I just got back from seeing Acrimony or as I like to call it Tyler Perry Fails Black Women Again or Taraji P. Henson Deserves Better.
Before I get into the review, let me tell you about something that made me feel a little acrimony of my own. Anyone who’s seen a movie with me will tell you I like to sit as close to the middle of the row as I can. To me, the middle of the row, and preferably the exact middle of the theater, is the best seat in the house. I pretty much only go to theaters where you can choose your seat ahead of time. For Acrimony, I was able to snag a seat one away from the middle, so I was good.
During the previews, the man who works security for the theater came up to me and asked me if I would be willing to switch to a seat further from the middle so a couple could sit together. I quickly told him I would not be giving up the seat I paid for for a worse seat. Then he had the audacity to act like I was overreacting because he was “just asking me.” I was offended he even had the gall to ask and even more offended he thought I would give my seat up for a couple because I was by myself, as if they were more important than me. Next time, buy your tickets earlier so you can get two seats next to each other. The effect of your procrastination is not my problem. But I got a free movie pass out of it, which I’m going to use to see A Quiet Place. I hear it’s not worth movie theater money, so this man’s rudeness actually works out perfectly for me.
Now, on to the review. This movie could have been great, but Tyler Perry’s lack of writing skill wouldn’t let it. It’s such a shame because Taraji P. Henson put in an incredible performance. As I said earlier, she deserves so much better.
In the second scene in the movie, I refuse to call this a film, Taraji’s character, Melinda, discusses the stereotype of the “angry Black woman” with her therapist. She says how ridiculous it is that every time a Black woman gets mad, she’s a stereotype or emasculating. When this stereotype is acknowledged, I thought, Great! He’s letting us know he knows what we’re all thinking going into this movie and showing us how he’s going to dispel it. This is promising!
The therapist asks, “Do you think you’re entitled to be angry?” I thought this was a great question. It’s what I will ask myself every time I get angry in the future. Melinda responds by saying, “That’s like asking me if I think I’m entitled to be hungry.” Another well-written line. This is the last well-written line in the movie. An entire script and Perry gives us two great lines. What a waste. And to think, this person has his own film studio and is worth $600 million.
Melinda goes on to tell her therapist her ex-husband, Robert Gayle, who is perfectly played by Lyriq Bent, owes her. The therapist replies, “What do you think he owes you?” Melinda says, “Every breath in his body.”
The movie goes on to show why Robert owes Melinda. I’ll try to keep this short because it’s not that important to the review. Melinda meets Robert in college. He ends up tutoring her in history, which she seems to know next to nothing about. Despite Robert’s tutoring, Melinda gets an “F” on her history paper. This is my first problem with this movie. Why did Perry feel the need to portray Melinda as an idiot? Did he think it was necessary to make it more believable that Melinda would stay with Robert though he contributed absolutely nothing to the relationship? It wasn’t. Love makes a fool out of everyone at one time or another.
I truly believe there is a part of Tyler Perry that hates Black women. He couldn’t portray Black women in a positive light if you paid him.
Melinda’s mother dies while she’s in college and leaves Melinda her house and a $350,000 life insurance policy. Robert shows up at the funeral. Melinda gives him a ride home, Robert comforts her, they have sex, it was Melinda’s first time, and become a couple. Melinda tells Robert about the money and the house. He tells her he has invented a battery that charges itself and is going to make them rich one day. He sends letters and videos demonstrating how his prototype works to a company that buys ideas, builds the product and sells it. He manages to convince Melinda to buy him a car so he can get to a meeting with this company if they ever call him. Then she pays for his last year of college. Then he cheats on her with a woman named Diana.
When Melinda catches them in the act, she drives her Jeep into Robert’s trailer, knocking it over while he and Diana are still inside. As a result of the collision, Melinda has massive internal bleeding and ruptured ovaries, causing her to need a hysterectomy. She loses her ability to birth children before she’s even 21. Here, Perry seems to be punishing Melinda for her anger. What woman wouldn’t be angry if she caught her boyfriend cheating on her?
Robert comes to visit Melinda while she’s recuperating at home and gives her this old and very cliché line: “It didn’t mean anything to me. It was just sex. I love you.” The sad part is Melinda falls for it. Robert later proposes, the couple gets married and proceed to burn through the $350,000 Melinda’s mother left her. When the money runs out, Robert convinces Melinda to mortgage her mother’s house.
Everything I’ve just detailed takes up about half of the movie. So for half the movie I paid $17.20 to see, I was watching Ajiona Alexus, who portrayed the young Melinda, instead of Taraji P. Henson. Ajiona is fine as an actress, but I came to see, and paid to see, Taraji. My acrimony builds.
