A New Movie Brings Out Throngs of Black Women
Michael Nagle for The New York Times

By JOHN ELIGON
Published: October 13, 2007

As afternoon gave way to evening yesterday at the Regal E-Walk Stadium 13 movie theaters in Times Square, the hollers of audience members during a showing of “Why Did I Get Married?” rang loud and clear at certain points.

“Slap her,” one person said.

“You better take that man,” another shouted.

“That’s right,” yelled yet another.

But the movie inspired more than emotional outbursts from audience members, many of whom found it to be cause for more serious reflection.

“The movie was very emotional, a good representation of the African-American community,” said Maurice Murphy, a 25-year-old Broadway actor who lives on the Upper West Side. “It did a good job of showing an array: socioeconomic differences, different church backgrounds.”

The reflection of reality that people seemed to find in “Why Did I Get Married?” was a main reason that, throughout the city yesterday, audiences of mostly black women crowded theaters to see it on the day of its nationwide release.

The movie, which is focused on four black upper-middle-class couples who go on a retreat together, is the latest from Tyler Perry, a playwright, screenwriter and actor who some say has the ability to accurately portray the black experience, especially that of women.

“I think that right now he’s absolutely on point for really contextualizing things that are going on with black women,” said Zandria Robinson, a Ph.D. candidate in the sociology department at Northwestern University, in a telephone interview yesterday.

Of course, many also find an appeal in some of Mr. Perry’s other specialties: humor, intrigue and honesty.

“He brings comedy out of things that are reality in the urban community,” said Junito Garcia, 30, who saw the movie in Harlem yesterday with his wife.

Within the movie’s first two minutes, an argument plays out between a couple driving to a cabin in the snow-covered mountains of Colorado. The stress and nuances of relationships are at the center of the movie, in which Janet Jackson plays a prominent psychologist with plenty of advice.

Ms. Robinson said that a Chris Rock movie, “I Think I Love My Wife,” which was released earlier this year, tackled similar subjects regarding marriage, but from the perspective of “a male existential struggle.”

What makes Mr. Perry’s movies especially honest, Ms. Robinson said, is that they are not one-sided. He exposes flaws and strengths of both men and women, she said.

“In a mysterious way, he’s able to tap black women and black men’s realities in order to put them in a dialogue with one another,” she said.

The excitement over “Why Did I Get Married?” began in full swing at a New York premiere earlier this week at Regal E-Walk, where the line snaked out the door and down the sidewalk. The crowd was mostly black women. Most of the men in line were accompanying women.

By 6 p.m. yesterday, four shows later in the evening at the Regal E-Walk were sold out. Crowds of people who could not get tickets were gathered outside the door. Some were headed to a theater on 34th Street to see if it had any tickets.

A movie that asks “Why Did I Get Married?” can appeal to a broader audience, said Darryl L. Townes, a psychologist based in Atlanta who specializes in families and relationship issues. It is “something that all couples go through,” he said.

Yet the film is especially relevant to blacks in the professions, Mr. Townes said. He said that since there are generally more women in the professions than men, the men often have more dating options. He said he often counseled married black men who struggle when they meet other women and question why they married. In some ways, he said, this dynamic is viewed negatively.

“It plays on the stereotype about black men being very sexual, being very aggressive,” he said by telephone. “A stereotype exists among the black community that, one, we don’t get married, first of all.”

Mr. Townes and others said they hoped that this movie could break down stereotypes, and that it could show that black relationships, though not perfect, can thrive.

“It showed black men and women are willing to fight, compromise and try to save their relationships,” said Karen Brame, 37, who recently finished a graduate degree in African-American studies at Columbia University and saw a matinee show yesterday in Harlem. “It’s realistic. It’s not a fairy tale. These are attainable things.”

For some, the movie was a learning experience.

Danielle Jamison, 17, from Brooklyn, attended the movie in Times Square with her 17-year-old boyfriend. She said she had garnered some new advice from Ms. Jackson’s character, the psychologist.

“It gives you new ways of talking things out,” Ms. Jamison said.

Her boyfriend, Jurrel Andrew, added, “It leans more toward the truth than other movies.”