Please be advised that I was supposed to have received this movie by 1/26/10, but as of today, 2/3/10, I have not received it. Kindly look into this problem for me, as I have already paid for this movie.

THE FAMILY THAT PREYS

I have to say that I am a big fan of Tyler Perry and all of his work from the plays to films I like what the man does. It seems that he just keeps getting better as his film making abilities progress with every one. Some I like more than others but every one has been outstanding, to me Tyler writes people not characters and that is the best complement I can give. So needless to say I was excited to hear that my favorite actress Kathy Bates was doing a film with him, and it got better when I learned that Alfre Woodard was in it.

The film is about two best friends Charlotte Cartwright [Bates] & Alice Pratt [Woodard] who both live very different lives but it is those lives that have made them the friends they are today. Both have kids each having their own problems whether it be with money or marriages yet they all seem to be connected and not just because of the mothers being friends. So in order to get away from it all they both get together and travel across America for one last good time together, because like Charlotte says “are you living or existing”. In the mean time Alice’s two daughters are trying to deal with each and their husbands at the same time. One has an ambitious husband who just wants to catch a break and the other has a husband who is content on were he is in life while wants more. As far as Charlotte’s child goes he is busy scheming and planning on getting his mother dropped from the company. A company in which she has made one of the best in the world and has the controlling vote, unless he can trick her out of it.

Tyler Perry has crafted another hit in my mind and has created one of my favorite films to come out these last couple of years. His script is full of wonderful and interesting characters some are more likable than others but all are entertaining. His direction seems crisp as ever as the pace moves along nicely never staying to long on any one scene, but all play out smooth and don’t go to quick. Perry is excellent in his role as Ben as well the content husband of Pam played wonderfully by one of the best actresses alive Taraji Henson. Perry comes across as the every man who is just trying to get by in life and feed his family and Taraji is perfect as the supportive wife who just wants her husband to want more in life.

Kathy Bates as always is magnificent as Charlotte Cartwright the millionaire or is it billionaire, whatever she is she is excellent. She pulls off the character nicely and the scenes between her and Alfre Woodard are excellent especially when her disease starts to get to her. And Alfre Woodard is marvelous as Alice Pratt the the best friend who came from a whole other world but befriended who should have been an enemy, there is a nice surprise in the end. Sanaa Lathan is one of the best in the film as Andrea the wicked sister of Pam or at least in Pam’s eyes. She is cold and calculating in this film and knocks it out of the park. Rockmond Dunbar plays her ambitious husband Chris and much like the rest of the cast is nothing short of great. He just seems like a genuinely nice guy although a lot of people seem to be upset with something that happens with him [more on that latter]. Cole Hauser plays possibly the most entertaining character as Charlotte’s son William since he plays the character so evil. And KaDee Strickland is great as his wife Jillian as is Robin Givens as Abby. Another superb stand out is Sebastian Siegel playing Nick, excellent character here.

Now as far as the little thing that every one seems up set about I must say just get over, it is a movie and that is the character. I certainly don’t agree with ever striking a woman no matter what the reason and don’t agree with him doing it. But his character was pushed to the edge with what she had done to him and that was the only way that character knew how to respond. Although he was wrong for just taking the money even though they were married. I really think that it added a nice element of drama to the scene and made them seem more real. There are plenty of real life situations that ended just like that and I think that is all it was, just a scene from real life because like I said Tyler writes people not characters in these kinds of films. I mean come on it is really a drama you should expect things like that, you don’t go see a Slasher flick and then say “THAT WAS SO RUDE OF HIM TO STAB HER IN THE SHOWER, HE COULDN’T WAIT”

This is an excellent movie that is worthy of any DVD collection in my opinion, I am a proud owner of it. At the very least it is a very entertaining film about people, and real people at that. I think you should buy this and skip a rental it is definitely worth shelling out for.

I soooo anticipated this movie, and soooo wanted to love it, being that it features two of my all-time favorite actors: Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates. How excited I became when I saw that they were working together in a film! But alas, this is not the film that allows them to work their magic.

Unfortunately, “The Family That Preys” has so much dumbed-down dialogue, that I felt writer/director Tyler Perry must have decided that if the country’s newspapers have to be written on a sixth-grade level, then so must movies in order to gather the widest appeal. Perry wastes a great deal of dialogue having his characters explain their relationships in no uncertain terms – a perennial sign of bad writing, churning out throw-away lines like, “You two are sisters!” “You’re my husband!” – instead of writing interesting dialogue that reveals the relationship in other ways. I found myself being embarrassed for the ultra-talented cast, seeing them all working so hard, having been given such vapid lines and cliches.

And what follows IS cliché after cliché, both verbally and visually, seeming to never end. To instill instant sentimentality and create familiarity, Perry counts on references to some of our favorite films, even recreating The Whistlestop Café, replete with a reference to fried green tomatoes and a visit from Ol’ Smokey Lonesome. Perry also wants us to know that Charlotte and Alice are out chasing a wild hare, crossing the country just like “Oprah and Gayle” or “Thelma and Louise” — just in case we can’t make that connection for ourselves. At one point when a particular character slaps another and sends her reeling over the diner counter, I felt like I was watching an old Bonanza episode. I expected a player piano to suddenly crank up and a saloon fight to ensue, and the (original) Cartwrights to walk through the door, just in time to save the day.

The scenes of power play, greed, and betrayal seem like script rejects from the 80′s TV show “Dallas” or “Dynasty.” And while I never watched those shows, the commercials back then were enough to make viewing these scenes feel like I had seen it all before.

I’ve not seen any of Perry’s other films. The “Madea” comedies look like simple fun, and this dramatic disappointment won’t keep me from checking them out for (hopefully) a good belly larf.

In the meantime, I’ll keep waiting for the vehicle that will allow Alfre Woodard to take home that much-deserved Oscar — which she should have captured twice by now, in “Passion Fish” and “Miss Firecracker”! Keep a-workin’, girl!