For 20 years, Robert never gets a job, he just works on his invention. In the meantime, Melinda works two jobs to support them. One day, all these years later, Robert runs into Diana, who is now an executive at the company he wants to license his invention to. She agrees to meet him for coffee and starts looking at his file when she gets to her office.
Meanwhile, when Melinda’s mother’s house is about to get foreclosed on, Robert starts working for the company Melinda’s sisters and brothers-in-law work at to get money to save the house. One day, Diana calls Robert to let him know she’s gotten him a meeting with the CEO. Robert drops what he’s doing and heads home to stop the garbage man from picking up his prototype and get ready for the meeting.
Little does he know (sorry, I tried to keep it short, but all of this is information you need to know for the point I’m going to make), Diana’s wallet fell out in his truck, Melinda’s sister found it and gave it to Melinda. As Robert is getting his prototype ready, Melinda comes in and confronts him about the wallet. He says he and Diana just had a business meeting and nothing happened, which is actually the truth. The two fight, but Robert still makes it to the meeting. The CEO offers him $800,000 to buy the invention outright. Robert declines because he wants to retain the rights to the invention and just license it to the company.
Robert comes home and tells Melinda he declined the offer. She is understandably upset because she thinks he’s cheated on her and declined money that could have saved her mother’s house. She puts him out and says she wants a divorce. Melinda eventually loses the house.
After a three-month stay in a men’s shelter, Robert moves in with Diana. She works on her boss some more and he offers Robert a $75 MILLION deal to work with him and Robert will get to retain ownership of his invention.
Now, up until this point, Melinda seems to have every right in the world to be angry. Her now ex-husband took everything from her he could and when he finally hits it big, he’s with another woman. I sympathized with Melinda: I’ve given countless time, energy and money to men in the past and never saw a return on any of those investments.
But Perry just cannot stand for anyone to sympathize with a Black woman, so one day Robert shows up at Melinda’s office. He gives her flowers, a check for a cool $10 MILLION and the keys and deed to her mother’s house. Robert gave Melinda what she deserved, what she earned. I would have taken that money and driven off into the sunset. I heard a woman say the same thing when the movie was over.
But that’s not what Melinda did. Instead, once she learned Robert had hit it big, she went to his penthouse apartment, the one he’d said he’d buy for Melinda and him once he made it. But Robert wasn’t alone, Diana, now Robert’s fiancée, was there.
Melinda runs out and loses it. Despite being a millionaire, Melinda obsesses over Robert and Diana’s relationship. She sends Diana angry messages on Twitter and watches the video of Robert showing Diana the yacht he bought her, the “Mrs. Gayle,” the same yacht he’d promised Melinda he’d buy her when they got rich. And just like that, Melinda is turned into an irrational, crazy, unjustifiably angry Black woman.
In therapy, Melinda’s therapist asks her if she’s ever heard of borderline personality disorder. She tries to explain what it is, but Melinda, predictably, says she’s not crazy and runs out. It’s highly possible Melinda does have borderline personality disorder and an exploration of Melinda dealing with this diagnosis could have added some substance to this movie. But I guess Perry thought just mentioning it was enough to imply Melinda has it and provide an explanation for her irrational behavior.
Had Perry shown Melinda getting treatment for her borderline personality disorder and letting go of her obsession with Robert and Diana, he could have let Melinda, and Taraji P. Henson, end this movie with dignity. Instead, after the most ridiculous ship-jumping scene you will ever see in your entire life and a brutal likely murder, she ends up dead. With this ending, Perry displays not only what a ludicrous writer he is, but that even if your anger is the result of a mental illness, if you’re a Black woman, you deserve to be punished for that anger. Melinda’s anger cost her her life.
I have to give it to Tyler Perry though. He tricked me. I thought I was going to see a decent film about the intricacies of rage. Instead, he gave me and the rest of the audience an unoriginal, too long, tawdry movie even Taraji P. Henson’s tour de force performance couldn’t save. Don’t let him fool you too.
The Bereaved 
Loved your review. Every word was true. Perhaps Tyler Perry does hate black women. It certainly appears that way. Taraji P. Henson does deserve better.
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Thank you so much for your compliment and for reading! Yeah, I think he does.
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If you think your better, go make a movie yourself. Why don’t you talk about what were the facts you got from the movie. But nooo, you could could not because you’re to busy looking in the wrong direction. But that’s what we are these days so i do understand in a certain way. And i hope you never get a job wheee you have to ask someone to help for the sake of others to, and you get that type of reaction, i hope you take it and keep calm. I hope you know your bible and know Jesus for who He is.
