Introduction
“Why did I get married too” was released on 2nd April, 2010 in the United States of America. It is a drama comedy acted by four married couples going through marital challenges. They were proffessionals but their lives in marriage were quite challenging; the four wereTerry and Dianne, Gavin and Patricia, Angela and Marcus and, Sheila and Troy.
The movie started with the four couples going for a retreat to Bahamas. At first, Patricia and Gavin were perceived to have been in the best marriage but at the end they broke up and Gavin died in an accident (IMDb 1).
This movie is very appropriate for the married people and even young teens. The movie brings out the theme of marriage and finances clearly. It is interesting and full of suspense as the director is able to bring out many conflicts in marriages within a short time.Dialogue between the characters is intensively used.
However, this movie only targets the adults and only includes black Americans. Critics have claimed that the director did not take into account the economic recession and that the movie did not use the seting of exotic Bahamas appropriately (Tsai 1). An analysis of this movie revealed that it effectively showed effects of infidelity and importance of communication between a husband and a wife.
Plot
The movie started when four couples who had been friends for a long time went for a vacation in Bahamas. The movie started with Terry dribbling a ball in their living room when their young daughter started to describe what divorce was to her brother.
Dianne and Terry looked at each other with amazement. At the Airport Dianne and Angela were chatting when Angela noticed that her husband Marcus was flirting with a clerk. She went straight ahead and confronted him.
Sheila and Troy were the first to arrive at Bahamas and they were excited to find out how beautiful Bahamas was. Patricia and Gavin were second to arrive in Bahamas. Third were Terry and Dianne. The arrival of Angela and Marcus at Bahamas drew attention from other people.
Angela was too loud and all along seemed to have quarrels with her husband Marcus. She scolded Marcus and asked other people who were passing by if they knew her husband and she would give them two hundred dollars as a reward if they knew him. She wanted to prove to her husband that he was not famous at all.
The gentlemen went to their own place at the beach while ladies also got to their place. Both groups talked about their marriages. Later on, Mike, the man who divorced Sheila some time back arrived at the scene (Perry 1).
The second half of the movie was when the couples went back to their homes. Their marriages fault lines were seen in this scene. Each couple was going through a challenge and Gavin lost his life at the end while driving after a quarrel with Patricia (Hale 1). The movie shows the struggles wives and husbands go through.
The movie is said to have a soap opera style especially with Sheila who is very emotional (Tsai 1). She had worked so hard for her second marriage with Troy to succeed. Troy on the other hand was offended because she exposed his financial struggles. He felt like others were undermining him and turned his anger to his wife Sheila (Perry 1).
There was suspense throughout the movie, for example, when Terry moved out from his home and went to live in a new house. Dianne was desperate to get her husband only to find him with another girl. Terry mentioned her name and stated that she was pregnant.
Suspense was created because we do not know what would be the reaction of Dianne if Terry was the father of the unborn child. Dianne relaxed when she heard that that girl had a boyfriend. There was also suspense when Patricia turned to be so wild and broke the furniture with a club.
She broke glasses and smoked which was unbelievable because she had always been a role model. When Gavin was involved in an accident we did not know what would be Patricia’s reaction to this event and what she would do now that Gavin had died (Perry 1).
Character Analysis
Patricia was the protagonist in this movie. She was a commander in their marriage with Gavin. She was a psychiatrist and more theoretical than practical. It was ironical that she advised other couples and even wrote a book about marriage whereas her marriage was going through hell.
She was wise and asked Angela and Dianne to find all the good things in their husbands and write them down. Patricia was hard working because she wrote a book and was successful in her career. She was abusive because she abused her husband by calling him a bitch. Patricia (Janet Jackson) has also acted in the movie, For Colored Girls where she plays a wife’s role which is similar to this movie (Farley 1).
Gavin was very patient with Patricia and got silent on Patricia’s insults until he could not handle them any longer. This was when he became brutal by forcing Patricia to take beer. He was kind and supportive as he supported his wife financially and emotionally as she wrote the book but unfortunately she was not thankful.
She wanted to take all the money during their divorce without recognizing all the efforts he had put into that project. He later became a victim of circumstances because their marital problems made him to be hit by a truck as he was driving after a serious conflict with Patricia. Gavin was also faithful because throughout their marriage, Patricia did not suspect him for being unfaithful (Perry 1).
Angela was always yelling at her husband Marcus. She was very honest and confronted Marcus every time there was a problem. For example, she literary confronted Marcus when she saw him from afar trying to take another woman’s cell phone number. She was humorous; she tried to imitate Patricia’s tone as she read her book.
She was also humorous when Marcus asked her to stop drinking beer. She filled a glass and told Marcus to allow her to take her last time beer. Marcus was also humorous because as Angela had said in the first movie every time he said, “You know what I am saying?” (Perry 1) it always meant that he was telling a lie. He also had a funny facial expression.
Critics say that the movie lacks dramatic arc, “at times the script seems the result of free association of automatic writing. Behaviors are often incongruous with the characters, and plots are in free fall” (Tsai 1). Perry also concentrates so much in unfaithfulness in marriages failing to strike a balance between other factors which affect marriages such as finances, in laws and responsibilities of husbands and wives while also including children (Tsai 1).
All the characters acted in the earlier movie, Why Did I Get Married where they played the same roles as in this movie. However at that time Troy was a Sherriff. This family movie has the same theme of marriage with Not Easily Broken which was directed by Bill Duke.
The movie theme is on causes of conflict and I would call it, Marriage Conflicts.
Camera and Background Music
The camera is used to effectively in this movie by use of camera techniques. There are numerous close up shots which are used to create interest and suspense. They give details of the characters. There are also several nature shots which help to give details of the environment in Bahamas.
The director used medium long shots with a balance at the beach where men were resting and chatting. This gave the viewer a clear background of the place. The director also used many medium shots especially in dialogues between two people. The characters dressing matches with the occasions in which they are in. At the beach they are in bright color clothes such as yellow, light green, white and pink which created an atmosphere of calmness (Literacy 1).
The movie also had a short background music which went, “I am a married man, cant you understand?” which is repeated several times. It was composed specifically for this movie. It is important because it enhances the theme of marriage.
Conclusion
Why did I get Married too movie was set in Bahamas during four couples’ vacation and at Atlantic in their homes. Marriage conflicts, importance of communication and friendship are the main themes of this movie. The movie concentrates on infidelity failing to consider other factors that affect marriages such as children, in laws and finances. It is mostly enjoyed by adults and older teens. The movie is appropriate and effective because infidelity is one of the largest causes of divorce.
Works Cited
Farley, C. Why did I get Married Too. Janet Jackson Tackles Poetry in “For Colored Girls”, 2010. Web.
Hale, M. At Couples Reunion, Laughs, Then Griefs. New York, 2010. Web.
IMDb. Why I Did I get Married Too. IMDb, 2010. Web.
Literacy. Visual Literacy. Portals. Web.
Perry, T. Why Did I get Married too. Hollywood Screen, 2010. Hollywood.
Tsai, M. Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too. NT, 2010. Web.