Why Did I Get Married?

Plot synopsis:
Four couples, who are also best friends, converge on a house in the mountains for a week-long retreat that has become their ritual of sorts to help work out their marital problems and ask the question "Why did I get married?". Though the couples have committed to being physically present for the week, some of them have not been emotionally present in their respective marriages for quite some time. The week is not planned out in a well-programmed sequence, so the events unfold somewhat spontaneously, beginning with their "adventures" in getting up to the mountain retreat. The first couple, Diane (Sharon Leal) and Terry (Tyler Perry), drives up together and argues most of the way because Diane refused to leave her job at the office and constantly gets calls on her blackberry or makes calls instead of talking to Terry. The other couple Angela (Tasha Smith) and Marcus (Michael Jai White)takes public transportation. Angela constantly argues with Marcus and with anyone who dares to interrupt them. Sheila (Jill Scott) is left to deplane (because of her weight and the requirement to purchase two seats) and drive the long distance in the snow, while her husband Mike (Richard T. Jones) continues on the flight with Sheila's single friend, Trina. Patricia (Janet Jackson) and Gavin (Malik Yoba) arrive by limo cab. Their journey is not documented, however, right before they leave to go to the retreat, Gavin shows up to pick up Patricia at a lecture she was giving (she is the author of a book called "Why did I get married?") and artlessly dodges a question about their marriage.Diane falls asleep not long after arriving with her blackberry close at hand, and when her secretary calls while she is asleep, Terry tells the woman not to call them while they are on their vacation. When Patricia arrives, she goes up to wake Diane at once while the men bond over the wine that Terry had poured for his wife.The sound of arguing signals the arrival of Angela and Marcus.When Mike arrives without Sheila, the other wives berate him and Trina, for having left Sheila to drive alone. Sheila's husband shows clearly that he does not care for her at all. Her friends try to reach Sheila by phone but get her voice mail only. Sheila is persistent to get to the retreat because she wants to make her marriage work. Providence leads her to Sheriff Troy's (Lamman Rucker) office and that is where she spends the night in a jail cell, because that is the only accommodation available to her because of the snowstorm. That same night, Mike tiptoes, not unseen by Angela to Trina's bedroom.
Sheila arrives at the retreat house the following morning with Troy in tow. She introduces Troy to the others and tells them she has invited him to breakfast. Troy fast becomes a threat to Mike, Sheila's husband, not because of Sheila but because of Trina, with whom he is being unfaithful to Sheila. Breakfast is a noisy affair with the arguing couples throwing words for each other or Angela throwing words for Trina, the only single woman on the retreat, whom she instantly disliked.Throughout the few days spent on retreat, there are spontaneous revelations. The infidelity of two of the husbands leads to a discussion by the men of the 80-20 rule. This rule states that most men get 80% of what they need from a marriage yet they tend to go after the 20% that someone outside can provide for them because it appears to be more to them when it really isn't.The secrets that come out in their heated discussions lead the couples toward a path where they can either choose to reconcile or to separate and the latter is what happens to Sheila and Mike. Mike makes it clear he is not attracted to his wife any longer and when it is revealed he is being unfaithful, he simply tells her he wants a divorce. The vacation is cut short when all the secrets come to light, as the couples suddenly decide they cannot stay in the house any longer. Sheila checks into a local hotel to recover from the shock of her divorce and the realisation that Mike has drained her bank account. She is in a depressed state when Troy goes to visit her. He takes her up to a mountain where she cries and mourns the loss of her love and the only life she knew.The other couples head back home. Patricia and Gavin are barely speaking to each other-he called her stupid because she didn't strap their son in and he died in an accident - but he eventually forces her to face the situation, and she breaks down emotionally in his arms, they reconcile.
Angela and Marcus are still fighting, especially when Keisha (Marcus' baby-mama, played by Kaira Whitehead) shows up at Angela's salon and disrespects Angela. Marcus finally stands up to both his wife and his ex, and then frightens Angela into realizing she is wrecking their life with her constant arguing by not showing up for a couple of days.
