Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself

Tyler Perry’s fourth movie in two years is one of his better films, but that doesn’t mean it’s any good. Taraji P. Henson stars as April, a nightclub singer forced to look after her niece and nephews after they try to rob Madea (Perry). Henson is a top-flight actress, but she is working with a typically lame Perry script here. Still, the movie does co-star Gladys Knight and Mary J. Blige, and, thankfully, Perry offers them multiple chances to sing. If you are a Madea fan, you will be disappointed. The character has a couple of good moments early in the film, but disappears for most of the second half. Perry is a well-meaning filmmaker, but his stuff has a bad sitcom quality to it. Perhaps he should take a little time in between flicks and shoot for quality instead of quantity. Considering the big box-office takes for his movies, that probably won’t happen.