Divorce In The Black(2024) || Fall From Grace Much?

I love and appreciate Black culture so much, so it’s not a question of whether or not I’d jump on a Black-oriented film or one that celebrates Black culture in any way. It’s one of the reasons that I’ve never not been into any Tyler Perry film. It was always a matter of when will it be released and how soon can I get to watch it. And since said Tyler Perry has produced some amazing films, the package is much sweeter, isn’t it?

So when I saw Divorce In The Black, released just a week ago, there was no question on whether or not I’d watch it. And as is customary with any of Tyler’s films, I prepared myself to be dazzled.

Divorce In The Black (2024)

What is this story about? A young woman, Ava(Meagan Good) who’s given her all to her husband, Dallas(Cory Hardrict) who has been nothing but disrespectful to her. Him and his family. And upon the humiliation this husband suffers when his wife’s father who is a pastor rebukes his family on his late brother’s funeral, coupled with his family’s voices in his head, he decides to divorce his wife.

The divorce happens somewhat seamlessly and Dallas gets it in his head that his former wife’s ease in signing the papers is because she’d been unfaithful to him. He becomes obsessed with getting her back and in the process causes havoc for her and all she loves. Can Ava fight well enough to free herself from the clutches of her ex-husband?

My Review and Rating

I’m not sure if you’re asking the question yet but the second I was done with this film, I asked myself, “So how does this relate to the title?” And if you were confused reading the summary of the plot, I can bet that you aren’t confused as I was upon watching this movie. How and why became my middle name because I kept uttering them every five seconds.

The film opened with the funeral scene and Ava’s father castigating his in-laws and asking them not to tow the path of their late relative. I found that odd so I was immediately on the bereaved family’s side when they took laws into their hands, only to find out that not only were they the antagonists but incredibly uncouth and violent people. Everything fell off from as early as that.

So where do I start from? There was no chemistry between Ava and her love interest, Benji. Absolutely none whatsoever. Nor with Ava and her supposed love interest’s child. The dialogue was so terrible, I was shocked in many moments. Cliché lines and forced statements that made me cringe. Even in the part where Ava suddenly became tough and supposedly menacing, the line she delivered had to be the weakest I’d ever heard. Suffered second hand embarrassment that’s for sure.

The plot itself had no structure. There was no reason for the husband to have divorced. There was no reason why there were gaps in the plot. Like travelling 1.5 hours to your parents house in the country and it’s morning but once you get there, it’s night. The scenes were over the top and over exaggerated, it was physically painful to watch. There was an opening to why Dallas was so angry and acted the way he did. There were mentions as to how he had “gone through a lot all his life,” and I waited in vain for what he had gone through or the reason he treated his wife badly to be explored.

The scenes were predictable with its over used story line of a deadbeat, cheating or overly aggressive husband. I think Black culture is so rich with so many stories to tell, so I don’t get why continuously delving in these stereotypical clichés but just with different cast is becoming the norm in Tyler’s movies. I also think that when it comes to production and storytelling, it would be wiser for him to invest in other producers and scriptwriters. It’s getting more and more obvious that he can no longer or maybe too busy to do this. Acrimony is still one of the most amazing movies I’ve ever watched and I guess Tyler was in a good place then to produce such a masterpiece. But seriously, this and Mea Culpa truly was not just it for me.

I would have gone on to listing other flawsbin the film but that’s what the entire movie is so what’s the need? The reviews calling this movie gripping and suspenseful honestly made me giggle. Would have been the worst two hours of my life but I’ve seen other movies this year that I’m sure even a film as bad as this can’t beat. Maybe I’ll give it a close third. If you’re a lover of Tyler Perry’s movies, you’re not missing out on much not watching this. Easily a 4/10 and that’s only because I like Meagan Good and feel her talent was a waste in this film.

Jhymi🖤

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