Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (2008)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Instant Favorite.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

What I find interesting about the most negative reviews of participants who contributed is how trite many of them are. For example -- it's soap opera-ish. I guess almost any film can be that. The characters seem stereotyped. Well, I don't see many films where characters are that unique. And then there are the reviews where they just want to beat up on Tyler Perry. Now I don't think that every Tyler Perry film has been that great, but I also don't think any of them have been that bad. He has matured in his film-making.I think this was a very good film. It certainly held my interest. It begins with white socialite Kathy Bates hosting the wedding of Sanaa Lathan, the daughter of Alfre Woodard. The problem is that the husband to be (Rockmond Dunbar) is a much better man than his future wife is an honest and considerate woman. He's "just" a construction worker, while she's in corporate. And she never lets him forget that. And, he works for her boss...with whom she is having an affair. Meanwhile, Woodard's other daughter (Taraji P. Henson) is married to Tyler Perry, another construction worker, and looks after Lathan's young son while also working in her mother's diner. She is bothered by how little Lathan helps their mother, not knowing that mom is secretly quite well off. The hubby later discovers his wife's huge bank account after he is turned down for a loan application to start his own construction business...money she earns in bonuses...but what she does for that money is actually weekly booty calls with the boss. Meanwhile, Cathy Bates' son is trying to take her business away from her, not even knowing that she is showing signs of early Alzhiemers. Bates and Woodard are sort of the odd couple best friends of the story. They end up going on a road trip where the illness becomes known, and they return home in time to save the company (albeit perhaps a bit too conveniently...though cleverly). But while on their road trip they have some fun times in honky tonks and male strip clubs. Of course, the affair becomes public, but only after a new executive joins the firm -- Robin Givens. And then there's the funeral, the breakup of the failed marriage, and the sale of the diner.I enjoyed the cast here. Alfre Woodard is always enjoyable. As is Kathy Bates. It's difficult to like Sanaa Lathan here, but she is a good actress. I was not particularly impressed with Cole Hauser as the philanderer, although KaDee Strickland as his wife was fairly good. Rockmond Dunbar was excellent. Tyler Perry was "okay" in terms of his acting, although he gave himself little to do. It's a calmer Taraji P. Henson as the sister, but I liked her better here than in "Empire", which seems a little over the top.What can I say? I enjoyed the film. Robin Givens as Abigail "Abby" Dexter

Without going into the characters and who does what I can say I really like this movie. I watch it frequently. I thoroughly enjoy Kathy and Alfre in this and other movies. I think the plots and the morale issues at hand are presented nicely. I particularly love the ending. I certainly didn't see it coming and was ecstatic. One needs to see the movie and think about the concepts presented before judging it.

Note that this is a review from a biased, Tyler Perry hating, reviewer. I haven't liked Tyler Perry since he was solely making screenplays. But to get that out of the way, I will also note that I am writing this on my tablet and the spelling might be a little off.★ Don't Forget That This Does Contain Spoilers ★The story follows an upper class business owning family that has strong connections with a middle class family (and branch family). It is immediately apparent that Andrea (Lathan), who is having an affair with William (Hauser), has been having said affair for so long that she believes that she is better than her own family. Making it totally known that they are both antagonists of this film... and now to meet the protagonists. Charlotte (Bates) and Alice (Woodard) the mothers of the two antagonists and there is the incredibly faithful, god fearing husband (of Andrea) Chris (Dunbar) that is too dumb to see that his wife is not interested him in the slightest. From watching the film for the first time, I was very upset with how Perry portrays Chris as the lovable idiot/martyr. Tyler Perry hates black men and it's evident in all of his work, as all of the black men are either complete A**h***s or too dumb to know when they are being done wrong. But I have digressed. The story pretty much follows an intra company takeover attempt by William to take control of his mother's company. In the middle of all of this, Chris eventually asks Andrea if she is sleeping with William (I mean, there son is mixed, you realize that he's Williams bastard as soon as you see him). William gives Andrea a slap from the depths of hell (she kinda deserves it for playing the dumby for this long), and of course everything works out well with Chris at the end while everything winds up horribly for Andrea. The final twist of the film is that Charlotte has given her company to Alice and William didn't even know until she makes a grand stand. So now William isn't able to take control of the company... All in all, the Protagonists win and the antagonists lose. Now for my review, I must state that I absolutely hate how cut and dry Tyler Perry movies end. But I must say that this movie was much better than his last films because of the cast. At points though you hate Chris more than anyone because he's so dumb. I gave this a 7/10 because of the acting, the (though unlikely) ending twist but most of all because Chris was able to slap the evil Andrea. (Now I must note that I am not a woman beater and I don't condone hitting a woman unless absolutely necessary, but if you've watched this movie you will want to stand up when you see the slap). In just reading my last sentence I have changed my rating to an 8/10 because the movie did what it was intended. It made me hate some characters (while not successful in the right characters) and made me adore some characters. This movie is worth watching just to see if you can agree to whether Andrea should have gotten slapped.

This movie is not a one star. This movie is not a one star. This movie is not a one star. This movie is not a one star. Who could possibly give it a "one" star rating? Well, over 1,000 did. I don't seriously think it was a 10, but since so many others, who probably have prejudices, gave it a 1,2, or 3, I countered with a "10", thinking, personally, it was closer to an 8. I think it was one of Tyler Perry's more interesting movies, though I love his comedy series, "Meet the Browns". I think he is incredible, and doesn't need Oprah to elevate him to stardom. She enjoys taking too much credit. I'm a 60+, senior, female, white, straight, and who doesn't care about other folk's sexual preferences. I really liked this film. As most of TP's movies, there were many good lines and messages to remind us of good principles. Good job Tyler!!