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In his latest film, Nobody\u2019s Fool<\/i>, writer and director Tyler Perry explores one of the most common cinematic themes – love and relationships. \u00a0The movie\u2019s protagonist Danica (Tika Sumpter) is a successful yet emotionally constipated woman whose \u201cfresh-outta-prison\u201d sister, Tanya (Tiffany Haddish), forces her to contend with the fact that her love life may not be the perfect picture she projects. \u00a0Through a series of high energy interactions and mishaps that take place between members of a star-studded cast, Danica (or Da-neek-kah, as her family calls her) is forced to reimagine what love is and how it’s packaged. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Despite a complicated relationship to Haddish\u2019s work, and not her as a person, I was concerned that it would fall victim to the same fate as Night School<\/i>, which in my opinion is not funny because of its use of caricatures and not characters. \u00a0But to my pleasant surprise, Nobody\u2019s Fool <\/i>was not only lighthearted, but actually quite comical. \u00a0I did find some of Haddish\u2019s scenes funny, and found myself laughing along with the audience at her ridiculous antics. While his position as the straight man would not have been made possible without Haddish, I found myself cracking up at Omari Hardwick\u2019s portrayal of Frank, Danica\u2019s somewhat passive admirer. \u00a0Frank attempts to process and respond to Haddish\u2019s aggressiveness and sexually explicit nature and her overall idiosyncratic and somewhat uncomfortable approaches to life and its challenges. I think after watching him portray the serious role of James \u201cGhost\u201d St. Patrick on Starz drama series, Power, <\/i>for the last five years, it was refreshing and heartwarming to see the sexy actor play a softer, honest<\/i>, more everyday man.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I was equally entertained by Whoopi Goldberg\u2019s performance. \u00a0The comedic diva returns to the silver screen after what feels like forever using her signature sly and straightforward humor for the role of Lola, Danica and Tanya\u2019s mother. \u00a0Lola is the subtly strong matriarch who grows and smokes a lot of weed. However, her ability to create and reinforce boundaries (Tanya is not allowed to stay with Lola because of an incident where she stole \u00a0copper pipes from the walls) as a both a mother and a woman is not clouded by the smoke of her reefer. I appreciated and giggled at how despite not letting Tanya stay in her home, Lola, through coercion, guilt, and whatever other necessary means still ensured that Tanya would have a place to stay – this time with her sister. \u00a0Goldberg\u2019s Lola was an especially funny mixture of comedic displays of tough love and jokes about being high. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This film\u2019s message seems to read as: Women, don\u2019t let your list keep you from being with your dream guy<\/i>. \u00a0In this specific case, when the choice is between a thoughtful, affectionate, fine ass Omari Hardwick, um I mean Frank, a formerly incarcerated coffee shop owner, and a tall, financially stable, average-looking, narcissistic man who is a really bad lover, the option is quite clear. \u00a0Being that this message seems to pervade a large portion of Perry\u2019s films – Daddy\u2019s Girls<\/i>, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Why Did I Get Married?, Acrimony<\/i>, and many others, it makes me question the repetition of the favored parable. This is not an attempt to deconstruct Perry\u2019s intentions; rather it\u2019s an investigation of how I, as a viewer, interpreted the movie. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For women like myself, who are ambitious and desire to date and marry black men, a film like this can and often is read as a suggestion for us to lower our expectations. \u00a0That we are being unreasonable, and potentially blinded to the love that is present right before our eyes. I struggle with this notion as I feel am just now really growing into myself and only beginning to build the confidence and self-worth needed to advocate for myself and what I need in a partner. \u00a0Part of that growth was learning how to practice self-love through setting and abiding by standards. I also do not feel like myself or my friends are unwilling to give a guy a try if he is missing a few of the things on our lists. It just makes me wonder why this narrative is such a pervasive one, as I am not one of those women with list-induced tunnel vision. \u00a0Watching these films sometimes makes me wonder – do I not deserve what it is I am asking for? Am I delusional? Ultimately, though a common byproduct, this does not feel like Perry\u2019s intentions. Instead I am choosing to see this movie as an opportunity for us all to examine how we are perceiving the world and to make sure that we remain open, somewhat flexible, to the love we deserve and to recognize and appreciate it even if (not necessarily when<\/i>) it comes in package other than what we imagined. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n