I Can Do Bad All by Myself, the latest film to be released from the Tyler Perry machine, stars Academy Award–nominated actress Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and an ensemble cast rounded out by Grammy-award winning songstresses Mary J. Blige (who wrote the movie’s accompanying titular song) and Gladys Knight.
Sadly, the many accomplishments of the film’s stars are the only things that could possibly boost the credentials of this poorly executed flop.
Bad tells the story of April (Henson), a club performer with a chip on her shoulder after the deaths of her sister and mother leave her the prime caretaker of her niece and nephews. In bringing April’s contentious attitude to the big screen, though, Henson’s performance was reduced to infantile tantrums and subsequent emotional breakdowns. Only when church-sent, kind-hearted handyman Sandino (played by Adam Rodriguez of CSI: Miami) enters April’s life is she able to appreciate both her life and the lives of those entrusted to her.
Happy ending aside, there was a major flaw in this film. In trying so desperately to capture the ever-pervasive pain and tragedy present in life’s most unfortunate situations, and even the levity of joy and triumphs, the film sadly loses itself when faced with the task of finding the same balance of humor and heartache perfected in Perry’s best film to date, Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
With too many characters, too many issues, and too many sad songs sung, Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All by Myself is just too mediocre to matter.
