Dear Tyler Perry,

Dear Tyler Perry,

We need to chat for a second. On November 5th you will have a movie coming out based on something very close to my heart: Ntozake Shange’s stageplay “For Color’d Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.” I’m scared Tyler, real scared, because I don’t want you to mess this up.

For reasons that could go in another letter, more people know who Medea is than they know Ntozake Shange. You are taking an opportunity to bring this phenomenal story to the big screen and the main stream. I hope you don’t mess this up.

As far as casting goes, you’ve got a FIRE cast. If this movie is bad, I have to say I will only be able to blame you. You mean well Tyler, but you have made great actors look not so great in the past. These women are great, I hope you showcase them as such: Whoopi Goldberg, Anika Noni Rose, Phylicia Rashad, Kerry Washington, Janet Jackson, Thandie Newton, Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Macy Gray, and Tessa Thompson. I do notice that there are more women listed here than are actually characters in the play, but I trust that you have crafted your characters wisely, I hope.

Now, the movie is coming out in November, so production is most likely all wrapped up by now, but I do have a few requests/hopes on the film:

No awkward Christian messages:
Now, I’m a Christian, so I’ve obviously got nothing against Christianity. But, from your movies from the past that I have seen, you do a really bad job of seamlessly weaving in a Christian theme or message into your stories. You try, but it just comes off awkward. And in this particular case you shouldn’t really be bringing in any messages that aren’t already in the story, just focus on the aspects of womanhood that it presents. If you take out the line “I found God in myself, and I loved her, fiercely,” we’ll probably have to fight.

Speaking of womanhood -

No gratuitous male presence:
There are no men in the play, so my preference would be to not see any men in the movie, it’s really not about them. Now from the cast list I already see that you’ve recruited Michael Ealy, Hill Harper, Khalil Kain, Omari Hardwick and Richard Lawson. I guess I should just thank the Lord that Shemar Moore isn’t in it. I hope these men have a legitimate role in the movie and aren’t just eye candy strewn about like the usual light skinned light eyed men in your films.

Don’t do me wrong Tyler,

Artistically,

LaNeshe