as self-centered club singer April . She imbues April with a good center underneath all her problems. This is crucial because, without it, we wouldn't care about her character. Mary J. Blige, Gladys Knight and Marvin Winans blow the roof off with their singing performances. Adam Rodriguez from CSI Miami is great as April's knight-in-shining armor. I Can Do Bad All by Myself is a competent mixture of uplifting black middle-class melodrama and comedy and serves its purpose to the audience it's speaking to. Recommended.

• Joseph E

  
  Oh , How "tyler Perry" Blends melo-Drama and Irony into a new form. "Taraji P. Henson" was in for a seemingly sensational role, but came out a little oversealous, and took on a job, that we soon learned, might have been to hard for her.

• Remi L

  
  It was a typical feel-good Tyler Perry movie of a woman's adversity over life's struggles followed by a Hollywood happy ending and complete with inspirational gospel music from today's top gospel and secular R&B musicians. I know that Perry uses the exact same… More
  It was a typical feel-good Tyler Perry movie of a woman's adversity over life's struggles followed by a Hollywood happy ending and complete with inspirational gospel music from today's top gospel and secular R&B musicians. I know that Perry uses the exact same formula for all of his films, but I still love them. If you want a chick flick where you can just escape into some drama and romance and comedy, this is your film.

• Quinto W

  
  There two things I'm sure as of now: Tyler can sit a lot of African-American asses down in a movie theater; Tyler Perry is also a bad filmmaker. Not the worst, and certainly not Bottom100 worthy on IMDb, but he's bad. He's incosistent, cuts corners, shifts tone like… More
  There two things I'm sure as of now: Tyler can sit a lot of African-American asses down in a movie theater; Tyler Perry is also a bad filmmaker. Not the worst, and certainly not Bottom100 worthy on IMDb, but he's bad. He's incosistent, cuts corners, shifts tone like crazy and wouldn't know a multi-dimensional character if it hit him in the face. Worst of all, he's also Madea. Still, there's no denying the movie has a heart and comes from a place where its target audience can relate to and has going for it that it stars the very likeable Taraji P. Henson (likeable off-screen, here she's just a nagging bitch).

• Movee C

  
  In watching this movie I had to keep in mind that it orginated from a stage play. With that in mind, I found it to be satisfactory. The acting was low standard and predictable leading to the jokes being missed or just not funny. I didn't laugh out loud or inside. I just watched.… More
  In watching this movie I had to keep in mind that it orginated from a stage play. With that in mind, I found it to be satisfactory. The acting was low standard and predictable leading to the jokes being missed or just not funny. I didn't laugh out loud or inside. I just watched. The plot was unrealistic and the characters, especially the niece, were unconvincing. Her attitude was overacted. Taraji lines were terrible. It probably would have been more excelling if she'd adlibbed the whole thing. The rest of the time, I was thinking how cute of a couple Taraji P. Henson and Adam Rodriguez would make. ***Mary J. Blige did a great job in the film.

• d j

  
  I have seen all his films. I have yet to see a bad one. He is a true talent when it comes to telling a story. I get to laugh and cry in all his movies. This one is another amazing testimony to his talent. Well worth watching. And Madeas bible story had me rollin in the floor!

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