The Single Mom’s Club

The Single Mom’s Club” chronicles a few weeks in the lives of a group of disparate single mothers who are thrown together to plan a school dance as a punishment for their kids behavior at an elite private school. The group of moms is made up of a corporate executive who’s declining in favor, two stay-at-home moms whose ex-husbands hold the purse strings, a newspaper columnist and a Waffle House waitress. This motley crew of characters is the mine from which comedy gold should be extracted in abundance. Unfortunately, because of extremely poor editing, the pace of the movie absolutely destroys any semblance of comedic timing. Huge gaps in the dialog abound. These gaps are the equivalent of watching a TV news anchor toss a story to a correspondent live in the field and there’s the multi-second delay before the field reporter actually hears and responds to the anchor. This happened so frequently that it became painful to watch.

In addition to the horrendous editing, the acting was mediocre at best. It would have been great acting for a stage play, but on-screen it was way over the top. This is most likely because Tyler Perry, writer and director, comes from a theater background where actor movement an expression must be big in order to be seen and heard. Nevertheless, each of the actors in the film had moments where it was obvious that the acting choices they made were their own; these moments were just few and far between.

All of the acting wasn’t bad, though. Terry Crews, who played Branson, was an absolute breath of fresh air. Crews is an extremely funny actor and in this picture he shows another level of comedic ability. Likewise, Cocoa Brown, who played Lytia, was a stand-out; particularly in her scenes with Crews.

The other standout performance was delivered by the man himself, Tyler Perry. As hilarious as his stock characters Madea and Uncle Joe are, it was awesome to see him doing something different. And guess what? He’s just as funny wearing jeans as he is wearing a dress! Tyler’s unique comedic style is what makes him such a hysterical actor, but is also his downfall as a comedy director. Tyler Perry the director appears to direct his actors to deliver their lines the way Tyler Perry the actor would. In so doing, he forces his actors to act the way he does and it just looks awkward.

All of that being said, the true heart and soul of any Tyler Perry film is the story. “The Single Mom’s Club,” despite its problems, tells a phenomenal story and shows a lot of the reality of the day-to-day life of single mothers. This film is definitely worth watching. Just go to a matinée and save a few bucks.

Grade: C+
Verdict: Get a babysitter and go see this film.