CULCHA

Tyler Perry changes the game

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Tyler Perry, the multihyphenate African American filmmaker whose work has generated as much anger as acclaim in recent years, returns to the screen with a film that promises to be a game-changer in the perception of black American women. Perry's Madea films have made him a target of opportunity of those who condemned its over-the-top comedic portrayals of black urban life. That's all set to change in November, when Lionsgate releases For Colored Girls, a screen adaptation of Ntozake Shange's celebrated stage play. The powerhouse cast includes Janet Jackson, Kimberly Elise, Thandie Newton, Whoopi Goldberg, Loretta Devine and Anika Noni Rose. If the acid, poetic, powerful trailer is a good indication of the film itself, look for Colored Girls to reawaken mainstream movie culture to the powers of black women — and the poetry and universality of the black experience — the same way Waiting to Exhale did in 1995.

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