I Can Do Bad All by Myself (film)


I Can Do Bad All by Myself is a 2009 American romantic musical comedy-drama film which was released on September 11, 2009. The film was directed, produced, and written by Tyler Perry, who also makes an appearance in the film as his signature character Madea. Although the film and play share the same title, the film is not an adaptation of Perry's play of the same name; the two works have different storylines.

Plot

The film opens with April, a self-centered, alcoholic singer, performing at a nightclub where she works. On the other side of town, Madea and Joe Simmons catch Jennifer, Manny, and Byron breaking into their house. After hearing the children’s troubles, Madea welcomes and feeds them. Manny tells Madea that they’re living with their grandmother Rose, whom they haven't seen in four days and their mother is deceased. They tell her that their only other relative is their Aunt April.
April shares her home with her shady boyfriend, Randy, who’s married with children. The next morning, Madea brings the kids to April's house, but April doesn’t want to be bothered. Meanwhile, Pastor Brian sends a Colombian immigrant named Sandino to her house for work and a place to stay. April puts Sandino in her basement and wants to lock him down there because she doesn't know him that well. While working around the house, Sandino surprises April by cleaning himself up. When Randy arrives, he sees April with the kids and Sandino and heckles him while making subtle advances at Jennifer.
Shortly afterward, Pastor Brian and Wilma, a church member, come to inform April that her mother Rose died from a fatal brain aneurysm while riding on a city bus. April is devastated by the news and seeks comfort from Randy; however, he is sleeping and shrugs her off. Later, Sandino comforts April as she tells him about her mother's death and the last time she spoke with her. Shortly afterwards Jennifer, Manny, and Byron return to April's after searching for their grandmother and April dejectedly tells them the news.
Depressed, Jennifer goes to Madea wanting to know how to pray. However, Madea, inexperienced with prayer, attempts to instruct her in a scene that plays out comically. The same night, Tanya, the nightclub bartender, sings "I Can Do Bad". Before singing the song, Tanya strongly confronts April about her attitude. She says that April must change her selfish ways and think about the safety of Byron, Manny and Jennifer. Tanya declares she loves April but says she can’t help her unless she helps herself.
Over time, Sandino and April become good friends, and Sandino fixes a ruined bedroom in her house. This makes Manny and Byron happy, but upsets Jennifer, who feels April does not want them there. While on a date, Sandino tells April he doesn't understand why she is with Randy and asks if she loves Randy. He tells her what true love is to him. One Sunday morning, Sandino eagerly knocks on April's bedroom door to get April ready for church, but Randy threatens to kill Sandino if he continues to spend time with April.
Late the next night, Manny needs his insulin shot, and Jennifer goes to the kitchen to get it. As she prepares the shot, Randy approaches and attempts to rape her, but Sandino fights him off. April walks in on the fight and Randy claims Jennifer offered him sex for money. April pretends to believe him and sends Randy to take a bath. When he is in the tub, April threatens to electrocute him with a plugged-in radio. Sandino arrives and tries to stop her, but April is enraged, as she explains that she was sexually abused by her step-father, who then lied about it to her mother, thus causing April to lose her faith in the people that cared about her. After saying does he want her to put it down twice, she drops the plugged-in radio into the water, giving Randy a severe electric shock. Randy barely jumps out just in time and Sandino orders him to leave.
April goes to the bar for a drink and blames herself for not seeing the signs, just like her mother didn't see the signs with her. Sandino tries to stop her from drinking, but she pushes him away. She then asks Sandino if he is a child molester, because of all the attention he gives the children. Sandino tells April of his childhood as a child laborer and explains that he loves the children so much because he sees himself in them. Feeling hurt at her unfair accusations, Sandino says farewell to the children and leaves.
Jennifer and April begin to get along and connect after April tells Jennifer about her bad experience as a child. Jennifer tells her that she should recognize Sandino as a good man. Eventually, Sandino returns and April apologizes to him and admits that she loves him like a friend. Sandino tells her that she can't love anyone until she learns to love herself. He tells April that he is in love with her but he wants April to love him back the same way he loves her. He shows her by kissing her.
Eventually, April and Sandino get married. April and Sandino then hold a block party for their reception with Tanya singing "Good Woman Down", dedicated to April, then the new couple is shown embracing and sharing a passionate kiss.

Cast

The film features 13 songs, including two new songs by Blige. Perry was not able to produce a soundtrack album for the film due to the various record companies involved.

Critical response

I Can Do Bad All by Myself received generally positive reviews from critics, making it Perry's most acclaimed film to date. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 60% of critics gave positive reviews based on 45 reviews with an average score of 5.87/10, giving it a "Fresh" rating, with the critics consensus reading: "Though somewhat formulaic and predictable, Perry succeeds in mixing broad humor with sincere sentimentality to palatable effect." By comparison, Metacritic gave the film a 55% approval rating of critics based on 13 reviews.
Entertainment Weeklys Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the movie an "A–" grade, saying "After a summer of phony, pasty rom-coms, do this: See a movie where old-fashioned notions of love, faith, strength, and the possibility of redemption are taken seriously." Ty Burr of The Boston Globe called the film "overlong but well-shaped and involving", praising Perry for finding a balanced mix of "earnest soap opera moralism with comic instincts", calling it his "most confident and competent mixture of uplifting black middle-class melodrama and low-down comedy." Cliff Doerksen of the Chicago Reader said about the film, "Contrived, sentimental, tonally bipolar, and as predictable as clockwork, this latest from chitlin' circuit impresario Tyler Perry is just a fat slab of ecstatic entertainment."
Rob Humanick of Slant Magazine felt the film was a great gateway for people not familiar with the "scabrous antics and homegrown moralizing" delivered by the Madea character, saying that Perry lends his creation a more "greater level of tonal consistency" than his previously contradictory Madea Goes to Jail, writing that "I Can Do Bad acknowledges Madea's flaws with loving scrutiny, and doesn't require approval of her more selfish attributes."
Randy Cordova of The Arizona Republic was critical of Perry's filmmaking for delivering lengthy musical numbers and overlooked story elements but gave praise to the performances of Henson and Wilson for showcasing his ability to "create meaty roles for women." The A.V. Clubs Nathan Rabin gave the film a "B–" grade, praising Henson's performance and the "riveting musical numbers" by Knight and Blige for emitting more "feverish emotions" to the film than Perry's "characteristically ham-fisted screenplay", concluding that "His oeuvre has always been shameless and over the top, but Bad might just be the first of Perry’s films to border on operatic." Kimberley Jones of The Austin Chronicle criticized Perry for prolonging the film's conclusion but gave him credit for bringing "increasingly mature moviemaking" to his production, highlighting the Madea scenes as being "pretty damn funny" and the performances of Wilson and Henson for being "nuanced and quite moving" and having a "likable screen presence" respectively.