The Family That Preys
Rated PG-13 for thematic material, sexual references and brief violence.
reviewed by Kevin Glenn
In a world that challenges our faith, consumes our energy, devours our time, and leaves us empty, it's comforting to know you have a family that loves and cares for you. But what happens when the very people who should be looking out for you are actually out to get you? Tyler Perry's latest film gives us a picture of both the harm and the healing that result from the choices we make in our relationships.
The Story
"The Family that Preys" is built on two powerful but very different women. Alice Pratt (Alfre Woodall) is a hard-working woman of high morals who owns a humble diner. She has enjoyed, and at times endured, a long friendship with wealthy southern socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates), who operates a multi-billion dollar construction firm.
Charlotte's son William (Cole Hauser) wants to take over the family business, with or without his mother's approval. Alice has two daughters: Pam (Taraji P. Henson), who works in the diner, and Andrea (Sanaa Lathan), who has a college degree and a lot of attitude.
The story begins at Andrea's wedding, which is paid for by Charlotte. At the reception, Andrea is introduced to Charlotte's son William, who offers to assist Andrea's new husband Chris (Rockmond Dunbar) in finding a job as a construction worker in the firm. William also offers Andrea a job at the firm, but for more personal reasons. Chris works with Ben (Tyler Perry), Andrea's brother-in-law. Chris dreams of starting his own construction business. The future looks bright for both families.
Fast forward four years, and things begin to unravel. William's plans to take over the company are challenged by his mother's appointment of a new COO (Robin Givens), a position William thought he deserved. Andrea expresses bitterness and disrespect toward everyone close to her. Chris' dreams of starting a business are met with the constant message that he'll never be smart enough to start a company of his own. Things get ugly as relationships are strained and unwise choices are made.
In the midst of everyone's dysfunction, Alice and Charlotte take off on a "Thelma and Louise"-style cross-country vacation that includes everything from strip clubs to baptisms. While the moms are away the families prey, but will Charlotte and Alice return in time to stop the downward spiral and bring restoration to the relational cannibalism?
The Verdict
What we thought of the movie on its own terms
What Worked: When Tyler Perry isn't trying to force Madea into a script, his stories turn out much better. This is no exception. Writer/director Perry successfully weaves a story that -- because of its complexity and sub-plots -- could have easily become a two-hour soap opera.
Viewers will quickly find themselves caring about the destiny of each character, whether we want that destiny to include success or revenge. For this reviewer, that was both an encouraging and troubling reality. Wanting something less than redemption for the characters that acted unjustly -- or catching myself celebrating when one of the unjust characters "got theirs" -- gave me pause for reflection. Such a reaction may feel good, but is that the spirit of Christ?
Perry also does a good job balancing and connecting all the issues addressed in the film. Big themes like sex, love, betrayal, death, and greed are all included, but in a manner that avoids pat answers and clichˇs. There is both strong conviction and sincere concern. It is this kind of moral engagement and truly moving performances that make Perry's latest film work on several levels.
What Didn't Work: However, Charlotte's and Alice's road trip sequence goes on too long and comes very close to serving as a distraction. A couple of their stops along the way could have been edited and still accomplished the filmmaker's intentions. Additionally, a sub-plot is thrown in toward the end of their trip that feels forced and never comes to any sort of resolution in the remainder of the film.
Content: There is more harsh language in this film than in other Perry film I've seen. The language, along with several scenes of alcohol consumption, violence (specifically toward women), and sexual innuendo make "The Family that Preys" unfriendly for families and earned its PG-13 rating.
Worldview
How the film's take on life compares to a biblical perspective
As with most of Tyler Perry's films, there is a deeply spiritual thread woven throughout the story. Every character's sense of morality is either confirmed or confronted from a Christian perspective. Some may see this as heavy-handed or preachy, but this is to be expected given Perry's open commitment to Christ.
The friendship of Alice and Charlotte serves as a picture of how God calls his people to be a "friend of sinners." (Luke 15:2) Alice is a strong Christian and has spent years as a friend and adviser to Charlotte, who lives a life of robust excess. Alice works to keep her Christian witness and her sanity intact even as she travels with Charlotte across the nation.
Alice emphasizes caring for the poor, giving free food and clean clothes to a homeless man named Nick, who frequents her diner. At first Pam questions the wisdom of this, but Alice reminds her "be good to strangers, you never know if you're entertaining angels unaware." (Hebrews 13:2) While Alice is away, Pam follows her example, and viewers learn an amazing story about Nick's past.
The strength of the film's message, however, is not in the clarity of its moral compass, but in the way each character either chooses to live by his sense of morality or chooses to ignore it. In a pivotal scene, Andrea suffers painful consequences for her poor judgment, yet has no remorse and even boasts about plans to repeat the behavior.
Alice pleads with her saying, "The path you're on leads to destruction." Andrea replies, "Maybe so, but I'm gonna enjoy the ride on the way there." This and other scenes illustrate the pathetic-but-powerful truth of Solomon's proverb: "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." (Proverbs 26:11)
On the other hand, Charlotte hears a choir sing "Jesus Loves Me" and asks Alice if God really forgives sins. Alice answers, "That's why Jesus died, so that we could be forgiven." This exchange takes place in a church, while the two ladies sit between paintings on the Last Supper and the famous print of Jesus knocking on a door.
Even with such clear lines drawn, there is a troubling scene where one character takes revenge on several others. It is unclear if Perry intended this to be an endorsement of or an indictment against the sort of violence portrayed in the scene. An endorsement would run contrary to his Christian worldview, and an indictment would have run contrary to the cheers of the audience in my theater. Whatever he meant, they "heard" him say that sometimes it's good for a man to hit a woman who has it coming. (Of course, it's not!)
Still, with its clear message of friendship, faith, forgiveness and redemption, "The Family That Preys" is a film that can spark a great conversation on a number of issues.
Questions:
- How could Charlotte have established a better relationship with her son?
- Why did Pam and Andrea have such different ideas about what was important?
- What made Charlotte's and Alice's friendship work so well?
- Do you know anyone like Andrea? Have you ever felt as she does?
- Was it right for Chris to respond to Andrea's actions the way he did?
- How do we treat the poor? Would we treat them differently if we took the time to learn their story?
- If we know what is right, why do we choose at times to ignore that standard and then act surprised at the consequences?
- How does it make you feel to know that Christ forgives your sins? Is this news you are sharing with others?
