Tyler Perry can do Mediocre all by himself

Tyler Perry compared April (Taraji P. Henson), the main character of Perry's latest film, "I Can Do Bad All By Myself," to a silver coin that became useless when it was lost but still had value once it was found. April is a selfish night club singer who survives on liquor and the financial support of her married lover (Brian White). While April's angry niece and sick nephews are struggling to eat and stay in one home, April's mother, the children's legal guardian, goes AWOL leaving her to take care of the children or so everyone assumes.

As if life isn't throwing enough curve balls at April, the pastor (Pastor Marvin Winans) of a local church leaves a stranger (Adam Rodriguez) at the footsteps of April's ill fallen townhouse to fix the ruins and pry her heart open. In exchange, the stranger is compensated with a place to stay and constant insults from April's lover referring to him with "Hey Mexico!"

Of all the live stage plays that Perry managed to turn into a major box-office hit, this movie, inspired by its original stage play steered away from the original story line while the concept remained.

The concept of the film was clear and the plot was decently organized. But if you are a typical Tyler Perry fan, then the humor was typical: Madea (Tyler Perry), the gun-hugging grandmother with a bad temper yet kind heart, threatens the disrespecting adolescents, exaggerates the parables of the Bible, and bites at her old wise-cracking, weed smoking brother who humors himself about her weight.

Overall, the unoriginal humor didn't stop people from laughing. But the formula for the plot wasn't different from many of Perry's other stage plays turned movies, a lost soul seeking direction and love. While the music was touching, the lyrics were wordy, and the length of each song turned the movie into a musical that granted a few intermissions.

Despite the lengthy musical numbers and a couple of unrealistic scenes, the movie had its moments that make you grab your chest and the napkin you used to wipe popcorn butter from your finger tips. The actors who played the children thoroughly portrayed the harsh realities of life and conjured laughs and tears with every scene in which they partook.

For the most part, the movie wasn't Perry's best work, written and directed, but it wasn't the worst comedy/drama if you grasp the concept alone and enjoy a significant amount of music in a movie.