Tyler Perry is one of Hollywood’s most prolific writer/directors, often cranking out multiple projects at a time. Unfortunately, quality appears to be the first casualty in his endless factory of movies and TV series. The latest major misstep for the Madea filmmaker is the Netflix film “Tyler Perry’s Mea Culpa,” a legal thriller starring Kelly Rowland and Trevante Rhodes. It premiered Feb. 23 and the internet immediately had thoughts about how absolutely horrible it was.
The movie follows Rowland’s Mea, a lawyer defending Rhodes’ Zyair in a murder trial. As she deals with her crumbling marriage and the case progresses, Mea soon finds herself seduced by the charming, sexy artist. However, that’s where things stop making sense, as the story soon takes a turn through several ridiculous, unnecessary twists to get to a nonsensical ending that makes everyone look silly.
After sitting through this crazy mess, Black folks once again had thoughts about the entertainment Perry delivers and why we allow him to keep getting away with these crimes against good storytelling.
When it comes to Perry’s distinctive style, a TikTok user noted that “it’s like he gets an idea in his head and it goes straight to production, no edits, no thoughts, no trying to figure out the plotholes.”
They’re not wrong. There’s an easy convenience in his plots that mean things happen just because they need to. The story doesn’t build to a proper conclusion or surprise the viewer with anything of substance. In fact, “Mea Culpa” seems like it’s actually two movies somehow stitched into one wild story,
Just so it’s clear, no one is blaming the amazing Rowland for this mess. She did what she could with what she was given. Sadly, she was given a dumpster fire of a movie and told to make it work.
Someone on TikTok emphatically stated that Perry “must pay” for how offensive this movie is, because it’s far worse than the bad wigs his series have become known for.
Another TikTok user wasn’t even sure they could finish the movie after watching it for only 25 minutes because the characters were too unbelievable.
“That ‘Mea Culpa’ movie was bad. Like REALLY bad,” wrote one user on X, because sometimes the simplest reviews are the best.
One person on X pointed out that despite all the discourse around the movie, we’re probably going to do this dance several more times with “The Oval” creator, writing, “I wish the ‘Mea Culpa’ discussion meant people wouldn’t watch his next movie, but it doesn’t so it’s gonna happen again in a few months.”
Perry has become so rich, powerful and successful, there’s no motivation for him to change his ways. He will keep offering Black audiences the lowest form of entertainment, because that creative style has made him a billionaire. It also doesn’t help that Hollywood keeps offering him blank checks to do whatever he wants. The only way the public can truly let him know what they think is with their wallets. However, at this point, even that seems like a longshot.
In case you’re a glutton for punishment, or just want to make up your own mind, “Tyler Perry’s Mea Culpa” is now streaming on Netflix.