For Colored Girls

Plot

Nine African-American women living in New York City, each character corresponds to one of "Ladies" from the choreopoem by Ntozake Shange.

Social worker Kelly Watkins comes to the apartment of Crystal Wallace to visit her children but is told to leave by Crystal's abusive husband, a veteran and an alcoholic, Beau Willie Brown. Apartment manager Gilda then tells Kelly that she asked Social Services for help concerning the safety of Crystal. Elsewhere, Juanita Sims separates from her unfaithful boyfriend Frank while Alice Adrose begs for money from her daughter, Tangie.

Later, Alice meets a dance instructor, Yasmine, who tells her students about a man she has just met called Bill. One of the students, Nyla, Tangie's sister, talks about her coming graduation but becomes sick. Juanita asks for some financial assistance from the magazine editor, Joanna "Jo" Bradmore, for her women health nonprofit organization, but Jo does not want to give any. Kelly is also informed that she is infertile owing to the sexually transmitted disease she suffered long ago.

Crystal tells Beau Willie that he must stop drinking alcohol but he declares that they must marry to receive welfare aid. Meanwhile, Yasmine starts seeing Bill and Alice unintentionally gives money to Nyla as she believes it to be for her college expenses. Tangie notices the Nyla's pregnancy and thinks that she is going to have an illegal abortion, but Nyla denies it.

Jo temporarily reconciles with her husband Carl after his arrest, even though Carl's attraction to other men becomes more and more apparent. Later, Tangie finds out that Nyla is going to have an abortion and that Nyla was paying for her dance classes. During a dinner together, Yasmine is violently raped by Bill.

At the opera, Jo watches how Carl openly shows interest in another man. Crystal comes back home and Beau Willie accuses her of infidelity. In a drunken psychological breakdown, he pushes Crystal's two children out of the window, killing them despite Gilda, Jo, Juanita and the neighbors' attempts to prevent it.

At the hospital, Kelly is shocked to learn of Crystal's tragedy while Donald tells Yasmine that prosecuting Bill will not be easy. Alice looks for Nyla who talks to Kelly and another counselor.

Cast

Janet Jackson as Joanna "Jo" Bradmore ("Lady in Red")

Thandiwe Newton as Tangie Adrose ("Lady in Orange") (credited as "Thandie Newton")

Anika Noni Rose as Yasmine ("Lady in Yellow")

Loretta Devine as Juanita Sims ("Lady in Green")

Kerry Washington as Kelly Watkins ("Lady in Blue")

Tessa Thompson as Nyla Adrose ("Lady in Purple")

Kimberly Elise as Crystal Wallace ("Lady in Brown")

Whoopi Goldberg as Alice Adrose ("Lady in White")

Phylicia Rashad as Gilda ("Lady in Black")

Macy Gray as Rose ("Lady in Pink")

Michael Ealy as Beau Willie Brown

Omari Hardwick as Carl Bradmore

Hill Harper as Donald Watkins

Khalil Kain as Bill

Richard Lawson as Frank

Production

On September 3, 2009, Lionsgate announced it had acquired the distribution rights to Tyler Perry's 34th Street Films adaptation of the play, with principal photography originally scheduled to take place in Atlanta, Georgia in November and December 2009, with a planned 2010 release. The film was written, directed, and produced by Perry. The cast includes Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Kerry Washington, Thandiwe Newton, and Tessa Thompson. Mariah Carey had also been cast, but pulled out in May 2010, citing medical reasons (later revealed to be her pregnancy); Thandiwe Newton was cast to replace her. Macy Gray was also cast.

Originally using the play's full title, the film's title was shortened to For Colored Girls in September 2010. In an October 2010 press conference with the cast, Perry credited his full body of work for being able to make the film, stating, "It took everything—Madea, House of Payne and all of that—for me to be able to do For Colored Girls. Had none of that happened I wouldn't have been able to say, 'Listen, this is what I want to do next,' so I’m very proud of it all."

When asked if she held reservations about Perry's adaptation of her work, Shange responded: "I had a lot of qualms. I worried about his characterizations of women as plastic." In reference to the film post-production, she stated, "I think he did a very fine job, although I'm not sure I would call it a finished film."

Soundtrack

For Colored Girls: Music From and Inspired by the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on November 2, 2010. It features music from the cast, as well as Leona Lewis and Nina Simone.

Release

The film was originally planned for a 2010 release, but was later delayed until January 14, 2011. However, the studio chose to move the release date forward to November 5, 2010; Tyler Perry commented it was "a serious film that really lends itself to the Fall period." Grossing $20.1 million in its opening weekend, For Colored Girls debuted at the box office at #3, behind Megamind ($47.7 million) and Due Date ($33.5 million).

Critical reception

On Metacritic the film received a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 33 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average" reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, 31% of 106 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.20/10. The site's consensus is that "Tyler Perry has assembled a fine cast for this adaptation of the 1975 play, and his heart is obviously in the right place, but his fondness for melodrama cheapens a meaningful story". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a grade "A" on a scale from A+ to F.

Early reviews from a private screening by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter were negative. Peter DeBruge of Variety stated that "[i]n adapting Ntozake Shange's Tony-nominated play—a cycle of poetic monologues about abuse, abortion and other issues facing modern black women, rather than a traditional narrative—the do-it-all auteur demonstrates an ambition beyond any of his previous work. And yet the result falls squarely in familiar territory, better acted and better lit, perhaps, but more inauthentically melodramatic than ever." Despite an overall negative view of the film's plot and direction, DeBruge gives praise to the acting of its principal cast.

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter highlighted the difficulty in translating Shange's poetic play to film. He commented: "No, it never was going to be easy, but someone needed to put creative sweat into this one, to reach for cinematic solutions to the theatrical challenge. All Perry does is force conventional plots and characters—utter cliches without lives or souls—into the fabric of Shange's literary work. The hackneyed melodramas get him from one poem to the next but run roughshod over the collective sense of who these women are." Honeycutt acknowledged the talents of the film's actresses, highlighting performances by Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, and Kimberly Elise.

Critic Marshall Fine gave a negative review in The Huffington Post. He asserts Perry's screenplay is inadequate for its source material, stating that each character "gets the opportunity to suddenly burst into Shange's poetic arias. But the connective tissue that links the various stories ... amounts to a college course in black social pathology—or perhaps just human pathology." Acknowledging the acting talent of the ensemble cast, he states: "Don't get me wrong. The women of this film all shine, hitting strong emotional notes that ring true even when Perry's adaptation feels false ... So let's just say that For Colored Girls is a barely competent film (which is a big step up for Perry), illuminated by luminous performances."

Accolades

For Colored Girls has received accolades primarily from African American film and critic associations, in multiple categories including acting, writing, directing and overall production. Kimberly Elise has received the most acting nominations among the cast, followed by Anika Noni Rose and Phylicia Rashad.