Diane and Terry fight again right before they leave the mountains because he had a paternity test done on their daughter. They fight again on Terry's birthday at their home because Diane forgot about his birthday on top of the other things she did like tie her tubes without telling him. Terry tells her he is moving out.
Patricia meets up with Diane and Angela moping over their husbands and gives them the counseling they need to get back on track telling them to make a list of the good things and the bad things their husbands have done. The men drown their sorrows in the bottle.In the mountains, Sheila is settling into a new life working for Troy in the general store his father owned and getting to know Troy and realizing her own self-worth. The two of them bond.Angela cooks dinner for her husband when she is finished with her list, but he suspects she is trying to poison him. Eventually she explains, they make up and set conditions of the new order.Diane goes to see Terry and begs him to come back after crying over her list. He plays with her head a little to get back at her, but they eventually reconcile too and all the couples converge on the gala celebration for an award that Patricia has received for her work. Diane, Patricia and Angela are shocked when Sheila introduces Troy as her husband. Ex-husband Mike, although he is still with Trina, is very jealous of Sheila's newfound bliss and tries to weasel his way back into her good graces but she tells him to go enjoy his "20", referring to the 80-20 rule.

Tags: cruelty

Review:
Like other reviewers of this movie, I can't believe the low ratings that some people gave it.
My Hubby (of 30+ years) is out-of-town, and because we have only sons, I get out-voted a lot and thus don't get to see many "chick flicks." I discovered that this film is neither a "chick flick" nor a "black flick." It is a comedy-drama HUMAN interest film about four married couples who vacation together once a year to reaffirm their marriages.
This is Tyler Perry's style and many people have come to love his plays and films.
It was funny and insightful, showing the ups and downs of marriage and also showing unconditional Love that has to come with a successful marriage.I think Tyler Perry is a wonderful example for African Americans,Strong and spiritual and not afraid to show his Faith in God in his movies and that is to be applauded.
A lot of scenes had the entire theatre laughing including me (The theatre was full) and people were making comments to all the situations really getting into it like "oh hell nah" and "uh uh girl" and "you know it" etc.
If you actually go and see it without judging it too fast then chances are you will enjoy it.And of course just like all of the Tyler Perry movies it has a message at the end that ties the movie all together..
You have to credit Mr. Perry for presenting to us what we so rarely get to see in American film; upper-class, professional African-American couples working through real-life relationship problems.
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.
So the reason this movie has a 4.1, well the only thing I can think of is that maybe certain people are purposely sabotaging black ratings.
If you don't like the fact that there is actually good movies from the great minds of African Americans, keep your opinions to yourself.
Contrary to some people's opinionated banter about why certain writers/producers are allowed to continue making movies, this movie is in my opinion one of Tyler Perry's best.
You must know what your getting into when you go to see a Tyler Perry movie.
Tyler Perry movies suffer from poor and amateurish writing, below average acting Janet Jackson is particularly bad), and the same story just told in a different way.
Both were VERY GOOD.Thank you Tyler Perry for giving the public a decent relationship movie and the actors were FANTASTIC.
Can't wait for the next Tyler Perry film and play.Reuben Cannon glad to know you are still working your MAGIC,as well!.
After watching this movie, I myself realized there are things in my relationship I need to change.Overall Tyler Perry did it well with this movie, this time he didn't need Madea.
She can only do so much what the producers have laid out for her but I think she made a good performance.I'm not surprised the movie was rated low on IMDb and that maybe because audiences were expecting more out of Tyler Perry (Granted, I was least satisfied at the end).
The story line is not new and the ending somewhat predictable, but it is overall good entertainment and well worth a watch.Janet Jackson is the weakest of the actresses in this movie but that doesn't spoil the enjoyment.This is a much better movie than the awful sequel 'Why did I get married too'.
