From the creative mind of writer and director Johnny Mack comes a satirical film that takes a hilarious jab at media mogul Tyler Perry in "Not Another Church Movie" from Monty The Dog Productions. We follow the story of Hoprah Windfall (Luc Ashley), a talk show host whose ratings are plummeting. Desperate for a solution, she turns to an unexpected source for help: GOD (Jamie Foxx).
In an unexpected turn of events, God and his angels choose Taylor Pherry (played by Kevin Daniels), a complex working man, to replace someone. However, the Devil (played by Mickey Rourke) overhears this and devises a plan to disrupt the ordeal. Meanwhile, Taylor is busy with his many jobs, which mainly involve helping his dysfunctional yet lovable family, including his aunt Madude Himms (played by Daniels in a dual role), his cousins Beverly (played by Kyla Pratt), Ellen (played by Brittany Johnson), and his friend Julie (played by Kearia Schroeder), through their struggles. One day, when Taylor is getting ready for one of his jobs, God appears and instructs him to help Hoprah accomplish her mission by writing a movie. Taylor finds inspiration for his screenplay by observing the crazy women in his life and using their stories as the substance for his script.
As I often mention, his work is generally critic-proof when I review a Tyler Perry film since he has a broad audience. Nevertheless, after being in the film industry for twenty-plus years, if anyone was due for a satirical take, it's Perry. Unfortunately, throughout the film, it becomes clear that Mack and the creative team are more concerned with cramming every Perry trope into the movie so it collapses.
Perhaps it was because I'm still stuck on his dramatic work from the show "Council of Dads," but Kevin Daniels doesn't cut it as our lead. Worst of all, his take on Madea is borderline insulting. Now, I will admit that I did chuckle at some points. Jamie Foxx was good as always and stole the movie in an extended cameo.
Tisha Campbell cosplaying Tamela Mann was good as the character portraying Taylor's cousin. Regarding the males in the cast, Lamone Morris takes on the Idris Elba character from "Daddy's Little Girls" and takes on Shemar Moore from "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," but the moments are few and between for a full-on cohesive narrative.
Satire and parody are complicated to pull off, and you run the risk of giving off the vibe of trying, too hard. That's the key problem in "Not Another Church Movie," as one-liners about pizza prices, male anatomy, and the numerous jobs that Taylor Pherry has just don't land. When the credits rolled, if anything, I had more of an appreciation for what Tyler does, as he is truly one of a kind.
"Not Another Church Movie" clearly got the green light as the director is a friend of Jamie Foxx. While I do have a low-brow sense of humor, I spent more time grimacing than actually laughing in the film.
Final Grade : D
"Not Another Church Movie" is in theaters now
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