Media

Home Theater Movie Renter's Guide - March, 2011

"For Colored Girls" (Blu-ray) - Reviewed by Chris Heinonen

Synopsis

"For Colored Girls" is the first film directed by Tyler Perry that he also hasn't written himself.  Adapted from the choreopoem by Ntozake Shange, "For Colored Girls" is the interconnected story of nine African-American women who are from different backgrounds, but all have lives that intersect.  Tangie and Nyla are sisters, though now they rarely speak, and both view their mother Alice and her dedication to her church very differently.  Kelly works for social services and comes to check up on Crystal and her children, but is intimidated and scared when Crystal's alcoholic boyfriend, and the father of her children, wakes up to discover her inside their apartment.  Jo is a successful editor of a fashion magazine, though very demanding of her staff and everyone around her, and has no time for Juanita when she comes in looking for support for a free medical clinic that she has opened in the neighborhood.

Commentary

For Colored Girls was a much darker film than I had expected.  While all of the stories do manage to come together and relate to each other, it can seem a little forced and stereotypical in many ways.  However, I also have to say that this isn't usually my type of film, and now any film that involves children and violence I really have a hard time watching.

Technical

While I found the film to be a little bit lacking, in no way is this transfer lacking.  Looking only slightly less sharp than the absolute best transfers that I've seen, For Colored Girls looks and sound fantastic.  The image is sharp, detailed, with good contrast and color and no artifacting that I could notice.  The soundtrack starts off with a nice, fully enveloping dance section and never gets worse.  Surrounds are used effectively, and the dialog is sharp and clear for this dialog driven film.

Extras

The disc contains a few featurettes and a documentary on the film, as well as a DVD and Digital copy on the second disc.

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