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Addiction and the Family | Family of an Addict | Program for the pavillon.org | Nanotechnology Industries + Prey nanoindustries.com | Drug Rehab Family Support- Alcohol Rehab Family Support - Alternative... soberforever.net |
The Family That Preys is a 2008 American dramedy written, produced, and directed by Tyler Perry. The screenplay, based on one of Perry's plays, focuses on two families, one wealthy and the other working class, whose lives are intertwined in both love and business.
[edit] PlotIn a prologue, socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) hosts the wedding of her best friend Alice Evan (Alfre Woodard)'s daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan), who is marrying ambitious construction worker Chris Bennett (Rockmond Dunbar). The couple is congratulated by Charlotte's son William and his wife Jillian, who deprived Charlotte of planning an elaborate reception for them by eloping. William suggests the newlyweds contact him for employment with the Cartwright family's highly successful Atlanta construction company after they return from their honeymoon. Four years later, Andrea isyler Perry]]), who is married to Andrea's sister Pam (Taraji P. Henson). Pam looks after her three-year-old nephew for extra income while working at her mother's diner. It troubles her that Andrea doesn't do more to help their mother financially when her designer clothes and new Mercedes make it clear she is prospering. What Pam doesn't realize is her sister is involved in an extramarital affair with William and enjoying all the perks that come with the relationship. Chris has dreams of opening his own construction firm with Ben, but Andrea - who clearly now thinks she's much better than her husband - ridicules him and his aspirations. He and Ben apply for a loan at the bank and are declined, but he accidentally discovers his wife has nearly $300,000 on deposit in a secret account. When Andrea returns home late one night to find Chris sorting through financial records she had hidden, she claims the money is an accumulation of bonuses she received from William and insists she has the right to keep some things private from her spouse. Telling him he never will be as charming and successful as William, she refuses to finance his dream. William is determined to wrest control of the company from Charlotte, and is certain the $500 million deal he recently has closed will prove he's capable of running the firm. Instead, his mother hires Abby Dexter (Robin Givens) as COO. She determines the company will have to front $25 million to make William's new deal viable, and the only way to raise the money is for Charlotte to sell 10% of her shares, thus leaving her with a minority vote. William reminds Abby his vote combined with his mother's will give the Cartwrights continued control, and she advises Charlotte to sell her shares. Charlotte suggests she and Alice take a road trip in the vintage turquoise Cadillac convertible she has purchased. Alice initially declines but eventually agrees, and the two women head west, following neither a set route nor timetable. Rambunctiously adventurous Charlotte introduces Alice to honky tonks and strip clubs with male dancers, while religiously strait-laced Alice reciprocates by bringing Charlotte to a communal baptism so her soul can be saved. Late one night, when Charlotte becomes unduly stressed while trying to deal with her digital camera, she reveals she has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease and has been told there is nothing that can be done to slow the process of her mental decline. Meanwhile, both Jillian and Abby becomes aware of Andrea and William's affair. William fires both Chris and Ben after Chris approaches him requesting seed money to start their own business, and Abby fires Andrea, who then is told by Jillian to stay away from her husband. Charlotte and Alice return to Atlanta, where William is plotting a takeover of the family firm. Although she and her mother-in-law never have been close, Jillian warns Charlotte about her son's plan. She calls a board meeting and ousts him from the company, telling him she has the support of the Calvary Company, until now a silent investor that turns out to be Alice, who for years has been given financial guidance by Nick Blanchett (Sebastian Siegel), a homeless man she frequently fed at the diner. Nick once worked for William and was fired by him without cause, so he finds some satisfaction in William's downfall. In the parking lot, William is approached by Andrea who, unaware of the recent turn of events, expects him to back her in her battle with Abby and leave Jillian to marry her. Instead, he tells her their affair is over and drives away, despite her claim her son is his. Charlotte decides to take matters in her own hands and commits suicide by ingesting a lethal combination of medications. Chris leaves Andrea and Andrea moves into a small apartment with their son, whose paternity is left unresolved. However, Chris is now successful and wealthier while Andrea is poor. Chris and Ben open their own firm, and Alice decides to sell the diner. Getting into the car