I Can Do Bad All By Myself

PG-13 4.7
2009 1 hr 53 min Drama , Comedy

When Madea catches teenage Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home, she decides to take matters into her own hands and delivers the young delinquents to the only relative they have: their aunt April. A heavy-drinking nightclub singer who lives off of her married boyfriend, April wants nothing to do with the kids.

  • Cast:
    Tyler Perry , Taraji P. Henson , Adam Rodriguez , Mary J. Blige , Gladys Knight , Brian J. White , Hope Olaidé Wilson

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Reviews

Hellen
2009/09/11

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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FirstWitch
2009/09/12

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

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Kirandeep Yoder
2009/09/13

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

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Allison Davies
2009/09/14

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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Benjamin Black
2009/09/15

THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME!!! I mean it, it is fantastic! I don't understand how anyone could dislike this movie! It's excellent! The time this came out, it was Tyler Perry's best movie! Madea's house is broken into by three minors. She feeds them, but takes them to their aunt, April. Their guardian, their grandmother, April's mother, has been missing for 4 days, so they're forced to go to April. However, April is a selfish, rude nightclub singing who is sleeping with Randy, a married man, and doesn't want to be bothered by these kids. That's not the only thing that's interrupts her daily routine of sleeping all day and singing and drinking at night. On top of that, Pastor Brian of the church down the street brings over a man who now works for the church but needs a place to stay. This man, Sandino, stays in her basement.OK, my explanation may be a bit lame, but I don't want to give everything away for this fantastic movie! Tyler Perry tries so many things from a thematic standpoint that we haven't seen from him before. When April walks in the bathroom with the camera focused on the boombox in her hand, the theater roared! I like the kids. They get into trouble and can be wise-crackers, but they also show heart and concern. The church scene is fantastic! It's so very real, and it wasn't just made to look real. Not only was it written and shot very well, the congregation, choir, and Pastor Marin L. Winans himself really invested themselves into this moment! It's not an imitation of church, it IS church! I like Sandino. Whereas the good male characters in Tyler Perry's earlier movies were good, they were perfect; they didn't have any flaws. While that's nice, it's not at all realistic. Here, Sandino does have a past. He gets angry, he gets violent. He's a great character.Now I do have two problems with this movie. They're not big, they don't damage the movie, but they do stand out a little to me. The first is a nit-pick: Madea. Where was she in this movie?! Do you realize she was only in about 25% of the film? I guess that's OK because the movie's focus is on who it should be on, April. But, still, I wanted more of Madea. When the movie was over, I said, "Wait, what? Where about Madea's other appearances?" The other problem I have is Randy. There's a scene where April is talking to Sandino, and Sandino says to her, "You're not this selfish. Why are you like this? Is it because of Randy, is it because of your man?" By the way April reacts to this, you'd think that is the answer. But I don't know if I buy it. I accepted that April was just a selfish, cruel person. I wasn't asking why. I guess my problem is that if Randy is the reason why she's so mean, why don't you show him more? How about a couple of more scenes with just Randy and April so we can see how his cruelness rubs off on her? Again, it's not a big problem, but it's more than just a nit-pick to me.Despite that, though, this movie is just wonderful! It's funny, it's dramatic, it's suspenseful, it's emotional, it's musical! In fact, that's another thing to mention: the music is great! I love it, it's awesome! I have to say, though, my sister and I both said we thought Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" was playing when the "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" song began. But it's still good! Watch it! You won't be disappointed! BOOYIKA!

