Tyler Perry has pulled another franchise out of storage. Why Did I Get Married Again? is now on Netflix, and it’s the third film in his marital dramedy series. Perry writes, directs, produces and stars in it, bringing back the core cast and adding Taraji P. Henson to the fold.
The movie is one of just three Perry directed this year, down from four last year. Since 2020, when he started releasing everything on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, he has helmed 13 films. Film critic John Serba sees this as proof of Perry’s quantity-over-quality approach — a pace of output that, in his view, comes at the expense of the films themselves.
The 15-Character Opening
The film reunites Angela (Tasha Smith) and Marcus (Michael Jai White), who are still married despite a long history of infidelity. They live in a giant mansion, the product of “one of those investment opportunities,” which is as specific as the script ever gets, per Serba.
They have invited all their friends to pre-celebrate their daughter Jasmine’s (Armani Greer) wedding to Wesley (Everett Osborne). Wesley is the son of Roselyn, played by Henson, an old friend who is new to this franchise.
The old friends include Terry (Perry) and Dianne (Sharon Leal), who are still married. Sheila (Jill Scott) and Troy (Lamman Rucker) are also still married. Sheila’s ex, Mike (Richard T. Jones), shows up with a new wig and a much younger girlfriend, Regina (Sydney Winbush).
Regina happens to be the ex of Angela and Marcus’s son, Marcus Jr. (Da’Vinchi). Serba notes that other characters “don’t matter that much,” so the summary stops there.
Secrets, Infidelities And A Bad Wig
The drama comes in layers. Sheila and Dianne learn that Jasmine and Wesley are having problems and debate whether to tell Angela. Old infidelities bubble back to the surface. Roselyn has been secretly dating a much younger man.
The comedy also comes in layers. Serba lists several gags involving Mike’s wig, which he says is really bad. His new girlfriend is caught with Marcus Jr. And the wig crawls up the back of his neck when he fails to bench press a huge amount of weight.
Serba’s question for viewers is direct: “Will everyone get through this? The characters will, yes. But you? Well, you might doze off.”
The Marrieds Franchise So Far
If you have seen the earlier films, this one may not stand out. The series now runs three entries deep, and the release order matters if you want to keep track of where this one falls:
- Why Did I Get Married? (2007)
- Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010)
- Why Did I Get Married Again? (now on Netflix)
Serba says the Marrieds all blend into “a big unmemorable wad of overbaked melodrama and tepid comedy.”
The one exception, he notes, is the second film. That one sticks in the brain thanks to Janet Jackson going hard during a wild climax. The other two, in his estimation, offer nothing so memorable.
Henson’s Fifth Perry Movie
Henson is worth watching, according to Serba. He calls her “often extraordinary in the right project.” The question is whether Perry’s films give her that right project.
This is her fifth movie under Perry’s direction. Serba points to a line she has to deliver as evidence: “Isn’t it amazing in life, how there can be so much drama and beauty at the same time?”
Whether that line lands as profound or absurd depends on your tolerance for Perry’s style. For Serba, it is evidence of the material Henson is asked to work with, five films into her collaboration with the director.
Perry’s Slapdash Method
Perry’s approach, as Serba describes it, is a “wham-bam M.O.” That results in clumsy pacing, choppy editing, and scripts loaded with exposition. The stories tell viewers things instead of showing them. The characters feel half-realized and in need of refinement.
“Subtlety and concision aren’t in Perry’s vocabulary,” Serba writes, “as he recycles old plots with slight variations and arranges a tedious grab-bag of blowouts, breakups, blowups and breakouts.”
The structure of Married Again follows a recognizable pattern. Serba breaks it down step by step, and the order is the point — each stage sets up the next:
- A 15-character pile-up during a bloated opening.
- A slight untangling of those characters.
- A retangling as they are forced into melodramatic situations, usually involving secrets and revelations.
- A final act, which Serba calls interminable, in which the entire ensemble stands in a circle and takes turns giving speeches, explaining themselves in the simplest terms possible.
Somewhere in all of that, everyone goes to Italy for the destination wedding.
Apples And Trees
Thematically, Perry addresses how children reflect their parents’ flaws. Serba notes there is little exploration of the follies of being human. The message, such as it is, is that apples don’t fall far from their trees.
“Depth of insight is not one of Perry’s strengths, as ever,” Serba writes. The theme is there, but in his reading it goes no deeper than that single idea.
The Critical Call
Serba’s verdict is clear. “We know what to expect from Tyler Perry, as usual,” he writes. “His many fans will dutifully watch Married Again, while the rest of us say SKIP IT.”
The review is a straightforward recommendation against watching. It is a judgment on this specific movie and its place in a crowded franchise — a franchise that, as noted above, Serba finds largely unmemorable outside of Janet Jackson’s turn in the second installment.
Key Facts
- Film: Why Did I Get Married Again?
- Platform: Netflix
- Previous entries: 2007’s Why Did I Get Married? and 2010’s Why Did I Get Married Too?
- Perry’s output this year: 3 films directed
- Perry’s output since 2020: 13 films helmed
- Henson’s Perry film count: 5
- Reviewer: John Serba, freelance film critic from Grand Rapids, Michigan
The Review’s Own History
John Serba is a freelance film critic from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He notes in his bio that Werner Herzog once hugged him.
What The Review Criticizes
Serba’s reasoning comes down to familiarity. Perry has made this kind of movie many times before. The formula is established. The execution, in Serba’s view, has not improved.
These are not new complaints about Perry’s work. Serba frames them as consistent features of the filmmaker’s style rather than fresh failures. He praises Perry for being “consistently slapdash” instead of lamenting the output. The clumsy pacing, the choppy editing, the exposition-heavy scripts, the half-realized characters — all of it, in his account, is standard for the filmmaker rather than a new decline.
For viewers who have seen the previous films, this one may feel like more of the same. For newcomers, the 15-character opening may be too much to sort through.
The review’s closing line sums up the situation. Perry’s fans will watch. Everyone else should skip it.
That is the call, and it is delivered without hesitation.
Source: decider.com
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