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I actually do plan on making movies myself. There are no *facts* in this movie as it’s a fictional story. I VERY MUCH SO know Jesus for who He is, so you don’t need to worry about that. Thanks for the comment and Happy New Year!
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Another uneducated black woman suffering from a personality disorder. Seek therapy. You missed the point of the film because you likely suffer from the same illness as Melinda. Your “review” is biased, key elements of the film are incorrect. Anyone who went to college knew Melinda was manipulative and suffered from BPD within the first 15 minutes. (Her oldest sister suffers from NPD.) Unfortunately, a lot of families live in hectic dynamics just like this. While African Americans are less likely to seek therapy, mental illness goes untreated and is often normalized. This is why we see women like you defending the mentally ill person in films. Why don’t you do yourself a favor and pick up a book every once in a while. (I don’t mean reading romantic novels) lol.
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I’m certain I’m better educated than you. I have 2 degrees, you probably have none. I’m in therapy, you clearly are not. I didn’t miss the point of this “film” because there wasn’t one other than making a Black woman look bad. All of the key elements of the film are correct, watch it again. Just because someone has a mentally illness, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve a fair, in depth portrayal. Melinda’s character didn’t get that here. Why don’t you pick up a dictionary and learn the meaning of misogynoir, sexism and patriarchy? Then, stop actively committing these crimes. Everything you said is trash and you should feel grateful I took my precious time to respond to you. You will never amount to anything. Thanks for playing though.
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Lmao. You sound as crazy as Melinda. Have you gotten your BPD diagnosis yet? Personally attacking everyone who criticizes your poorly written “review”. You want a black fairy tale movie, yet you act just like the women Tyler portrays. Then you wonder why everyone hates and is “out to get you”.
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1. So you forgot that you personally attacked me? You get what you give.
2. Nothing I do is poorly written.
3. Where did I say everyone hates and is out to get me?
4. Still haven’t picked up that dictionary, huh? 🤣
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Lol yes yes. You have two degrees, make movies, in therapy yet can’t afford your own domain. You’re still stalking a shitty blog you wrote almost 2 years ago. Also, educated people are usually not obese like yourself. Put the phone down pick up a carrot. Now I’ve attacked you personally. See the difference? Probably not because your bpd.
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If I can’t afford it, how is it active? 🤔I’ve already given you the attention you ordered. Have a good one, xscapegoat1!
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Lolol you have a .blog from WordPress. Guess you don’t have a technology degree. What’s your movie called? I’d like to watch it.
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Just one last correction: my “.blog” is actually more expensive than what I could’ve gotten from GoDaddy, but go off. Bye now!
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alot of important details left out it is seriously funny how women have selective observation when it come to this movie. to say he hates black women is childish and shows you weren’t paying attention.
key points
1. Melinda chose to date Robert and to continue to date him after he cheated
2. she chose to support and believe in him and work multiple jobs when she could have left
3. Melinda getting upset and crashing her car into his trailer injuring herself because she caught him cheating after she bought him a car and he didn’t contact her for two days. (Diana states she didn’t know he was seeing someone) afterward she forgive him and continued to date him then married him
4. Melinda chose to sleep with him on the day of her mother funeral after Melinda’s sister introduced Melinda’s ex as her current boyfriend to Robert to discourage him from dating Melinda causing Robert to walk out then Melinda followed him
5. Robert has been sending letters and calling Prescott’s company from before they met (REMEMBER FOR LATER) they get older he destroys the wiring in the home she spends all of her money to fix it
6. Melinda was working 2 jobs and used all of her money to fund his battery. Robert was outside of Prescott place of business when he randomly bumps into Diana who now works for the company. Robert asked Diana if she would meet up with him so he can explain his battery to her Diana reply bring your wife and she would think about it then Diana has Robert black balled and banned from the contact or visiting the Prescott he responds by being upset and throwing his equipment Melinda states ‘its time to give up on the battery i just want you to help me)
7. he throws out the battery and helps his sister in laws with the plan to save the house. Melinda’s sister finds the Diana wallet in the work truck and brings it to Melinda’s job and tells her he is cheating with no proof (Robert didn’t cheat by the way) Robert is driving the truck and he is to be on time and cannot miss any delivery or the can loose their work trucks.