Why Did I Get Married is a movie about four couples that are college friends, who go through trials and obstacles within their marriage that become very challenging at times but they try their hardest, with the help and encouragement from their friends to try and makes things work for the best.
As the couples attend the retreat there are issues that arise that make them question "why did I get married?" Patricia and her husband Gavin, which is played by actress Malik Yoba, portray to have the perfect marriage.
Mike and Sheila, played by Jill Scott are another couple who battle with problems in their relationship.
Just like in another Tyler Perry Movie, A Diary of a Mad Black Women, men and women experience many emotional and troubling times in their marriage that they fight through demonstrating how strong you have to be in a marriage sometimes.
Tyler Perry shows the pain, hurt, happiness, and more felt between each couple throughout the film.
The theme of marriage is important and Tyler Perry does a great job by using four couples with four 8 different personalities to show the ups and downs marriage can hold..
For a Tyler Perry Film, This is GREAT (and that's saying a lot).
to summarize the plot, The four couples, who are also best friends, converge on a house in the mountains for a week-long retreat that has become their ritual of sorts to help work out their marital problems and ask the question "Why did I get married?".
The week is not planned out in a well-programmed sequence, so the events unfold somewhat spontaneously, beginning with their "adventures" in getting up to the mountain retreat.The film is bound to make you go through a wave of emotions & the drama filled climax scenes are seat edgers and doesn't tend to the cliché story lines Tyler Perry is so used to using.
Tyler Perry (Terry) married to Sharon Leal (Diane) Janet Jackson (Patricia) married to Malik Yoba (Gavin) Michael Jai White (Marcus) married to Taisha Smith (Taisha) Jill Scott (Sheila) married to Richard T.
Jones (Mike) and Lamon Rucker (Troy) The theme to this movie is about Social Issues involving Love, Marriage, Overcoming and Forgiveness.
It also helped you to feel the love between them as well as the pain.The acting in this film along with the dialog was essential to getting the story-line and the mood across and to engage the viewer in the life circumstances of each couple.
Its a 2007 comedy-drama film written, produced, directed, and starring Tyler Perry, which came about after he did a play and also is the same name of this movie.
This film stars Janet Jackson (Patrica), Jill Scott (Shelia), Malik Yoba (Gavin), Sharon Leal (Diane), Tasha Smith (Angela), Michael Jai White (Marcus), Richard T.
Before seeing this film or any other Tyler Perry production I, like many of you, had my doubts.
And with Tyler's movies and plays having grossed over $500,000,000 in sales, he's doing it his way, Keep It Real Brotha' ......For you guys who could appreciate the messages in this movie, check out Chris Rock's movie "I think I love my wife", it got dogged by the critics, but was very well put together, and the best movie ever made on dealing on married Brotha's struggling with all this sexuality out here.
I am not a big fan of Tyler Perry's Madea movies, but I was genuinely surprised by this film.
My heart went out so much for Sheila that I honestly wanted to walk into the screen and smack the living daylights out of her husband for the way he treated her.Honestly this is a film that has something for everyone, no matter what stage you are in life and love.
If it wasn't for the fact that I like Tyler Perry movies I would've skipped it.
I applaud Tyler Perry for putting this movie in a way a young man can understand.I'd recommend this movie to anyone who wants to learn a lot about marriage, and how to treat a woman or a man like a human being.
When Richard Jones as Mike belittled Jill Scott's character as Sheila and admitted that he was having an affair with Trina played by Denise Boutte, I wanted Sheila to punch him right in his face.
Like all of Perry's films the fact that the characters are black doesn't mean that the lives on screen aren't universal.
To be certain Perry has learned how to direct and act (a problem that plagued the the Medea films he directed) unfortunately he seems to have lost the craft of constructing a real life story line.
Tyler Perry is a genius because black people are so desperate to see their own in movies they will watch anything.
Tyler Perry's movies are for people that appreciate philosophy and have common sense and who think OUTSIDE of the box of life.
