Last night I went to the threatre not knowing what I was going to see. Literally. I had no notion of what films were playing. I wanted to see "The Lost Legion" because I was in the mood for a swords and sandal epic, but it wasn't playing anywhere nearby. Would I not be able to see Roman legions clashing with native armies in Briton? Answer; no. So, I looked up at the list of films, saw "Why did I Get Married", and made a blind ticket purchase for a film I had never heard of, nor had any notion of what it was about.
I've never seen the stage-play upon which this film is based, but, having seen many a stage play adaptation to the big screen, and having been thoroughly disappointed with every one of them, I can say that this one did a fairly good job.
The revolves around several couples whose marriages are teetering in varying degrees of distress. Secrets that have been held tight by husband and wife are eventually thrust into the open, testing the couples' fortitude.
Visually the film is warm and intimate, and keeps a good amount of zest by way of fine emoting. There are some ever so brief lulls, but the story content and delivery by the actors keeps the viewer's attention.
The one "antagonist" in the film (if he can be called that) was almost a little too obvious. The boorish husband character was barely disguised as to his true intentions. So much so that I was wondering if the character wasn't supposed to be putting on some kind of act. But alas, that wasn't the case. It was a shortcoming of the creative team.
Most of the film is light, but there is one segment that came out of left field to break up wit bound dialog. The more dramatic scenes were respectable, but weren't always given the same amount of care to the lighter scenes.
My one real complaint about the story is that I felt somewhat lost as to who was suffering from what history. There's a lot implied, and the more relationship-savvy viewer can probably puzzle out the nuances and idiosyncrasies of marital secrets and scandal. But I have to admit that I just didn't get a lot of the situations until they were spelled out for me. Ah well :-) Some light entertainment that delivers an abridged version of a play with fairly good aplomb. It is a film marketed for an African American audience, but marital situations are universal to all, and as such this film can be enjoyed by all audiences (though your theatre's audience may vary). Definitely a good rent when it comes out on DVD.
