Tyler Perry’s Bad Movies Would Make Great Reality Shows

Tyler Perry received a zero percent rating from Rotten Tomatoes for his latest movie, Divorce in the Black. The film starred Meagan Good, Cory Hardict, and Debbi Morgan and premiered on Amazon Prime in mid-July 2024. The stars of the movie raved about the treatment and the pay they received working for Tyler, but movie critics slammed the movie, attacking the storyline and character development. The criticism was not unexpected because Tyler Perry’s immensely successful career has been shadowed by harsh words from his peers about the writing and production quality of his films and television programs.

One of the loudest critiques has been his use of negative stereotypes that continuously show up in his projects. Comedian and actress Loni Love suggested Tyler’s repeated criticism of the writing and production of his projects could be fixed with a few changes in his production process. Loni tweeted her frustration after seeing the zero percent rating on Divorce in the Black, writing: “I love that Tyler is paying Black actors now I wish he would hire Black writers and directors that have experience to help him with his movies. He could improve the movies & make them award-worthy if he would stop trying to save money by doing the writing and directing himself.” Despite the criticism, there is a place for Tyler’s creative mind: reality television.

Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black

Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black follows Ava, a young bank professional devastated when her husband, Dallas, abandons their marriage. Determined to fight for their relationship, Ava discovers Dallas’s dark secrets, which have sabotaged her chances of finding true love. 

Release Date

July 11, 2024

Cast

Meagan Good , Cory Hardrict , Joseph Lee Anderson , Shannon Wallace , Taylor Polidore , Richard Lawson , Debbi Morgan

Runtime

143 Minutes

Main Genre

Drama

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Tyler Perry Has Been Criticized For Writing All His Own Movies and TV Projects

Divorce in the Black joined numerous films in his Madea series with a family suffering under the oppression of a predatory Black man who emotionally and physically abuses his woman. Social media erupted with humorous memes detailing the toxicity of Cory Hardict’s character, Dallas, in his extremely harsh, abusive behavior toward his wife, Ava. This character was familiar to Tyler’s audience because the identical traits showed up in previous films, including Diary of a Mad Black Woman, I Can Do Bad All By Myself and even one of the husbands in Why Did I Get Married? Tyler’s interpretation of a dysfunctional family repeatedly points toward an abusive Black man who wreaks havoc on the woman in his life.

After the woman has endured all the pain she can possibly take, a handsome blue-collar man appears to save her from her affliction and show her what unconditional love feels like. Former NBA basketball player Rick Fox, actors Shemar Moore, Lamman Rucker, and, most recently, Joseph Lee Anderson have all signed up for the physically perfect middle-class savior who comes to the rescue of the overworked, overburdened, beat down, Black damsel in distress leading woman Tyler Perry’s best-selling flicks. Ironically, the formula that Tyler infuses in his projects is the exact formula that scores No. 1 ratings with reality fans who love watching extremely toxic relationships implode all for the sake of entertainment. After the relationships implode, reality television audiences love seeing that broken woman pick up the pieces of her life and move forward. Tyler’s formula resonates with his audiences much like Carlos King’s Love & Marriage franchise, or Andy Cohen’s Real Housewives franchise. The extreme nature of the dysfunction keeps audiences locked in and lends to trending social media commentary the morning after.

Martell Holt Would Make For a Great Villain In Tyler Perry’s Next Movie

Cory Hardict’s Dallas may be a bit over-the-top even for reality television, but Love & Marriage: Huntsville star Martell Holt getting his side-chick of over five years pregnant and her having the baby while he was in a whole marriage that is being filmed for reality television was definitely Tyler Perry movie worthy. Love & Hip Hop New York’s resident playboy, Peter Gunz, who played two women season after season and eventually got them both pregnant at the same time, was certainly Tyler Perry movie worthy. Perhaps the best fit for a Tyler Perry film from reality television is Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta’s Stevie J. Atlanta became the highest-rated Love & Hip Hop franchise when Stevie introduced two women in Atlanta’s premiere season and proceeded to encourage them to fight over him both on and off camera.

Stevie’s character on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta was so ridiculous that it was hard to believe he wasn’t creating a fictional character. He plucked Joseline Hernandez from a local strip club and proceeded to pit her against the mother of his child, Mimi Faust. Of course, Stevie’s story consisted of Joseline eventually getting pregnant and, like his reality counterpart, Martell Holt, Stevie continued going back and forth between the two ladies until Mimi put an end to it and left the relationship.

Melody Rogers Would Be The Perfect Leading Lady For Tyler Perry’s Next Blockbuster Movie

Tyler Perry’s movies are successful because of the strong heroine that audiences are rooting for despite the abuse they’ve experienced at the hands of a horrible man. Melody Rogers would be the perfect heroine in a Tyler Perry movie because she fits the mold to perfection. A beautiful single mother of four children, Melody endured a horribly abusive marriage via Martell Holt and for years was dedicated to saving her family. After Martell embarrassed her publicly by getting his mistress pregnant, she turned to God for strength and finally filed for divorce. Martell gave her all kinds of resistance when he saw she was serious about the divorce and even ended up in tears at one point acknowledging that he didn’t want to lose his family. Martell’s tears were reminiscent of Charles, played by veteran actor Steve Harris in Diary of a Mad Black Woman, when he realized that his wife, Helen, aka Kimberly Elise, was his true love. Unfortunately for Martell and for Charles, their mistreated wives had moved on and were off to bigger and better things.

Reality Television Is a Medium Tyler Perry Hasn’t Tapped Into

It’s hard to imagine that Tyler Perry didn’t anticipate the harsh critiques he received for Divorce in the Black. During his documentary Maxine’s Baby, he addressed the haters and naysayers and explained that the characters in his projects are reminiscent of the people who poured into him as a young boy. His characters may be over the top to some, but it’s clear from the personalities on reality television that extreme is a real thing. Tyler knows what connects with his audience and is committed to continuing to deliver to them despite the feedback he continues to receive from industry critics.

In a past interview, he shot down Rotten Tomatoes after seeing an initial review they did for one of his first movies. His focus on the audience and the actors continues to fuel his entertainment mogul-level success, so it’s clear he understands his personal assignment. If there is any advice he could take, it could be to look for his next star in the large pool of reality television candidates on almost every network. Joseline would qualify as the past stripper who is now the drug-addicted sister who can’t quite get her life together, while leading lady Melody works hard to pull her family together in the midst of hard times. Besides Melody Rogers née Holt and Stevie J, there are a host of extreme personalities on 90 Day Fiancé, Love & Hip Hop and even Love is Blind, that would make for great characters in his next blockbuster hit.

Divorce In the Black can be streamed on Prime Video.

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