8. Robert gets a call from Diana to tell him there is a new offer but he has to come now this his last chance ( Melinda knows (remember point five) hes been contacting Prescott for years) so if all the work that Robert has put in the battery and Melinda has invested rides on Diana getting him the meeting with Prescott (another point to be made is maybe if it weren’t for him sleeping with Diana in the past she would have never know him or helped him)
9. Robert turns the truck around rushing back to save the prototype of the battery he was throwing away to please his wife who no longer believes in him due to her sister butting in her affairs he saves the battery heads to Prescott and is offered $800,000.00 that he declined because he wanted to retain ownership of his invention (rightfully so)
10. when Robert gets home his wife and her sisters and their husbands are there waiting for him upset that he didn’t make the delivery as promised and Melinda due to believe her sister who never liked Robert to being with told her he cheat(which he did not)she kicks him out and ask for a divorce
10. Robert is homeless for three months single not dating anyone working at a restaurant (which Melinda saw him at when she was on a date with the same ex boyfriend her sister told Robert at her mother funeral that he was Melinda’s boyfriend when in fact he was her ex ( who Melinda had sex with while still being married to Robert (for some reason women never mention this part i wonder why lol) Robert goes to the divorce hearing where Melinda is waiting with her sisters who are pushing her to divorce him something they wanted not Melinda. Robert states he doesn’t want a divorce that he loves Melinda and asked for another chance she ignores him Robert signs the paper and then leaves
SIDE NOTE : IF YOU DIVORCE SOMEONE or BREAK UP WITH THEM THAT PERSON THAT YOU STATED YOU NO LONGER WANT TO BE WITH CAN DATE ANYONE THEY WANT
11. Diana calls Robert to tell him she was able to get him another offer from Prescott during the call she ask him where has he been staying and offer for him to stay at her place which he declined at first before later accepting the offer. Melinda who happens to be on a date with her ex boyfriend sees Robert working at the restaurant.
12 Robert gets an offer for $75 million (Melinda invested a little over 1 Million into his battery maybe 1.5 million) Robert shows up to Melinda’s job with flowers before Robert says a word first thing Melinda says is im never getting back with you ever (as a man i would not pursue you anymore this is not a guessing game or mind reading game if you want something you say it don’t expect a man to chase you after you told him to leave then claim he didn’t fight for you that is the dumbest shit in the world and then turn around and claim you are being stalked)
13. Robert gives Melinda a check for $10 million (half of the 75 million or more than the 10 million i would have given to her) and the keys to her mothers house that because of him she lost Robert leaves
14. Melinda goes to her sisters house now realizing she gave up on Robert all because of her sister that didn’t like him. sister who claim to want the best for Melinda and they wanted Melinda to make the same choices in men as they did. Melinda then points out that her sisters husband cheated on her and has a child on the side and the other sisters is on the dl (basically implying they have dysfunction relationships that they couldn’t handle so how could you possibly give me advice if y’all don’t have y’all sHHit together
15. she shows her sister and brothers in law the check which they claim could be fake in which Melinda reply’s i check its with the bank its real
16. Melinda then takes the address off the check and shows up un invited to Roberts new condo the one he promised Melinda in lingerie to make up with him now that Robert has made (too late if you ask me and on some stalker ish) Melinda sees Diana gets upset and storms out
keep in mind at this point Robert made the battery Melinda funded the battery then left Robert and Diana got Robert the chance at the second offer so they all three contributed
17. Melinda beings to stalk him and go nuts at the fact that she left him and now he made it and has a new woman that would have been her if she stayed and not doubted him because of misinformation from her negative sister
18. she hunts him down shots him and chopped his ankle wit an axe the gets caught in the anchor which killed her Robert most likely died as well and guess who gets all the money? Diana
there was wrong on both sides but Melinda ends up doing the most wrong only because she goes to killed them over a choice she made
and Tyler Perry doesn’t hate black women any human being or woman could be mad or upset don’t sit here and act like all women are angels no man or woman is perfect period
once you breakup with someone they can date whomever they want she only went back when he got money even after she received 10x times plus on her investment
women that comment about this movie is caught up on two things one that a woman (chose) to take care of a man something more than 70% of women would not do for a man but man has been doing for women for years providing and their are plenty of women who still leave
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Wow t, you have a lot of time on your hands. I would say I’m not sure why you wasted so much of it recounting a movie we both saw, but I can’t because I am. You read “Tyler Perry hates Black women,” i.e. you read my, a Black woman’s, words criticizing a Black man and got so mad, you lost basic reading comprehension skills. You forgot the next thing I said in the review is “He couldn’t portray Black women in a positive light if you paid him.” You spent time writing 18 “key” points. What you fail to realize is most of your points support the idea that…Tyler Perry couldn’t portray Black women in a positive light if you paid him. You thought you would upset me by outlining Melinda’s poor choices. Instead, you proved me right. Now, I have some questions for you: why are you so angry? Who hurt you? Your mom?
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