The couples include Patricia & Gavin (Janet Jackson & Malik Yoba), Terry & Diane (Tyler Perry & Sharon Leal), Mike & Sheila (Richard T.
I enjoy Tyler Perry's movies and this one did not fail to live up to my expectation of his work.
I loved it and will see future Tyler perry movies in the theater.
I've seen Janet Jackson in previous films, too, and I thought her talent was wasted here.Jackson hosts a conference a meeting of people who examine her findings that she titles the same as the movie that's based on her seven day experience with different couples in different phases of their own (her own included).
Jackson tries to set up exercises in therapy situations in an attempt to fit what's wrong in each of their respective marriages, while still trying to deal with her own personal demons.The result of this movie-based-on-a-play is, like I said, predictable.
Perry has gathered an attractive cast of African American actors together to play four couples who travel to a mountain retreat for an alleged couples seminar that turns into a weekend of ugly accusations, confused loyalties, not-so-surprising revelations, and what Tyler Perry deals in best: tired stereotyped characters.
Perry has gathered an attractive cast of African American actors together to play four couples who travel to a mountain retreat for an alleged couples seminar that turns into a weekend of ugly accusations, confused loyalties, not-so-surprising revelations, and what Tyler Perry deals in best: tired stereotyped characters.
That's why I love Tyler Perry's movies, he always base his movies on real life, how things happen, and how it can be settled.
another great Tyler perry film.
I admit that I have not watched many of Tyler Perry's movies.
I enjoy that Tyler Perry puts actors and actresses that we haven't seen before so we can see their ability to act, which definitely gives more to the movie.
"Why Did I Get Married?," written and directed by Tyler Perry, arrived in theaters less than a month ago and is as funny as any movie-goer could hope.
This couple is also plagued with infidelity as it is revealed that Mike has a girlfriend, Trina, played by Denise Boutte, who he brings with them to the mountains as a "family friend." All couples try to work on their problems during the weekend, but it becomes obvious that these problems can't be solved in such a short time as everyone blows up at each other at an evening dinner.
And Angela replied, "Could you go to HELL for a while?"This film will be enjoyed by anyone who has loved someone that has driven them absolutely nuts, and by fans of Tyler Perry's other films like "Daddy's Little Girls" and "Madea's Family Reunion." With the drama and real life scenarios lightened by humor, this movie gets an A+ from me..
This movie surprised me, because I had seen all the other Tyler Perry productions and was not impressed.
Not in a Tyler Perry film, where secrets and deep, sometimes malicious, feelings are absurdly revealed in the most contrived and inappropriate of times, and not for the sake of story but for over-the-top drama.Most of what Perry "tells us" is through Patricia (Janet Jackson), the psychiatrist who is basically his ventriloquist dummy, spewing all of his views about love, faith and marriage.Perry "tells us" how to love again, sometimes with an unbearable superficiality that has nothing to do with true love.He "tells us" Sheila's (Jill Scott) feelings about herself during her marriage with this dramatic, teary monologue, which felt like a play-by-play recap of her whole story in the film and it felt as real as Santa Claus.
He had to continue the "telling." If Tyler Perry wants to be respected as a "film storyteller," he needs to get into the habit of "showing" more than he "tells." The characters in this film were uninteresting, stereotypical at times, and worst of all, one-dimensional.Patricia was flawless, and that's a bad thing believe it or not.
Mike had enough flaws for the other characters in this film that were lacking.And like Patricia, Terry was perfect but Diane was the selfish, inconsiderate one.
In a Tyler Perry film, a character like that is needed because the other characters would rather talk about being uppity black folks rather then communicate their problems to their loved ones.
It seems to only all come out here for the sake of this story.Contrivance No. 3  In a Tyler Perry film, there just happens to be an eligible, perfect black man who happens to be attracted to plus sized black women just waiting in Pemberton, Colorado as Sheila's rebound when she divorces Mike.Contrivance No. 2  Sheila blissfully encourages Trina to come along with her and her husband to find a single black man in Pemberton.
