Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married?” was noted as a surprisingly restrained and somewhat boring film within his filmography. However, its sequel, “Why Did I Get Married Too?”, takes a sharp turn, abandoning restraint for borderline-psychotic character portrayals. This sequel is far from boring, but not in a delightful way like some of Perry’s other works such as “The Family That Preys” or “For Colored Girls,” or even the Madea films. Instead, “Why Did I Get Married Too?” becomes alarming, making the audience feel defensive as the unstable characters’ irrational outbursts threaten to jump off the screen.
Picking up three years after the original movie, “Why Did I Get Married Too?” finds the four couples on a Caribbean island for their annual marriage retreat, a change from the snowy Vermont setting criticized in the first film. The dialogue heavily relies on forced “remember when” moments, highlighting the characters’ lack of shared memories beyond the events of the previous movie and Perry’s sequel-writing strategy of simply reminding viewers of past events.
Let’s revisit the couples: Terry (Tyler Perry) and Diane (Sharon Leal), who in the first film struggled with Diane’s work-life balance, now appear to be the most stable couple, engaging in awkward “married sex” conversations. Marcus (Michael Jai White) and Angela (Tasha Smith) return as the comic relief, though their humor takes a darker turn. Sheila (Jill Scott), the focus of the original film due to her separation and remarriage, now faces marital challenges with Troy (Lamman Rucker) and his unemployment-induced resentment. Lastly, Patricia (Janet Jackson) and Gavin (Malik Yoba), initially portrayed as the perfect couple, shock everyone with their divorce announcement, splitting the movie into two distinct parts.
Structurally, “Why Did I Get Married Too?” mirrors its predecessor. The first half unfolds at the marriage retreat, filled with didactic dialogues about marriage and relationships. The latter half depicts each couple grappling with the fallout from the mid-film twist. While the first movie was bland and talky, the sequel descends into deranged and nonsensical territory. Notably, this is only Perry’s third film not adapted from his stage plays, suggesting untested material might be the cause. Unlike “Why Did I Get Married?”, which had a unified tone despite its greeting-card insights, the sequel throws disparate ideas at the wall, lacking thematic coherence. As Perry’s only non-Madea sequel, it fails to justify its existence, neither exploring new facets of the characters’ lives nor offering fresh ground. Instead, it clumsily rehashes the first film in the first half and then resorts to character demolition in the second.
The sequel’s attempt at establishing its own identity involves undermining the original film’s sole merit: its grounding in relatable psychology. To propel the plot, Mike (Richard T. Jones) is inexplicably reintroduced, acting solely as a disruptive force. When this plot device falters, Perry resorts to character assassination, particularly targeting Patricia and Angela. This is especially disappointing for Angela, whose character and Tasha Smith’s performance were highlights of “Why Did I Get Married?”. In “Why Did I Get Married Too?”, Angela transforms from a humorous woman with trust issues into a monstrous figure, spewing venomous abuse at Marcus and enacting disproportionate revenge.
Patricia’s character takes an even more drastic and disturbing turn, devolving into a misogynistic caricature of a greedy professional woman, a stark contrast to Perry’s usual portrayal of strong, dynamic women. This transformation feels rooted in a dark, angry undercurrent, creating a disturbing depiction of female characters compared to Perry’s often cartoonish portrayal of abusive men.
Ultimately, “Why Did I Get Married Too?” fails to achieve even the minimal psychological realism of the original. Beyond its narrative failures, the film suffers from misdirected filmmaking, from its superficial depiction of the Caribbean to jarring shot composition and editing. Coming after the relative success of “I Can Do Bad All By Myself”, the film’s pervasive ineptitude is glaring. “Why Did I Get Married Too?” is not just a bad movie; it stands as Tyler Perry’s worst, detached from genuine human experience and marked by filmmaking incompetence.