Charlotte left her, she resolves to stop procrastinating and enjoy life while she can and, with a photo of the two friends taped to the dashboard, she heads north. [edit] Critical receptionRotten Tomatoes reported 54% of critics gave the film positive notices, based on 32 reviews, [2] while Metacritic gave it a 49/100 approval rating, based on 14 reviews. [3] Stephen Holden of the New York Times said, "The suds that cascade through [the film] more than equal the cubic footage from nighttime soaps like Dallas, Dynasty and their offspring. As the movie proceeds, the flow quickens into a surging flood tide of recriminations and reversals in which blows are exchanged, claws bared and tears shed . . . The Family That Preys doesn’t worry about how it gets from A to Z. There is no problem that a miraculous (and preposterous) plot development can’t resolve in two minutes." [4] The New York Daily News rated the film three out of five stars and commented, "Perry's notoriously overstuffed plots have sometimes been top-heavy, but this movie, like Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters, hangs on an elegant structure that doesn't feel forced. Perry's skills as a director have improved as his casts have gotten better, and he gives the lovely Woodard one of her most satisfying roles . . . By melding the pleasures of 1950s-style melodrama . . . with equal-gender, African-American-aimed plots, Perry has found success in a niche only he now occupies. And by adding Christian tenets and modern issues . . . Perry shows he knows what his audience wants. First and foremost, that's a smart, satisfying movie experience, which Family is." [5] Claudia Puig of USA Today said the best thing about the film "is the opportunity it affords to watch a pair of veteran actresses still at the top of their game. Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates play best pals in this soap opera-style story, and the moments each are on-screen are undeniably the movie's best. One senses a rapport and chemistry between the women that transcends the formulaic plot." [6] Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter observed, "Although this interracial Dynasty isn't always believable - it's a stretch to accept the lifelong friendship of the two matriarchs as well as the last-minute business coup that they engineer - there's plenty of action to keep us engrossed. Perry wears his religious faith lightly . . . and is shrewd enough to balance piety with raucous humor and lots of sinful shenanigans. Perry's filmmaking skills have improved to the level of competence, and he has assembled a dream cast." [7] Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel rated the film two out of five stars and called it Tyler Perry's "most cinematically polished production to date" but also "yet another example of how the mini-mogul from Atlanta is his own worst enemy, raiding his cupboard of his popular but pandering stage plays and not bothering to script doctor them for the screen. As sophisticated as the filmmaking becomes, Perry's scripts are still painfully unsophisticated grab-bags of melodramatic cliches, tired jokes and sermonizing." [8] Peter Debruge of Variety said the film "recycles familiar ingredients according to his own unique formula, serving up a lip-smacking, finger-snapping sudser" and added, "Perry has a tendency to overload his features, and The Family That Preys is no exception, reflecting the helmer's view that the emotional roller-coaster of life can whip its passengers from outrage to exhilaration, from belly laughs to tears in an instant, making for an exhausting yet cathartic overall experience. The result seems ideal for [audiences] who don't see too many movies, cramming enough into one film to satisfy them until the next Perry pic comes out." [9] Monika Fabian of Time Out New York said, "As with Perry’s other films, his Christian moralistic storytelling can be slightly off-putting — but the solid acting and genuinely entertaining story are sure to satisfy fans, and maybe even bring in some converts." [10] Ken Fox of TV Guide rated the film three out of four stars and said, "Thanks to some first-rate acting from its stars, it ranks among Perry's best." [11] [edit] Box officeThe film opened in 2,070 theaters in North America on September 12, 2008 and grossed $17,381,218 on its opening weekend, ranking #2 at the box office behind Burn After Reading. It eventually earned $37,105,289 domestically, [1] making it the second least successful of Tyler Perry's films to date only ahead of Daddy's Little Girls. [12] [edit] Home MediaThe film was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on January 13, 2009. It is in anamorphic widescreen format, with audio tracks and subtitles in English and Spanish. Bonus features include deleted scenes, Two Families, Two Legends, which spotlights stars Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates; Preying in the Big Easy, about filming in New Orleans; Casting the Family, with interviews with the director and cast, and Delving into the Diner, in which production designer Ina Mayhew discusses her concept for the set. [edit] Cast
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