Another film filled with secrets and surprises. Good set-up of plot and characters, if a bit predictable. Writer, director, producer, actor Tyler Perry (best known for his "Big Momma" franchise) goes for a bittersweet comedy-drama that delivers well. We were quite satisfied with the story and filming. A lot of restraint (no one swears in the film, for example) and non-preachy religious themes. We sat through the credits. Great song sung by Gladys Knight. Woodard's arc is grand. Definitely recommended. Perry is evolving well in his milieu as his empire grows. A fun update of Southern Gothic genre and good performances all round, save for Taraji P. Henson, who is all tics and gestures. Surprised at the IMDb fan-base low rating ( <3/10 ). Perry is a natural to bring our "Hayes Hotel" musical to the big screen or Atlanta and Broadway! - Frederic Kahler

I saw this film last night in the theater with a packed audience. It is the first time that I've ever attended one of Perry's films on an opening night. Quite an experience. Overall I thought the film was okay. There were some major potholes that left me wondering... Bate's and Woodard's performances were by far the best, and I think Tyler Perry could have had a very successful film if he had concentrated on the friendship between those two women alone. There were so many other story lines going on at once - perhaps too many, but a movie about two friends, one with Alzheimer's, the other one intent on helping her ailing friend enjoy her life by taking a road trip, meeting interesting people along the way, would have been a gripping, good story, one perhaps in which Bates and Woodard might have been nominated for an Oscar. As an audience member I greatly appreciated the scenes where these two stellar actresses were on camera together. In my opinion, they were the best part of the entire movie. The dysfunctional relationships between Andrea and Chris and William and Jillian are typical. There was nothing new or creative in their situations. With regard to Chris and Andrea, they never seem to be on the same course - each wants to do their own thing. As far as William and Jillian - we know very little about their relationship. So much attention is paid to the affair between Andrea and William and so little is paid to the two marriages, that you end up saying "who cares about these marriages anyway". As far as affairs go, it seems a bit unrealistic that they would be so sloppy in covering up their indiscretion. And are we to believe that they went so far as to use company money to further their illicit affair. This makes no sense considering how much money William has. Why wouldn't he pay for a motel in cash? Both parties knew about the "no fraternization policy" yet they wouldn't take precautions to ensure that they wouldn't be caught and fired. I understand that this storyline is a writer/director's choice, but it doesn't seem realistic. The fact that Chris would ask money from William to start a construction company that would directly compete with Cartwright Industries makes Chris' character come off as weak and ill prepared. You don't really root for him either - except perhaps to encourage him to leave his wife. And actually I thought she should leave him since she seemed to detest him greatly. This is the man; however, who goes to the bank to ask for a loan wearing overalls. Sorry, I wouldn't invest in his "dream company" either, but this also gives credence to the fact as to why his wife might be embarrassed of him. I kept wishing that just once he would wear a suit to an interview and have a business plan or proposal in writing. Lastly, Alice (Woodard's character) is a millionaire?! What the heck? She does not use her money to build a better restaurant or to help her poor daughter and son-in law. Yet, she watches her daughter practically beg for $300 from Andrea. This left me scratching my head. No doubt Alice knew of Chris and Ben's desire to start a construction company, a venture if profitable, would have helped her daughters and her grandson. Yet it never occurred to hear to say, "I'm a millionaire, I'll loan you $300,000." Her only response to her daughter's question about her being a millionaire at the end is "You didn't ask." Come on. Don't get me started on the homeless millionaire. I wish Perry's storyline had been more developed, but so much attention was paid to Andrea/Chris/William/Jillian, that some of the stronger story lines, like the homeless man Nick, were never fully developed. I liked certain elements - Alice and Charlotte's story lines being the best. The acting was done well, even with the characters who were two dimensional. I really wondered about the overall message of the movie. Perry always has a message within his movies, but this one was so convoluted that the message was almost lost. A rule of thumb is to stick to "one" message. He seemed to try to cram several into this one movie. All in all, I think Tyler Perry's movies are progressively getting better. This is his most diversified cast yet and his stories are slowly breaking out of the stereotypical "black box," in which we blacks are so often put. I'm hoping that he will realize his strengths and see that he doesn't have to cram five story lines into one movie, because this weakens the individual story lines. And it comes across as rushed and underdeveloped. With regard to this movie he had the potential to make four our five separately strong movies thus giving proper development to the characters and their story lines. I believe he has the potential and I look forward to seeing the manifestation of that in his future films.

****** Heavily Spoilered ********

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****** Heavily Spoilered ********

I thought the film title would have been better suited for a horror movie: "The Family That Preys Together" ? Actually, I downloaded this on a whim, I read the title, I saw the films poster vaguely and thought, wow this must be a vampire movie with an African American female lead, now THáT'S interesting ... But when it turned to be a completely different movie, a film even, it was okay too.

While I admire Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates, I don't think this film is destined for greatness. I don't exactly know what it is about it that was just a tiny bit off, but I'm guessing it's the more or less boilerplate story lines. You can see from the very beginning that Hauser and Lathan are gonna have an affair. To be fair, the 'Thelma & Louise' plot surprised me somewhat and the death of Bates was only to be expected ... on hindsight.

Also, the cast is somewhat type-casted. Dunbar is portraying the gullible sympathetic husband, and Cole Hauser the Bad Son, whose ambition drives him to take too much risks, which makes him an easy target for businessmen with bad intentions. Tyler Perry himself is the positive likable character, albeit with a somewhat risk avoiding behaviour. But, as a filmmaker he adheres to the rule that there should always be some likable minor characters. That he chooses himself to be that is not something bad or good in itself.

To be classed as 'Great Drama', the characters are a bit too flat. The 'evil' ones, William Carthwright (Hauser) and Abigail Evans (Lathan) could have been a teeny bit more sympathetic. And Chris (Rockmond Dunbar) could have been a little less sympathetic. Bates and Woodard (is she the Grand Old Lady of Afro-American Actors now? ;)) do their thing, which they do so well. Tyler Perry does us a great service by writing strong roles for older women.

The acting is great though, with the minor exception of Sanaa Lathan not being entirely convincing in the break-up scene with Cole Hauser. Other than that she was really convincing as the Evil Golddigging Jilted Lover Biyatch. I've only seen her in AVP, but here, she acts her socks off.

In the end, it is a great and gripping saga of the rise and fall of the overly ambitious cheaters and the victory of the meek and humble. This, however, is also why it's very Hollywood.