Tyler Perry movies give me so much nostalgia. My mother loves the man. She has been to some of his plays, we have the plays on DVD and all of the movies. Personally, I don’t like the tone of Tyler Perry’s early films. They are all over the place, especially Meet the Browns. The characters in the movie do create depth but muddy up the plot. The beginning of this movie is so focused on the story of the Chicago that when they go to Georgia and meet the Browns, that story becomes overshadowed. I don’t want to take away from the characters, I definitely can relate to them and see my family in those characters. When Leroy Brown sings, “This is your grandaddy”, that is a line my family recites at every family gathering. If this movie could have been more focused on the Chicago story it could have been over the top great. That story had my full undivided attention the whole time from the best friend trying to help anyway she can, to the mom having to deal with the dead beat dad, to the talented son in a struggling home, this is something very familiar to me and I really appreciated that part of the movie.
I'm glad to hear about your overall perspective about Tyler Perry movies. It would be interesting to hear about how your tastes differ from your mother's, because this is probably a common difference among many Perry fans, whether it's because she is older, or gender differences, or other factors.