For Colored Girls Reviews Revue – Mariah Carey could not be part of it because of her pregnancy, but it looks like her replacement English actress Thandie Newton did a fairly good job in the new film For Colored Girls who have considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf (aka For Colored Girls) directed by Tyler Perry that premiered nationwide today.
The beautiful star shares the spotlight with Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Kerry Washington and Macy Gray.
So to celebrate the release of the film in the U.S. Essence magazine has released two covers devoted to the actors who participated in For Colored Girls.
The first cover features the women which include Janet, Whoopi, Thandie, Kerry … all in beautiful evening gowns (minus Macy Gray).
On the other version of the magazine cover the the male cast members along with the director of the movie Tyler Perry strike a pose. Michael Ealy, Omari Hardwick, Richard Lawson, Hill Harper and Khalil Kain define elegance and class in their dark tuxedos.
This film which is an adaptation of a play by Ntozake Shange performed in the 70’s on Broadway has gotten mix reviews pushing some critiques to say that compared to Precious, Perry has failed this time around.
According to Peter DeBruge of Variety :
“in adapting Ntozake Shange’s Tony-nominated play—a cycle of poetic monologues about abuse, abortion and other issues facing modern black women, rather than a traditional narrative—the do-it-all auteur demonstrates an ambition beyond any of his previous work. And yet the result falls squarely in familiar territory, better acted and better lit, perhaps, but more inauthentically melodramatic than ever.”
According to Shadow and Act, the film is really worth your time:
For Colored Girls “the best thing Perry has done to date.”The film is said to be a dramatic improvement from his earlier work. Perry is complimented on his cinematography, and use of “subtlety and nuance.”
Despite holding only a 34% “Rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes most reviewers agree to say Thandie Newton does a brilliant job in the role of the party girl named Tangie who is constantly feuding with her mom Alice (Whoopi Goldberg).
Love the film.
“My love is to “smart” to get it thrown back in my face….”
Wow!!!! It doesn’t seem like there are any black men worth a penny in America, what a tragic epitaph this is on black men in America. It seems our travails sell with little regard to those men who are just the opposite of those portrayed in this movie. But sadly movies about good black men don’t sell. One day someone will understand how the black man has been the but and representation of everything negative in this American society. Please pray for black men everywhere as this movie profits skyrockets as our young men die, kill, steal, rob, maim, abuse, and lie as portrayed in the movie with no regard to our plight of being black and male in a heartless society that totally debases the black man’s worth.
My opinion is that this is a very thought provoking movie that surrounds the issues that many women (of any race) face on a daily. The writing was beautiful specifically the poetry that flowed as a soulful and geniune portrayal of real life displayed passionately through such gifted actresses… I also feel that this movie could have been top at the box office if not for the title which may have been a detterent to other races and some males.
The truth is that most black american males have been a huge disappointment to society. They have abandonned the family, disrespected and abused black women to say the least. And,. let’s not talk about the children of these men and how they are treated by them..
The movie was incredible and there wasn’t a bad performance in the bunch. Everyone in the cast was just brillant. Tyler was on point with his screenwriting and directorial duties. You have to remember when the original play was writtten (in the 70’s) and for Tyler to still take the original concept and make it more modern was incredible. This was a dream cast and just an incredible homage to the original. I was in love from the opinion scene to the last. The woman in the movie were sensational without a doubt. There were moments that I was laughing and other moments were I was crying my eyes out. Love me Janet all day and she truly showed and proved all the people who claim the girl can’t act. She was just white hot in this role but Loretta, Phylicia, Thandie, Kim, Anika and Kerry are women who at one point or another should be looking forward to award season because they really turned out something so special. Thandie and Kim appeared in ‘Beloved’ and both were acting revelations back then and by now you would think one of their many fine performances would have garnished them an Oscar or two but things are looking up for these women and the entire cast.
This movie might not get the Oscar buzz that it deserves and maybe everyone is hating severely on Tyler but this film was incredible.
Hey at least the NAACP Awards will show some love to this film. Nothing like Precious and Precious was that film that was incredible as well. This film gave me everything I wanted and I can’t forget Whoopi (Oscar winner) and Little Macy and Tess ( who is just as cute as a button). This is Black Hollywood Royality at it’s finest and I’m so proud to have witness this beautiful film.
I live in the Caribbean and my wife dragged me to see this movie which I would have never considered viewing just based on the title. I must say that this movie gave me a lot more than I anticipated. There were some gut-wrenching scenes that were emotionally draining and sometimes disturbing, and being a man I felt at times that the men in the movie really depicted black men in the most negative light.
However the Title of the movie is “For Colored Girls” and as such I would say that this movie served it’s purpose in reaching out to Colored Women who may have found themselves in various hardships leading to suicidal tendencies and depression. At the end of the movie I came out the movie-theatre feeling a sense of empathy for what many women and some men endure in their lifetime.
I recommended this movie to many of my friends as I thought that there were many positives that can be taken away from it once the movie was interpreted in the way it was meant to be. The actresses were fantastic…Big up to the Actors as well for supporting.
Tyler Perry deserves all the accolades thrown upon him. There would always be those to criticise, but that’s life! I really like what Tyler is doing for black people and the positive messages he sends in his movies. We in the Caribbean really appreciate all his movies so far.
I would rate this movie in my Top 5 of the year!!!
I thought the movie was breathtaking. Each performance was oscar worthy. Kimberly Elise stood out, beacuse of the role she played. There should be several oscar nods from this movie. While watching the movie, I felt like I was privy to a private audition for the oscars from each cast member. Whoopie’s role felt like it left some loose ends. Overall, this movie touched a lot of relevant issues in the black home, Brothers may be upset, but this is reality. I could relate to several scenes in this movie. It’s unfortunate, but true.