'For Colored Girls' review

Tyler Perry gets a lot of criticism for his slap happy Madea character that was embraced by black America and repudiated just the same. His predictable plots have not made him a favorite among movie critics but Perry has made his own lane and is now considered one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. "From beginning to end I felt very grateful to and for Tyler because who else could have done it. The amount of capital that he's build in this industry, has allowed him to be the person to make this project happen," gushed Kerry Washington. The all-star cast of Perry's latest film, For Colored Girls, is like nothing that has ever been done before. The film brings together a multi-generational line up of black actresses: Kerry Washington, Thandie Newton, Phylicia Rashad, Kimberly Elise, Macy Gray, Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Jackson, Loretta Divine, Anika Noni Rose, and newcomer Tessa Thompson. These women tell the stories from Ntozake Shange's choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. Shange's For Colored Girls isn't just an Obie and Tony award winning play it's also a collection of poems that is revered as a crowning achievement in Black Literature. It's a favorite amongst literary circles, academics, and poets. The play ran for 747 performances on Broadway, is still in print after 35 years, and is a staple of theater classes and college productions. With a cultish following and legions of admirers in the worlds of theater, literature and dance, it's understandable how Perry almost didn't make the film version.