I was anxiously awaiting the release of this Daddy’s Little Girls since I saw the preview several months ago. The idea of a struggling Black father really appealed to me because I just knew that TP was really going to put it down. With this said I walked into the theater with my expectations very high my.
Well I will cut to the chase on this one to say that after the movie was over, I was entertained but also disappointed at the way the protagonist Monty (Idris Elba) was portrayed in the film. Not only that, the movie was filled with Black movie clichés like the church scene, the fights & drugs: basically, things that you would see in any TP movie. Not to say that his movies are bad because they are not, but I am kinda tired of seeing repeating themes.
Just to shed some light on the story line: Monty was a Brotha on the grind trying his best to make ends meet & help out his baby’s momma momma who was raising his girls because the mom was laying up with some drug dealer & did not give a fuck about her won kids. Shortly after the movie really kicked off, the grandmother asked Monty to take his kids because she was dying & he was like I can’t so she basically had to beg his ass to take his own kids (that turned me off).
Throughout the movie Monty kept on saying to his girls that he was taking care of the girls because their grandmother told him to. I think he mentioned this like 3 times & each time I grew pissed off at the statement. So the last time he said this, I actually shouted out “they’re your damn kids”. I guess my hopes for Monty were just too high
My thing is if they are your kids, why should anyone have to tell you to step up & be a man & handle your business no matter what. Being a father is not a choice in my opinion, it is a privilege that should not be wasted.
So I guess would say that this is the type of movie that I would recommend for renting & nothing more. My frame of mind is moving to believe that if you seen one TP movie, you have seen them all. TP has true skill but I need something different from him that does not include abusive relationships, a fucked up mother, crackheads, a bunch of kids, cheesy scenes where the community comes together & a sex scene. Black life is so much more than these things or at least I would like to think so.
One thing that I did like about the movie was how Julie (Gabrielle Union) interacted with Monty & how their relationship developed but it was almost like “Deliver us from” Eva for a minute. Julia said some things that a lot of older Brothas need to think about; like bad credit, not having a job wearing throw back jerseys after a certain age.
I also liked the sound track, it was mos def slammin’!
While writing this piece, I read a few movie reviews & words that kept on coming up were “outlandish”, “far-fetched” & “predictable”. How sad but true.
If you have seen Daddy’s Little Girls or are going to see it, I would love to hear your thoughts & reactions to my perceptions.
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Advertised Synopsis:
A romantic drama about family, community and love against the odds,’Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls’ is the follow-up to Tyler Perry’s number one box office hits ‘Diary of a Mad Black Woman’ and ‘Madea’s Family Reunion’. A single father, Monty (Elba) is a garage mechanic who lives in a poor neighborhood and struggles to make ends meet as he raises his three young daughters on his own. But when the courts award custody of his daughters to his corrupt, drug-dealing ex-wife, Monty desperately tries to win them back, enlisting the help of Julia (Union), a beautiful –– and hard-nosed – attorney he meets during his short stint as a chauffeur.
While Monty and the Ivy-League-educated Julia couldn’t be less alike, an unexpected romance blossoms…and it soon begins to feel like true love. But in order for their relationship to survive, the couple must reconcile their two very different worlds – and overcome the forces that threaten to tear Monty’s family apart. (check out the trailer)
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NPR Interview Gabrielle Union:
Up-and-coming actress Gabrielle Union talks about her role in the film Daddy’s Little Girls. Union plays Julia, a hard charging attorney who tries to help a mechanic regain custody of his three young daughters. (listen here).
This is a really good interview & it made me feel a little bit better about the movie.
Renea / February 18, 2007
I went to see the film and wanted to accept your invite to comment. I think at the end of the day while I give Tyler Perry the utmost respect for being a driven and respected businessman, some of the shortcomings of his projects come from his rather flat portrayals of African American culture and his background in the ‘theater’–no disrespect to August Wilson, maybe I should say ‘chitlin circuit’ theater.
Perry’s characters, settings and plotlines all draw from a very static and specific idea of what ‘black’ people are like and what they are grounded in and sometimes those representations are just not satisfying.
Perry definitely has a core audience who resonate with the way he depicts African American communities, but if you have an imagination or a broader range of reference than church and Big Momma’s house, I think you are bound to yearn for more from him
I was disappointed in the undertone of scorn for women, whether the mother who hooks up with the drug dealer or Julia who takes over her fathers firm and her friends, black women’s ambition seemed to be a point of scorn and hostility. It seemed the film seemed to be saying that wanting more makes black women evil and unappreciative of black men. As if the two were incompatible. I didn’t think the script was very carefully written…spoiler alert…Monty was supposed to have been out of jail for eight years for a ‘crime’ he was wrongfully accused of in college, but he has a 12 year old daughter. The audience, I suppose is not supposed to notice these errors. Julia, the most ferocious lawyer in the city, has apparently not had the resources or wherewithal to run even a credit check on a man who she is defending in family court and dating, though she is supposed to be so hypervigilant and exacting. And I won’t even bother with the ending.
But I root for Tyler Perry, because hopefully, once again, I hope these kinds of movies will set the stage for different black projects.
Bygbaby / February 19, 2007
Renea, thanks for posting your thoughts. We agree majorly!
You are so right about the timeline “…Monty was supposed to have been out of jail for eight years for a ‘crime’ he was wrongfully accused of in college, but he has a 12 year old daughter.”
“…if you have an imagination or a broader range of reference than church and Big Momma’s house, I think you are bound to yearn for more from him”; HELLO!!!
The whole overturned conviction from the rape case was ridiculous, like you, I was like why come Julia did not look into it & why come Monty did not tell her & why was it even mentioned in court, his baby mamma’s lawyer should have checked that out also. Is it so much to ask for logical plots.
Bygbaby