The Family That Preys is a 2008 American comedy drama film written, co-produced and directed by Tyler Perry. The screenplay focuses on two families, one wealthy and the other working class, whose lives are intertwined in both love and business. The film stars Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan, Rockmond Dunbar, KaDee Strickland, Cole Hauser, Taraji P. Henson, Robin Givens, Perry himself in a role and Kathy Bates.
Plot Socialite Charlotte Cartwright hosts the wedding of Andrea—the daughter of her best friend, Alice Evans—and construction worker Chris Bennett. Charlotte's son, William, and his wife, Jillian, have eloped rather than let Charlotte plan an elaborate reception.
Four years later, Andrea's sister, Pam, is married to Ben and looks after Andrea's three-year-old son for extra income while working at Alice's diner. Andrea does not help their mother financially, but has designer clothes and a new Mercedes. She is in an extramarital affair with William.
Andrea ridicules Chris's dream of opening a construction firm with Ben. Chris is rejected for a bank loan, but discovers Andrea deposited $300,000 in a secret account. She tells Chris the money is bonuses she gets from William, and refuses to finance his business.
William believes his recently-closed $500-million deal will allow him to wrest the family business from Charlotte. Charlotte hires Abby Dexter as COO, and determines the company must front $25 million to make William's deal viable. Charlotte faces selling 10% of her shares to raise the money, leaving her with a minority vote. William tells Abby that his and Charlotte's vote combined will retain Cartwright control; Abby advises Charlotte to sell.
Charlotte takes Alice on a road trip in her vintage convertible, without a set route or schedule. Charlotte introduces Alice to honky-tonks and male strip clubs. Alice takes Charlotte to a communal baptism. Charlotte reveals she has early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
At the company gala, Jillian and Abby discover Andrea and William's affair. William fires Chris and Ben after Chris asks for money to start a new construction business. Abby warns Andrea the affair will likely result in her dismissal; Andrea believes William will protect her. Chris takes the money from the hidden account as marital assets, and pays deposits for a construction firm with Ben.
Charlotte and Alice return. Andrea confronts Chris for taking her $300,000, and admits it was from William, her lover. Chris slaps her. Andrea tells him to keep the money and move out. She says that William is the father of their son.
Charlotte, asked by Jillian for advice, reminds her that she is a woman scorned without a prenuptial agreement, so can divorce or reconcile and be okay either way. Jillian warns Charlotte that William plans to have the board vote her out.
Chris punches William on a job site. Jillian warns Andrea to stay away from her family and says William will not be seeing her again.
Charlotte fires William with the support of the Calvary Company, a silent investor revealed to be Alice. She has been guided financially for years by Nick Blanchett, a former stockbroker who, when fired without cause by William, had lost his wife and custody of their children. Alice fed him at her diner, and he repaid her with investment advice.
Andrea expects William to leave Jillian for her. Instead, he rejects her and drives away, ignoring her claim that he is her son's father. Charlotte takes pills and dies by suicide.
Chris and Ben's firm is a success, while Andrea is guilt-ridden, heartbroken, and unemployed. She lives in a low-rent apartment and relies on voluntary financial support from Chris. Nick buys a house and is revealed to have always been wealthy, he just moved around a lot. William and Jillian reconcile. Alice sells the diner and drives off in the convertible that Charlotte left her, with a photo of her and Charlotte taped to the dashboard.
Cast Alfre Woodard as Alice Reynolds-Evans Sanaa Lathan as Andrea Evans-Bennett KaDee Strickland as Jillian Cartwright Cole Hauser as William Cartwright Rockmond Dunbar as Chris Bennett Taraji P. Henson as Pam Evans Robin Givens as Abigail "Abby" Dexter Tyler Perry as Ben Kathy Bates as Charlotte Cartwright Sebastian Siegel as Nicholas "Nick" Blanchett
Release The film opened in 2,070 theaters in North America on September 12, 2008 and grossed $17.4 million in its opening weekend, ranking #2 at the box office behind Burn After Reading. It eventually earned $37.1 million domestically, making it the second-least successful of Tyler Perry's films ahead of Daddy's Little Girls.
Reception On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 54% based on 41 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys treads the filmmaker's established terrain of family loyalty and moral uprightness, though the occasionally predictable plot slides forward, aided by an excess of soapy melodrama." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".Metacritic.com Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Stephen Holden of The New York Times said:
The New York Daily News rated the film three out of five stars and commented:
Claudia Puig of USA Today said the best thing about the film
Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter observed:
Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel rated the film two out of five stars and called it Tyler Perry's "most cinematically polished production to date" but also:
Peter Debruge of Variety said the film "recycles familiar ingredients according to his own unique formula, serving up a lip-smacking, finger-snapping sudser" and added:
Monika Fabian of Time Out New York said:
Ken Fox of TV Guide rated the film three out of four stars and said, "Thanks to some first-rate acting from its stars, it ranks among Perry's best."TV Guide review
Tom Becker of DVD Verdict said:
Brian Orndorf of DVD Talk said:
Gregory Kirschling from Entertainment Weekly stated:
Awards At the Black Reel Awards, both Alfre Woodard and Sanaa Lathan were nominated for Best Actress. Also Tyler Perry was nominated for Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted.
Taraji P. Henson won Best Actress at the BET Awards for her role in the film combined with two other performances in Not Easily Broken, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Home media The film was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on January 13, 2009. It is in anamorphic widescreen format, with audio tracks and subtitles in English and Spanish. Bonus features include deleted scenes, Two Families, Two Legends, which spotlights stars Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates; Preying in the Big Easy, about filming in New Orleans; Casting the Family, with interviews with the director and cast, and Delving into the Diner, in which production designer Ina Mayhew discusses her concept for the set.
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