It's of course OK for a comedy to have a very simplistic story in it but its unforgivable when you just don't have a good comedy writer. Really, what's the point of watching a comedy when it just isn't being all that funny?
I just couldn't believe how badly written some of the comedy in this movie was. Most of the moments or pieces of dialog will get absolutely no laughs out of you, no matter how desperate the movie gets at times. The movie truly goes overboard in an attempt to still make you laugh, or at other times it's simply just going on and on. The director just didn't knew when to say cut at times, probably also because the director, Tyler Perry, himself is being on the screen a lot as well, as a whole bunch of different characters. But he clearly just ain't no Eddie Murphy!
The different story lines are either poorly connected or just connected in such an unrealistic way that it becomes ridicules. The movie even drops some story lines after a while and then picks them up again 30 minutes later, or sometimes it doesn't at all. It does the same with some of its characters. It all lets this movie feel like a real messy one at times and you are wondering multiple times throughout it what it exactly is that you are watching here.
The main premise of the movie is already a real ridicules and unlikely one to begin with. But the sad thing about it is that it's also absolutely going nowhere with it. At times I though that the movie was perhaps going to be one with some 'messages' it and the two different families would start to learn from each other and slowly but steadily grow closer to each other as well. But none of that is the case in this movie. It just mostly relies on racial stereotypes and other prejudices that just aren't being all that clever or original to watch and therefore also not all that funny.
And really, I love Eugene Levy but I just think he is better when he's not playing the lead role. He's just far better and more fun to watch in supporting roles, though it perhaps is not fair to say that purely based on his role in this movie of course. He is given some incredibly weak material to work with and the movie perhaps was at times relying far too much on his delivery. But not even a comical talent like Levy could turn some of the moments and pieces of dialog into something funny. And how are we supposed to believe he's married to Denise Richards? There is some weird casting going on in this movie but Tyler Perry foremost should not had cast himself playing 3 different characters. He just isn't a talented enough comic, so far too scenes involving him fall totally flat.
A failed attempt at a comedy.
4/10
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