**Warning!!* This post contains mild movie spoilers!
Today was the day I decided to grit my teeth and willingly see a Tyler Perry film. Okay, maybe willing isn't completely accurate but I really wanted to enjoy For Colored Girls because, while I have my issues with Perry as a filmmaker, I knew that the source material was beautiful. I am, of course, referring to the choreopoem by Ntozake Shange. Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf is a beloved piece of literature that generations of women have enjoyed since its release in 1975. With such a rich history surrounding this project, there was no way it could lose, right? Wrong. So very wrong.
Today was the day I decided to grit my teeth and willingly see a Tyler Perry film. Okay, maybe willing isn't completely accurate but I really wanted to enjoy For Colored Girls because, while I have my issues with Perry as a filmmaker, I knew that the source material was beautiful. I am, of course, referring to the choreopoem by Ntozake Shange. Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf is a beloved piece of literature that generations of women have enjoyed since its release in 1975. With such a rich history surrounding this project, there was no way it could lose, right? Wrong. So very wrong.
Halfway through the film I was struck with a feeling of annoyance. The whole thing was so...dramatic! So dramatic, in fact, that I mentally renamed the film For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When Their Daily Lives Were Too Damn Depressing to Live. Seriously, just take a look at some of the main plots: one woman finds out that the sexuality of her husband is questionable, rape threatens to break the spirit of another woman, yet another woman is in a relationship with a man who is abusive to their children, an inability to bear children brings sadness to one woman whenever she's around unwanted children, another woman struggles with a shiftless spouse, and a conflict of sexuality and religion test the familial bonds of three women.
With all of that going on there was a lot of tension, arguments, and tears....oh goodness...the tears. I believe every actress perfected the art of the single tear at some point in the film. But with this over abundance of raw emotion, I could not help but wonder: what happened to the joy? If For Colored Girls is to serve as a celebration of womanhood, what are we really celebrating? To let the film tell it, black womanhood is wrought with drama and tumultuous experiences. The films lacks the light and balance that the book provides.
Now, to be fair, the movie wasn't a complete failure. The actresses did their best to breathe additional life into Shange's words and delivered inspired performances. Kimberly Elise can convey sorrow and devastation like none other and Phylicia Rashad's portrayal of a wise, “see all” landlord grounded the production. Anika Noni Rose, who I'm used to seeing in light roles, has 2 pivotal scenes that truly reached into my chest, grabbed my heart, and broke it into pieces. These women drop viewers right into their world and force you to walk with them, wonder what will happen next, and cheer them on to sunnier days.
It's just a shame that the movie as a whole doesn't take viewers to that sunnier day.
