"Why Did I Get Married Again?" Review: Love, Marriage & Middle Age

For his 35th directorial effort, Tyler Perry reunites with Netflix to bring back some beloved characters in Why Did I Get Married Again? It has been fifteen years since we last saw couples Terry (Tyler Perry) and Diane (Sharon Leal), Sheila (Jill Scott) and Troy (Lamman Rucker), and Marcus (Michael Jai White) and Angela (Tasha Smith).

Now in their fifties, couples have grown children of their own. Everyone gathers and heads to Italy to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of Marcus and Angela’s daughter Jasmine (Aramini Greer) and Wesley (Everett Osborne), the son of their old college friend Rosslyn (Taraji P. Henson). However, as we know in the Why Did I Get Married? universe, there’s always a storm brewing. Despite surviving cancer, resident troublemaker Mike (Richard T. Jones) is now in his Z-daddy phase, trying to reclaim his youth with a younger girlfriend named Sydney (Sydney Winbush). Meanwhile, the kids have their own share of secrets that threaten to make this destination wedding anything but peaceful.

When the first film in the franchise hit theaters back in 2007, I was in a serious relationship with the woman who would become my wife, and one of the film’s messages resonated with me. When the sequel arrived three years later, I was two and a half years married and raising our son together, so the messages struck a chord again. Now, with the third film, I’ve been married for eighteen years and have a college-aged son, so once again, I found something to relate to. However, while I’ve come to appreciate Perry’s work for what it is, I worried that the common pitfalls of a threequel would affect Why Did I Get Married Again?

For the most part, Perry does a commendable job showing where these characters are now and how they’ve grown. Whether it’s Troy sporting grey hair and taking on a new career or a brief mention of Janet Jackson’s character and where life has taken her professionally and personally, the returning cast slips back into their roles with ease. The biggest issue is that Perry’s writing doesn’t delve deeply enough into everyone’s storylines. The narrative moves quickly from one beat to another, sometimes before an idea has enough time to breathe. That’s particularly noticeable with the younger generation.

Considering the film is essentially passing some of the franchise’s relationship drama down to the children, I wanted to know them beyond their secrets and romantic complications. Outside of a few exceptions, their arcs lack the depth that made us care about their parents in the original film. There’s enough material here that I couldn’t help wondering whether Why Did I Get Married Again? might have worked better as a limited series, giving both generations room to develop.

One newcomer who does get a memorable showcase is Rosslyn. Taraji P. Henson brings her natural charisma to the ensemble and gets one of the film’s stronger new storylines, including Rosslyn navigating a relationship with a younger man. Henson fits comfortably into Perry’s established group without making the character feel like she was simply added to shake things up.

Ultimately, Why Did I Get Married Again? doesn’t have the dramatic weight of the original, and Perry leaves too much of the younger generation unexplored. Still, seeing these characters navigate marriage, parenthood, aging and the next chapter of their lives gives the third installment a warmth longtime fans should appreciate.

Fifteen years later, I’m at a different stage of life too. Perhaps that’s why some of the film’s observations landed better than I expected.

Final Grade: B-

“Why Did I Get Married Again?” is streaming on Netflix now.