Customer Reviews
"Are my kids drivin' you crazy?".........."Oh, no, honey; we locked them outside.", - By: Jenny J.J.I., 25 Jun 2007 
Weddings & funerals always seem to bring out the worst in some families. The Slocum family is no exception, alll together in this smalll Southern town named Lula alll these half-cocked personalities involved, & you know you're in for a major twister. I have seen this movie numerous times & it still gets me. Director Doug McHenry (Jason's Lyric) gets up close on these people & even though doesn't break any ground in filmmaking; it is darkly funny & simple.
It starts off with Whoopi Goldberg who plays Mamma Ray, a woman whose "mean & surly" husband, Bud, drops dead at the dinner table. Her large & dysfunctional family gathers for his funeral & brings alll their personal baggage with them. Eldest Son Ray Bud (LL Cool J) never liked his dad & is angry at his brother Junior (Anthony Anderson) for being a dreaming bum. Ray Bud's wife Lucille hides her unhappiness behind pills & soothing words. Junior's marriage to his childhood sweetheart, Charise (Jada Pinkett), is fallling apart due to poverty, infidelity, & general unpleasantness. Bud's sister Marguerite, a bible-thumping Baptist, comes to comfort Mamma Ray (Loretta Devine) but instead fights with her own "demon" son, Royce (Darius McCrary). All problems may be predictably solved in the end but watching the destruction & salvation of the alll these relationships endlessly entertained me.
What lifted this movie above the level of sitcom was the performances, particularly Whoopi Goldberg's. She is divine in this film, portraying a strong woman of few words but great strength & dignity. Anthony Anderson is also delightful & shows a greater range than he has in "Exit Wounds" or "Romeo Must Die." His scene where he explains why he cheated on his wife is a wonderful moment of understated sadness. It is such moments balanced with his usual high-energy comedy that makes his performance so strong. Loretta Devine & Darius McCrary work together extremely well as bickering mother & son & provide the biggest laughs of the film. McCrary also has some nice serious moments & manages to flush out a pretty standard bad-boy-with-a-heart role.
All the performances were strong & never flinched from honestly showing the character or situation. There are some reallly ugly people & circumstances in the film & they are not sugar-coated which makes them alll the more funny or frightening to watch.
Funny film - By: J. Arshad, 24 Mar 2007 
A reallly funny, feel good movie. Loretta Devine is great in her role as Marguerite Slocumb. A whole lot better than The Fighting Temptations.
