''Why Did I Get Married?'' is a 2007 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film adaptation written, produced, directed, and starring

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Madea, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her ...

. It was inspired by Perry's

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

of the same name. The film also stars

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

, Jill Scott,

Malik Yoba Abdul-Malik Kashie Yoba (born September 17, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for his starring role as New York City Police Department, NYPD Detective J. C. Williams on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox police drama ''New York Undercover' ...

Sharon Leal Sharon Ann Leal is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles in movies such as ''Dreamgirls'' (2006), '' This Christmas'' (2007), '' Why Did I Get Married?'' (2007), '' Why Did I Get Married Too?'' (2010) and her roles on the tel ...

Tasha Smith Tasha Smith (born February 28, 1971) is an American actress and director. She began her career in a starring role on the NBC comedy series '' Boston Common'' (1996–97), and later appeared in numerous movies and television series. Smith has ...

Michael Jai White Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, martial artist, and director. Though he has appeared in a variety of genres, White is best known for his Action film, action and martial arts films. His first major starring role an ...

Richard T. Jones Richard Timothy Jones (born January 16, 1972) is an American actor. He has worked extensively in both film and television productions since the early 1990s. His television roles include ''Ally McBeal'' (1997), ''Judging Amy'' (1998–2005), ''CSI ...

Denise Boutte Denise Boutte (born January 19, 1982) is an American actress. She made her film debut starring in the 2004 horror feature '' Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill'' and in 2007 appeared in the comedy-drama '' Why Did I Get Married?''. On telev ...

, and

Keesha Sharp Keesha Ulricka Sharp (née Fleth; born June 9, 1973) is an American actress and television director. She played Monica Charles Brooks in the UPN/The CW comedy series, '' Girlfriends'' (2002–08), for which she received a nomination for NAACP I ...

. The film was released in the United States by

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

on October 12, 2007. The film is about the difficulty of maintaining a solid relationship in modern times.

Plot

Four couples, who are also best friends since college, converge in a house in the mountains for a week-long retreat. * The first couple, attorney Dianne and pediatrician Terry, argue a lot because Dianne refuses to stop working. She takes calls on her phone instead of talking with Terry. * The second couple consists of hair salon owner Angela and former pro football player Marcus. Angela constantly argues with Marcus and anyone who interrupts them. * The third couple is housewife Sheila and entrepreneur Mike. Sheila has to get off the plane taking them there because of her weight and the requirement to purchase two seats while Mike continues flirting on the flight with her single friend, Trina. * The fourth couple consists of psychologist Patricia and architect Gavin. After everyone finds out what happened to Shelia, the other wives berate Mike for letting her drive alone. However, he shows disregard for her and disparages her weight. Providence leads Sheila to Sheriff Troy Jackson's office. Due to the weather, the roads are closed for the night and she has to spend the night in the office. That night, Angela catches Mike going to Trina's bedroom. Sheila arrives at the retreat house the following morning with Troy in tow. She introduces Troy to the others, revealing that she invited him to breakfast. During breakfast, the couples argue, as usual. During an argument at dinner, Angela exposes Mike and Trina's affair. In turn, Mike reveals the other couples' hidden secrets: Marcus contracted VD after cheating on Angela, Dianne had her tubes tied after her daughter was born without Terry's knowledge, Terry got a DNA test on him and Diane’s daughter because he was unsure he was the father, and Gavin criticized Patricia for not protecting their young son in a fatal car accident a year prior. Angela admits giving Marcus the STD from her own cheating. Enraged, he tries choking her while the others pull him away. Mike says that he wants a divorce, and Sheila smashes a bottle over his head, knocking him out. Sheila checks into a hotel to recover from her divorce and discovers that Mike drained her bank account. She is distraught when Troy visits her. He takes her up to a mountain where she cries and mourns the loss of her love. The other couples head back home. Eventually, Patricia breaks down and confesses to Gavin that she was only trying to be perfect. They agree to face the situation and reconcile. Angela and Marcus are still fighting, especially when Marcus' ex-girlfriend and baby mama, Keisha, shows up at the salon, and disrespects Angela. This happens again when the couple arrives at her house for the kids. Marcus eventually stands up to both women and frightens Angela into realizing she is wrecking their life with her constant arguing by disappearing for days. On Terry's birthday at their home, Dianne accuses him of wanting her to be a housewife, while he calls her out for neglecting him and their daughter. He moves out, feeling that Dianne constantly prioritizes her career over them. Patricia meets up with Dianne and Angela, moping over their husbands, and gives them counseling about the need to get back on track: making a list of the good and bad things their husbands have done. In the mountains, Sheila settles into her new life with a new job at the general store owned by Troy's father. Angela cooks dinner for Marcus after finishing with her list. Although he suspects she is trying to poison him at first, they reunite and set new conditions. Dianne begs Terry to come back home after crying over her list. They reconcile as well. The couples later converge at a gala celebration for an award received by Patricia. She, Dianne, and Angela are elated when Sheila arrives, re-introduces Troy as her new husband, and says that she lost weight with his help. Although Mike is still with Trina, he tries to weasel his way back into Sheila's good graces, but she turns him down. Patricia encloses a confession of her love for Gavin and a message of loving, respecting, and trusting God in her acceptance speech.

