I don't know how Tyler Perry became someone whose name comes before anything he's involved in, but he's back with another masterpiece of American cinema, Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys. It looks like this one isn't a comedy, though, but some sort of convoluted, touching family drama. It starts out with a couple getting married, but at the wedding a stranger (Cole Hauser) greets the bride and tells her to call him if she wants a job in his family's business. I am guessing he's a stranger, but then again, why would a stranger be at a wedding? Maybe he was someone's date? Anyway, next thing you know, her sister (how did that happen?) is being offered the promotion Hauser thought was his. And he only thought that it was his because his mother runs the company.

There's lots of back-stabbing and loyalty being called into question. Oh, and extramarital affairs. And there is one really disturbing, thick accent that makes Penny Marshall's wacky one in Everybody Wants to be Italian seem understated. This one comes courtesy of Kathy Bates, and makes me wonder: Was she ever a good actor or has she always been this ridiculous and hard to watch? I mean, that's sort of how you were supposed to feel about her character in Misery (which earned her an Oscar), so maybe she's just been coasting through her career in roles that disguise how truly terrifying she is as an actor. Or maybe she has just forgotten what she's doing. Tyler Perry clearly doesn't care, though, as she's given top billing with that "...and Kathy Bates" introduction that signifies someone is revered. Maybe that special treatment is what made Kathy think she could phone it in here. Note to filmmakers: Please don't treat older actors with so much respect that they think they don't have to try. It doesn't serve anyone.