I ultimately feel obligated to watch Tyler Perry films for review consideration. I think if this was just for my own pure enjoyment, I would have stopped giving him a chance ten films ago, and saved myself the likes of Divorce In The Black and Duplicity, as well as basically anything featuring Madea. However, on his 28th feature, he may have finally directed something of value. He might have finally shown a level of competence and care that are often missing from his films, because he is overextended in his bid to rule the world. You just can’t be involved in all the shows and films he is and maintain quality. hell, this is something that prolific show runners like Taylor Sheridan and Ryan Murphy need to hear too. Not everything you shit out is gold. Sometimes, a project requires your undivided attention, and you can’t give that if your list of active projects is as long as the Bond franchise. Never Say never Again? these men could use to say No more often.

But through Taraji P. Henson, anything is apparently possible. Not only did Taraji create one of the few buzzy network dramas to run in the last decade with Empire, she now has found a way to bring her relentless commitment to the lead role in Straw, a new drama that has one mother pushed beyond her last nerve. Henson stars as Janay, who’s got 99 real ass problems. Bitches, probably are some, but problems define her life. She has a daughter she is trying to desperately care for, but her daughter has a medical condition that requires medicine, and Henson has a hard time paying for it, food, rent, and other things with her minimum wage job. Before her life fully collapses, she has to deal with everything from child protective services, to a racist and aggressive police officer who runs her off the road. Then, she’s got a boss who is a nasty son of a bitch, and is just itching to get punched in the face. Lucky for us, on the same day he fires Janay, some random robbers try to get in between Janay and her final paycheck, and she somehow defeats both of them, and then kills her boss while he’s telling 911 she planned this whole thing. She just needs her money, because she lives paycheck to paycheck and her daughter is destitute.

then, Janay crosses to the bank, just as they are set to close, but manages to get in. Things get crazy when a teller refuses to cash her final paycheck because Janay doesn’t have ID, and suddenly the gun she kept from the other robbery comes in handy. All she wants is what is owed to her, nothing more or less, and this becomes so hard to get people to understand. Eventually, the cops are involved, led by a sympathetic detective (Tiana Taylor), who tries to fix this situation, believing Janay isn’t a run of the mill bank robber. Inside the bank, Janay finds sympathy from the bank manager (Sherri Shephard), who is empathetic, but sees something in Janay’s backpack that resembles a bomb. of course, Janay never had time to build one, because she can’t stop won’t stop.

Taraji tackles this woman like every mother who has ever lived is channeled through her, all their pain and suffering is just burning to come out. it is the best performance of hers in years, and Tyler Perry film or not, she’s a revelation, and deserves the praise. Also, shockingly, Sherri Shepherd is also really nice in her role, as is Tiana Taylor. these three women might be the reason Tyler Perry’s usual shitty tropes and bad dialogue don’t drag the film down. He has a tendency to make any available white characters the villains, and as a white critic, I wouldn’t be bothered by it, but it does seem like a well Perry goes to a lot. It just makes his films feel repetitive. He also can be melodramatic, and there’s some of that here too, especially with a late stage twist that isn’t necessary, but just adds even more sympathy to an already destroyed Janay.

I’m shocked. I was actually invested in this. I know it had a lot to do with three ladies who slayed, notably Taraji being one of the best performances of the year, but I was interested and engaged. I’m pleasantly surprised, because it is impossible for me to expect anything from Tyler Perry, but apparently Taraji has some magical powers when she steps on set that makes him a better director just enough that her career defining performance isn’t besmirched by his inability to figure out what makes a film interesting.

I’m not afraid to say I finally liked a Tyler Perry movie. it isn’t an instant classic, or game changing, but he finally made something I can at least qualify as good.

fresh: Final Grade: 7.2/10

the audio description for Tyler Perry films is usually better than this, but it is still fine. he just has an unusual ability to have audio description far better than the project he was working on.