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fewell01
2009/09/16

Madea, a character who is played by Tyler Perry, is the main character of this film. She catches a young teenager named Jennifer (Hope Wilson) and her younger brothers trying to steal from Madea's home. After she finds out that they have no one to take care of them, Madea contacts their only Aunt April (Taraji Wilson) to take them in. April is a nightclub singer who does not live the lifestyle that is appropriate for children. She drinks a lot, and is involved with a less desirable married man. Their relationship is definitely not healthy for April. She has no desire to raise the children, but slowly changes her ways when she realizes how much light they bring into her life. She meets a worker named Sandino (Adam Rodriguez), who moves into an extra room in her home. She is rude to him at first, but slowly realizes that she enjoys his company. He changes many of her views on life and love.The theme of this film is about family and love. It tries to prove that people can change, and that family is very important. It also shows that true love can be real, even when someone does not believe in it. April was involved with a married man, and had skeptical views on men. She doubted that they could be genuine and trustworthy, but found that she was wrong when she got to know Sandino. Madea has a harsh and blunt way of teaching lessons to April and the children, but she helps them learn that family is important, and people can change. Most of Tyler Perry's films have the same thematic structure. They focus on the importance of family and love. "Madea's big happy family" is one of the films that have a theme focused on love and family.Two of the most important techniques in this film are lighting and costume. The lighting of the film is very bright and a lot of front lighting is used. The film is both humorous and dramatic, and its intent is to entertain the viewer throughout. High-key light is mainly used to accomplish this. Costume is also important when it comes to Madea. Her flowery-designed dress is famous throughout all Tyler Perry movies. It seems ironic that such an obnoxious, mischievous woman would wear a dainty print on her clothing. If you pay attention throughout the movies and plays, Madea's dress has faded in color over time.All of Tyler Perry's movies teach lessons that have much depth to them. He always accomplishes bringing viewers to tears. This film is not different from any of the others. It is motivating, and uplifting to see a film that brings true love and family love into reality. The actors are wonderfully chosen, and make the film as great as it is. Madea is equally funny in each and every film. Her humor brings a refreshing smile to your face in dramatic moments of the film. Each movie leaves you excited for the next to be released.

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MartinHafer
2009/09/17

I am a masochist. That is why I am trying to see all the movies from Harry Medved's book "The 50 Worst Films of All Time" as well as all of the Bottom 100 from IMDb. Masochism is the only thing that would explain it. However, in my strange quest to see the best of the worst, I have occasionally run across some films that seem to have been included in the lists and you can't understand why. This is the case with I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF. Why is this film so hated that it made this IMDb list? To quote Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, "Where is the love?".Now I am NOT saying that this is a perfect film--there are two major problems that negatively impact this film. But, the film has so many wonderful moments--so much good acting and excellent writing that I am just baffled at the negative reviews. Let's talk about the two main problems. Tyler Perry apparently plays the comedic Madea character in all his films. However here, this character seems amazingly out of place in this ultra-serious drama. A little less Madea would have helped the film maintain a tighter focus. The second problem is that while the singing was all very high quality, there just seemed to be too much. Less singing and less Madea would have left more time for character development.What I really liked, though was the great story--at least once you got to it. Three kids are caught stealing in Madea's home. You soon learn that they are doing this because they are hungry. Their grandmother (who they live with) has disappeared and they chose a stupid way to deal with this. Madea takes pity on them--feeding them and taking them to their Aunt's house. The problem, however, is that the Aunt is a total mess--and one of the most selfish characters you've ever seen. Can all this work out successfully? Of course--that's a given. However, it's all handled very well and this one will most likely get you shedding some tears--so have some Kleenex handy. The acting was superb and the story very involving.Overall, a wonderful film that could have been more wonderful. Still, it's well worth seeing and is a good film for older kids--even if the language is sometimes rough and there is a brief (but appropriate) nude scene. This is because the message is awfully good--though I could imagine some finding it all a bit heavy-handed (I know I didn't).By the way, I am a middle-aged White guy. Tyler Perry movies are apparently NOT just for African-American audiences!

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justinblue
2009/09/18

Tyler Perry writes another hit and many on here are calling it trash. Big ups to Tyler Perry to writing movies that can touch people in a real way and for allowing God to show up and show off in his movies. Thank you Mr. Perry. Keep standing strong and don't succumb to the world's opinion that you should write another movie (like the rest of Hollywood) that discredits human value and totally removes God from the equation. This movie can help a hurting woman (or person) realize their true value and also help people understand that God loves them no matter what has happened.For those of you that didn't catch this in theaters, please check it out on DVD and open your heart to what God has for you through this film.

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