At this point in his career, the schism between Tyler Perry's possible mainstream acceptance and his faithful demographical niche is so vast that no studio can construct an appropriate bridge to span it. You either appreciate the writer/director or you hate his manipulative, pious preaching. While he's tried to branch out beyond the madcap drag act of Madea, he's had as many successes (For Colored Girls) as misfires (The Family that Preys). In his first major starring role sans a house dress, Perry plays Wesley Deeds, a Ivy League educated businessman bedeviled by a domineering mother (Phylicia Rashad) a jealous, out of control brother (Brian J. White) and a snooty real estate agent fiancé (Gabrielle Union). Into his conservative, structured life walks fiery single mother Lindsey (Thandie Newton) and her daughter Ariel. Maudlin, if slightly entertaining hijnx ensue.
Since Wesley is not a pig (it's not that kind of Perry film), he decides that this homeless lady and her child deserve some respect...and charity. He soon discovers that she has been working as an overnight janitor in his corporate headquarters, letting her baby sleep in the supply room while she cleans and scrubs. At first, Wesley's motives are pure. He already has a woman he cares about and his mother is not going to let some low class lady turn her son's head. But as with all such set-ups in Perry's WWJD dynamic, the battle between society and the spiritual begins - and the more and more pressure that is put on Wesley to straighten up and follow family protocol, the more he realizes that he's given up on his own dreams to serve the needs of his last name.
With an upcoming turn in I Alex Cross (the first time he will be starring in something he had no part in writing or directing) and his work here, it's clear that Tyler Perry wants to be taken more seriously as an actor. While his supporting work in the Madea films almost always centers around the family lawyer or the relative who remains steadfast when all around him are chaos, here he actually shows depth and range. It's not the deepest pool or the widest span of ability, but he makes a believable lead, and that's really all this material needs. Even better, he has great chemistry with Newton, the two really selling us on the whole star crossed lovers thing. Everything around them may be wholly unbelievable, but the volatile relations at the center remains strong.
In fact, the main flaw in Good Deeds is that Perry avoids laughs - at least, the intentionally ones. Sure, his dialogue is often so corny that Kansas is jealous and he never met a narrative he couldn't transform into something anarchic and tearjerking, but at least we could giggle at a good joke or two. Here, he's going for the somber and serious, and for someone who rarely stays in said mode, the attempt is jarring. We half expect some character to come out dressed up in a diaper just to cut through the gravitas. Of course, Rashad and White are excellent as over the top villains but their vitriol seems misplaced in a movie this sedate.
As usual, Perry will be pontificating to the long ago converted, arguing that values and personal integrity beat out greed and elitism every time. Sure, we can see the plot contrivances coming a mile away and the filmmaker still has a problem with using the artform to his best advantage, but as a sign of growth, as an indication of where the man believes his strengths (and his weaknesses lie), Good Deeds is decent. It's more of a breather than a breakout, however.
With an upcoming turn in I Alex Cross (the first time he will be starring in something he had no part in writing or directing) and his work here, it's clear that Tyler Perry wants to be taken more seriously as an actor. While his supporting work in the Madea films almost always centers around the family lawyer or the relative who remains steadfast when all around him are chaos, here he actually shows depth and range. It's not the deepest pool or the widest span of ability, but he makes a believable lead, and that's really all this material needs. Even better, he has great chemistry with Newton, the two really selling us on the whole star crossed lovers thing. Everything around them may be wholly unbelievable, but the volatile relations at the center remains strong.
In fact, the main flaw in Good Deeds is that Perry avoids laughs - at least, the intentionally ones. Sure, his dialogue is often so corny that Kansas is jealous and he never met a narrative he couldn't transform into something anarchic and tearjerking, but at least we could giggle at a good joke or two. Here, he's going for the somber and serious, and for someone who rarely stays in said mode, the attempt is jarring. We half expect some character to come out dressed up in a diaper just to cut through the gravitas. Of course, Rashad and White are excellent as over the top villains but their vitriol seems misplaced in a movie this sedate.
As usual, Perry will be pontificating to the long ago converted, arguing that values and personal integrity beat out greed and elitism every time. Sure, we can see the plot contrivances coming a mile away and the filmmaker still has a problem with using the artform to his best advantage, but as a sign of growth, as an indication of where the man believes his strengths (and his weaknesses lie), Good Deeds is decent. It's more of a breather than a breakout, however.