Of course, this makes it easy for everyone to discover Mike's affair with Trina.And the number one of them all, the one thing that made me pan this film immediately upon noticing: Contrivance No. 1  Patricia is the world renowned therapist that has been getting the same married couples together for seven years where she would help them work on their marriages.
However, in a Tyler Perry film, Patricia's many years of marriage exercises and counseling on their many marital retreats have done nothing for them.
Tyler Perry makes a good husband...it was especially nice to see him outside the role of Madea for an entire movie.
Ex-football star-turned-hairdresser Marcus (Michael Jai White of "Universal Soldier: The Return") and his shrewish, alcoholic wife Angela (Tasha Smith of "Daddy's Little Girls") join them in scenic Pemberton, Colorado, along with pediatrician Terry (Tyler Perry) and his workaholic lawyer wife Diane (Sharon Leal of "Dreamgirls") as well as obnoxious Mike (Richard T.
One of the problems with Tyler Perry's adaptation of his own stage play is that he neglects to clarify what initially attracted Mike and Sheila as a couple.
Ultimately, in a syrupy-sweet, wholly unconvincing finale, everything works out for each couple.Tyler Perry's characters qualify as positive role models, all except Mike.
Tyler Perry and Sharon Neal play Terry and Dianne, a couple which puts their careers before their marriage while trying to balance having a family.
Terry played by Tyler Perry plays a husband who just wants to spend time with his wife Diane played by Sharon Leal.
The film stars with Dr. Terry Brock (Tyler Perry) is married to Dianne (Sharon Leal), Garvin Agnew (Malik Yoba) is married to Patricia (Janet Jackson), Mike (Richard T.
As I said before, "Daddy's Little Girls" was good, but not great or excellent like Tyler Perry's first two films.
This movie is even better than the other films Tyler Perry released!
The film "Why Did I Get Married?" written and produced by Tyler Perry, showcases real life situations about the relationship battles for truth, love, and acceptance.
The film "Why Did I Get Married?" written and produced by Tyler Perry, showcases real life situations about the relationship battles for truth, love, and acceptance.
Dr. Patricia Agnew plans a getting away trip for her and spouse Gavin (Malik Yoba) along with their best couple friends Angela (Tasha Smith) and Marcus (Michael Jai White), who use loud, disruptive verbal communication as a means of interaction., along with friends Terry (Tyler Perry) and on scene wife Diane (Sharon Leal) who encounter distrust in their relationship, couple Mike and Sheila portrayed by Richard Jones and songstress and up in coming actress Jill Scott, who is tormented by the cruelty of her unfaithful husband.
Terry (Tyler Perry) and Diane's (Sharon Leal) marriage is strained because he feels that she is married to her work and neglecting the marriage.
Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married" film was based around a group of couples that took an annual winter vacation to help rejuvenate their marriages.
Tyler Perry (Terry) plays the husband of Diane (Sharon Leal).
Other characters included the famous Janet Jackson (Patricia), Jill Scott (Sheila), Malik Yoba (Gavin), Richard Jones (Mike), Tasha Smith (Angela), Michael Jai White (Marcus), Denise Boutte (Trina), and Lamman Rucker (Sherrif Troy).
Tyler Perry is known for making other films and plays that have similar themes, revolving around marriage, family and relationships.
The film was fantastic and some of Tyler Perry's best work!.
This is truly a character study and the characters are brought to life in such a way that you will feel every emotion and everything that they do.Tyler Perry writes, directs and stars in the film.
I first saw this when it came out with my sister and I like very much, though not the best of Perry (thought what is?)but still a good film.
Really good."Why Did I Get Married," a film that works because of the heart and soul of the cast even when it feels like Perry's over-the-top preachiness is about to cave everything in.
This was another Tyler Perry movie with a fairytale ending.