Cast

as Dr. Terry Brock, a pediatrician *

as Dianne Brock, an attorney *

as Gavin Agnew, an architect *

as Dr. Patricia Agnew, a psychologist *

as Marcus Williams, a former professional football player *

as Angela Williams, a hair salon owner *

as Mike, an entrepreneur * Jill Scott as Sheila Jackson, a housewife * Lamman Rucker as Troy Jackson, the local sheriff *

as Trina *

as Pam * Kaira Whitehead as Keisha

Production and development

The film was shot in the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and the province of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In Georgia, scenes were shot in Decatur at

Agnes Scott College Agnes Scott College is a Private university, private Women's Colleges in the Southern United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergra ...

along with parts spent in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In Canada, scenes were shot in the city of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Pemberton and Whistler. Perry decided to take out many of the church and message scenes because he wanted the film to be "on a whole 'nother spiritual level--there's a whole 'nother connection to it." He said his writing has improved since the play. Perry invited experienced and neophyte African-American actors to a reading of an early script in order to field reactions, including

Danny! Daniel Keith Swain (born August 18, 1983), known mononymously as Danny!, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and composer. Swain rose to prominence after his debut performance on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'', where he premiered h ...

and

Tracee Ellis Ross Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and '' Black-ish'' (2014–2022) receivin ...

Reception

Critical response

Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

gives the film a score of 49% based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 5.50/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Despite some poignant observations on modern marriages, ''Why Did I Get Married?'' is too preachy and melodramatic." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film had an average score of 54/100 based on reviews from 12 critics. CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was an "A+" on an A+ to F scale. Paul Grenada said that while "there are times where the script seems stiff,...

he film He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

teaches without hammering, and you leave the movie feeling good about what you saw." Giving the movie a B−, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' said that Perry is of the "spell-everything-in-capital-letters and act-it-out-loudly schools," but added that "one performance glistens--Jill Scott's as the sad, heavyset Sheila, who locates the faith that's the source of love." ''Time'' magazine gave the film a B and called it the "usual artless mix of broad comedy, teary confessions and spiritual uplift."

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $21.4 million in 3,105 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office. In its second weekend, the film slipped to #2 in the box office charts, with a gross of $12.1 million, bringing the 10-day total to over $38 million. In total, the film domestically grossed $55,862,886.

Soundtrack

The

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

was released by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

on October 2, 2007. Neither Janet Jackson nor Jill Scott are featured on the soundtrack. The soundtrack debuted at number 51 on ''Billboard'' 200, number seven on

R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

and number six on Soundtracks with 58,000 copies sold in first week. #

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. An early figure in the new jack swing musical movement, he is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her," "Make It Last Forever (song), Make It Last For ...

feat.

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress. Dubbed by critics as the " Princess of Hip-Hop Soul", she is known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Bor ...

- "Love U Better" #

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

- "Sorry for the Stupid Things" #

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American jazz and soul singer. She is known for her soulful ballads, particularly from the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career in the late 1970s with the funk ban ...

- " You Belong to Me" #

Kelly Price Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. Beginning her career in 1992, Price originally performed backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including Carey's ''Billboard'' Hot 100-number one sin ...

- "Why" #

Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an Americans, American singer-songwriter and Music Producer, producer. Levert performed with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon with the R&B vocal group, LeVert. Le ...

feat.

Jaheim Jaheim H. Hoagland (born May 26, 1978), known mononymously as Jaheim, is an American R&B singer. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000 and released his debut album '' Ghetto Love'' in 2001. His second effo ...

- "DJ Don't Remix" #

Musiq Soulchild Taalib Hassan Johnson (born September 16, 1977), better known by his stage name Musiq Soulchild (or simply Musiq; pronounced "music") is an American singer-songwriter. His music blends Rhythm and blues, R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and Gospel music, ...

- "Betterman" #

Tyrese Gibson Tyrese Darnell Gibson (born December 30, 1978) is an American R&B singer and actor from Los Angeles, California. He signed with RCA Records in 1998, and released his debut single " Nobody Else" in August of that year. It peaked within the top ...

- "One" # Hope - "Who Am I To Say" #

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

- " Flaws and All" # Laura Izibor - "Mmm..." # Amel Larrieux - "No One Else" # Tamika Scott - "Why Did I Get Married" #

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

- "

L-O-V-E "L-O-V-E" is a song written by Bert Kaempfert and Milt Gabler, recorded by Nat King Cole for his 1965 studio album '' L-O-V-E''. Composition and background The song was composed by Bert Kaempfert with lyrics by Milt Gabler, and produced b ...

" #

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American singer and actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a ...

- "Givin' Up"

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on February 12, 2008 and on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on November 23, 2010.

Awards and nominations

Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

** Outstanding Motion Picture (Nominated) ** Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Jill Scott (Nominated) ** Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture:

(Nominated) ** Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture:

(Winner)

Sequel

A sequel, titled ''

Why Did I Get Married Too? ''Why Did I Get Married Too?'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Tyler Perry and starring Janet Jackson, Tyler Perry, Tasha Smith, Jill Scott, Louis Gossett Jr., Malik Yoba, Michael Jai White, Sharon Leal, Richard T. Jones, Lamman ...

'' starring Perry and the original cast, was released on April 2, 2010. Subsequently, Perry created a comedy-drama television series based upon the two films titled ''

Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse ''For Better or Worse'' is an American television sitcom created, written and executive produced by Tyler Perry. The series is based on and is a TV spin-off to Perry's 2007 film '' Why Did I Get Married?'' and its 2010 sequel '' Why Did I Get Ma ...

''. The series, which stars White and Smith as Marcus and Angela, premiered on TBS on November 25, 2011. In June 2021, Perry entertained the idea of revisiting the franchise with a film called ''Why Did I Get Married Again''.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Why Did I Get Married 2007 comedy-drama films American LGBTQ-related films Films directed by Tyler Perry African-American comedy-drama films African-American LGBTQ-related films African-American films Films about race and ethnicity Films adapted into television shows Films scored by Aaron Zigman Films set in Colorado Films shot in Atlanta Films shot in British Columbia Lionsgate films Films with screenplays by Tyler Perry 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2007 LGBTQ-related films English-language comedy-drama films