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Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 44 Ratings

  • Starring: Anika Noni Rose, Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg
  • Summary: For Colored Girls brings to the screen Ntozake Shange's Obie Award-winning play, a poetic exploration of what is to be of color and a female in this world. (The Tyler Perry Company)
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 33
  2. Negative: 10 out of 33
  1. Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    Nov 4, 2010
    100
    The effect is like watching an opera without music. Or a musical drama in which no one sings. These departures from a realistic convention never feel like static set pieces - that's the great success of the film and of the poems themselves.
  2. Reviewed by: Betsy Sharkey
    Nov 4, 2010
    80
    Whatever stumbles there may be, they are offset by moments when For Colored Girls soars.
  3. Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    Nov 5, 2010
    60
    Perry never solves the stage-to-screen translation problem. But the path he has chosen is as intriguing as it is irksome, and it works better than you might expect.
  4. Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    Nov 5, 2010
    38
    "Precious" worked partly because it did not wrap its sordid tale in Christian uplift and dime-store psychology -- elements that have made Tyler Perry a rich filmmaker but have turned For Colored Girls shrill and manipulative.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 28
  2. Negative: 6 out of 28
  1. This movie is for people who like hardcore drama movies. If you don't like drama then don't watch it. Its that simple! This movie is very well written with a serious, and realistic plot that delivers. This movie demonstrates why Tyler Perry is so wealthy...BECAUSE HIS MOVIES ARE ART! This movie is heart-wrenching, realistic, entertaining, and captivating! The ONLY movies that can make me cry are Lion King and Tyler Perry films, and this is one of them. I also love Janet in this film, never knew she could act so well! Expand
  2. 8
    This is a wonderful poetic movie that is worth a second look to fully appreciate. The acting is first rate with a stellar cast. Having read the book it was easy to tell when they were quoting directly from it and when the script strayed. The dialogue is poetic and musical when it follows the book - the movie would have befitted from fewer additional scenes or storylines. Loretta Devine eats up the screen in every scene she appears in especially the ones that follow the book. Kimberly Elise is another standout - her final scene is gut wrenching. When she utters the word "fiercely" it is reminiscent of Cicely Tyson in Sounder crying "Nathan" - that same trascending quality when you forget you're watching a movie and really believe what you are watching. The final scene makes up for any flaws in this wonderful heartfelt movie. Expand
  3. First let me say I'm a black 25 y/o male and I think Tyler Perry is hit or miss. The best work I've seen from him is The Family That Preys and his Madea movies being stereotypical crap. So with that said I like this movie. The best are the performances with a special nod to Phylicia Rashad and Thandie Newton. Another great thing was the story or stories were well paced and nothing was to preachy though a few small elements were a little trite. Namely the problems with the lady in red. Though not bad just didn't feel as strong or important. The downside is Tyler Perry does not balance well with his movies and they always seem so one-sided. The men in this movie aren't bashed so much as they are givin no character. They are merely statues used as a jump-off point for the female characters. Now the play is older than me and I understand there were no male characters. But I feel that as a film, if they are going to be there, they should be givin more to work with. This is still a good overall movie that works with was is being presented. Expand
  4. I didn't like this movie at all. The story is all over the place. It was too hard to figure out what the plot to this movie was about. Every scene had me wondering, What is the point. DId a horrible job with this movie. I Hope the play that he wrote this from was better. This is one of tyler worst movie. Tyler Perry is a good writer at times but I think this movie would have been netter if another director made it. Tyler Perry didn't know how to direct this movie with all these outstanding actors and actress. This movie was not believable. They did a good job acting in this movie but it wasn't believable because scene after scene there was always something wrong with the character , I think he could have did a way better job with directing. Not a good movie. Could have been better. Not horrible to some people , I could understand why, but to me this is his worst movie. Expand

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