Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Why Did I Get Married Too?

September 8, 2010

Why Did I Get Married Too? - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray

Why Did I Get Married Too? is the latest film from Tyler Perry, whose fiscal record is amazing. His films tend to cost just a fraction of the average Hollywood release, while they almost always make more than their combined production and P&A budgets. Critically, on the other hand, he has been less successful with only one film, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, earning overall positive reviews, and even then it was barely able to do that. So obviously these films work within a certain target audience, but not with most critics. With that in mind, can Why Did I Get Married Too? live up to Tyler Perry's past work, or at least avoid living down to his past work?

The Movie

A follow-up to 2007's Why Did I Get Married?; in that film, a number of couples travel to a mountain cabin resort for a marriage retreat. Over the weekend, the couples fight, some marriages end, and some marriages become stronger.

In this movie, a nearly identical group of couples travel to a Caribbean resort for another marriage retreat and even before they get there, there's plenty of fighting. Angela freaks out because she thinks her husband is cheating on her, because his new high-profile job means he has a lot of female fans. (He's a sportscaster.) Diane and Terry's marriage seems to be strong and they've even had another kid in the three years since the first movie. Sheila has divorced Mike and married Troy. Finally there's Patricia and Gavin; she's a successful author of the relationship advice book, "Why Did I Get Married?", but by the end of the first movie, we learned her marriage wasn't as strong as her book success would otherwise indicate.

So they get to the Bahamas and they talk, and they argue, both as couples and as groups. Sheila's ex-husband, Mike, shows up... and they argue, and they talk, and they argue some more.

This is one of the least cinematic movies I've seen. However, and this is important, I could have forgiven the film this fault if the script wasn't so... lazy is the term that pops into my head. But that's not quite right. If there is a shortcut to take, this movie takes it. Instead of giving us characters that feel real and that we could have conflicting reactions to, we are given one-dimensional stereotypes to either cheer of boo when they walk onto the screen. Likewise, the relationship advice given is the most simplistic pap imaginable. Finally, the dialogue feels unnatural. These people don't sound like friends that have known each other for years and that are having a heart-felt conversation. These people sound like fictional creations written by someone who has a point to make. Granted, that is exactly what they are, but it shouldn't sound so artificial.

I haven't seen a lot of Tyler Perry's films, and I'm not exactly a fan of his work, but this film is below his usual standard.

The Extras

I only have the DVD, which contains two interview featurettes, one with the actresses and the other with the actors. There is a trivia track that uses the subtitles. And finally, there's a music video. In total there's less than 30 minutes of special features, which is not a lot for a first-run movie.

Blu-ray has no additional extras, but it costs 40% more, which is a bit much for a dialogue-driven film, such as this.

The Verdict

Even if you are a fan of Tyler Perry in general and this franchise in particular, Why Did I Get Married Too? is a step back. Add in a DVD and Blu-ray that don't have a lot of extras, and this is only worth a rental, and that's only if you are a fan. For the uninitiated, it is skippable.


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