‘Acrimony’ Review by B. Gunn
Wassup, y’all! We are gathered here today in holy acrimony. Wait…what? I actually used the phrase, “Wait…what,” a lot while watching Tyler Perry‘s new movie “Acrimony” starring Taraji P. Henson and Lyriq Bent.
The official description of this movie is “A faithful wife tired of standing by her devious husband is enraged when it becomes clear she has been betrayed.” Yeah, uh…about that. This description is quite misleading, as is the entire film.
I’m sitting here trying to formulate the right words to convey my thoughts without hurting feelings, but my head is hurting instead. Ok, I’ll try. The movie begins by Melinda Gayle (Henson) telling a psychiatrist how she and her husband Robert met. It is the ENTIRE story of how they met.
Robert (Bent) has dreams of making it big and Melinda sees his potential and goes super hard for him with unwavering support. But, over the years, his potential never blossoms into anything. The marriage becomes stagnant and decisions have to be made.
Good people, with a little tweaking here and there, this plot could’ve worked and believe it or not, “Acrimony” could’ve been Perry’s best film ever. OR, we could’ve gone with the second plot in this movie. Wait…what?!
There is a second plot, folks. It goes like this: Robert is a smooth-talking, charismatic fkboy in disguise (my sister calls them fkboys) who is nothing more than an opportunist preying on Melinda’s love and kindness.
When he gets what he wants, he moves on, leaving her depleted and disgusted. Realizing she was played by him, she loses it, and seeks the ultimate revenge.
Good people, with a little tweaking here and there, THIS plot could’ve worked and, believe it or not, “Acrimony” could’ve been Perry’s best film ever. HOWEVER, he decided to use BOTH plots and mix them up in the process.
So, what we have is a convoluted, unintentional comedy/drama starring two great talents (Henson and Bent) trying their best to carry this film only to be weighed down by atrocious writing, noticeable CGI, and a few subpar supporting actors.
To their credit, Ajiona Alexus and Antonio Madison do a wonderful job playing young Melinda and Robert and so does Jazmyn Simon. The rest of the cast is basically used as props.
Don’t get me wrong. The movie starts off rather well, all things considered. Then, it just goes on – and on – and on. Then, during an important scene – still in the 1st act mind you – the audience is supposed to suspend their disbelief for something that could’ve actually been believable if the proper research had gone into said scene! It’s moments like that which had me going, “Wait…what?”
I could talk about the bad CGI. I could talk about the endless and the unnecessary establishing shots. I could talk about the left turn this movie takes, which turns Henson’s character into a chick so crazy that it makes Glenn Close’s character in “Fatal Attraction” look like a saint.
I could talk about the nonsensical ending. But, I won’t. First Lady Michelle Obama says when they go low, you go high. I’m taking the high road on this one. Uh, this movie deals with…hmmm…not giving up. It deals with following your passion. It deals with being played. It deals with, ok, my head is starting to hurt again.
Listen y’all, Tyler Perry’s “Acrimony” is entertaining. I ain’t say it was good, I said it was entertaining. If I were Taraji, I’d pick my scripts more closely. Remember, she just came off a less-than-stellar movie called “Proud Mary” and jumped into this. I don’t want her legacy to be tarnished. Also, this movie was shot in eight days. Eight. Days.
Let me put this in perspective: My Youtube reviews take me three hours to shoot and edit, and that’s for 5-10 minutes of content. The character developments of Henson’s and Bent’s characters are exceptional, and Henson’s first-person account of her experience is remarkable, so I’m going to give Tyler Perry’s “Acrimony” a straight-to-streaming Co-sign. Perry has a loyal fanbase that will see this regardless of what I or anyone else says and after 20 movies, he ain’t gonna change.
I’m getting more acrimonious by the moment…
Watch The Trailer:
Did you check out the film this weekend? If so, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
