WHAT’S IT ABOUT
In this hilarious spoof comedy, billionaire talk-show host Hoprah Windfall uses her direct connection to God (Jamie Foxx) to command him to deliver a hero to help her plummeting ratings–or else she will cancel him. Panicked, God calls on the hardest-working man in the world: Taylor Pherry (Kevin Daniels). Despite Taylor’s lack of experience, God convinces him to do the impossible: write a hit movie using his dysfunctional, crazy family as the inspiration. But the Devil (Mickey Rourke) is in the details and has his own fiendish plan to disrupt the whole deal.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
“Not Another Church Movie” makes even the most low-budget Tyler Perry films appear like Oscar-worthy masterpieces. Suppose you detest most of Tyler Perry’s movies. In that case, they seem like works of art compared to this painfully unfunny and trashy parody of his work. Any money spent on this dismal junk is wholly wasted. The film, written and directed by Johnny Mack, is merely a collection of poorly crafted skits stitched together in a feeble attempt to mimic a coherent movie plot. This marks Mack’s debut as a feature-film director, following his stint as a writer for BET’s “Real Husbands of Hollywood” and several BET Awards ceremonies. While this might explain the film’s low quality, it certainly doesn’t excuse it. Many amateur comedians on social media, even children, display far superior wit and humor compared to “Not Another Church Movie,” which is genuinely bottom-of-the-barrel material. Despite featuring celebrity names in the cast, this film isn’t the first flop for any of these stars, but it surely ranks among their worst. Furthermore, it turns out to be a deceptive scam, with its major stars—Jamie Foxx, Mickey Rourke, and Vivica A. Fox—each appearing for less than five minutes in the film. The movie’s so-called “plot” is nothing but a chaotic mess revolving around Taylor Pherry (Kevin Daniels), a “jack of all trades” from Savannah, Georgia, who aspires to become a screenwriter despite facing various mishaps and irritations. A recurring gag that swiftly becomes tedious is the pronunciation of the “p” in Pherry, with Taylor constantly correcting people. After a stock market dive, billionaire talk show host Hoprah Windfall (Luc Ashley) seeks a new protege. With a direct line to God (Jamie Foxx), who enjoys riding his Harley-Davidson through special-effects-laden heavenly scenes, she implores him to find her successor. God selects lawyer/doctor Taylor Pherry to start afresh as a screenwriter, drawing inspiration from his dysfunctional family to write a movie about them. Johnny Mack occasionally mocks the overly serious themes in Perry’s films. Still, the humor is sparse and heavily reliant on the charm and delivery of the cast members. Mack’s lack of willingness to challenge Perry results in comedic writing that prioritizes silliness and lacks sharpness or insight. Instead of satirizing, Mack merely imitates Perry’s works without adding distinctiveness. Regardless of one’s opinion of Tyler Perry, it’s undeniable that the man comprehends good comedy, and there’s a reason he achieved immense success with Madea, one of the century’s most iconic fictional comedy characters. Despite Mack’s extensive comedic background, his attempts to poke fun at Perry lack impact. “Not Another Church Movie” completely misunderstands the essence of a successful parody. Instead of using a specific movie as a foundation for structure and introducing commentary or absurdity, the film is an excessively long, unfunny, and nonsensical setup. The highly talented performances by Foxx and Rourke as God and the Devil merely serve as a backdrop for Daniels’ Taylor Pherry to narrate a series of mediocre parodies of Perry’s films such as “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” “Madea’s Family Reunion,” “Madea Goes to Jail,” “Meet the Browns,” “Daddy’s Little Girls,” and the “Boo! A Madea Halloween” movies. Essentially, as I stated in the beginning, “Not Another Church Movie” manages to make even the most modestly-produced Tyler Perry films seem like contenders for the Academy Award for Best Picture.”
OUR RATING – A MaDON’T 2
MEDIA
- Genre – Comedy
- Street date
- Digital – May 28, 2024
- DVD/Blu-Ray – July 23, 2024
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 2.40:1
- Sound – Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital 5.1, English Descriptive Audio
- Subtitles – English SDH, French
Extras
- none