'Why Did I Get Married Again?' Review
Release Date: 09/09/26 [Netflix]
Genre: Comedy. Drama.
MPAA: Rated PG13.
Distributor: Netflix.
The Verdict: A Must-See
Over the last two decades, Tyler Perry has built his career by perpetuating Black stereotypes and recycling dramatic, traumatic storylines - occasionally dressed as a preachy Black woman. Although most of his projects make for great memes, Why Did I Get Married Again? is a very rare and entertaining exception.
The film is the fourth installment in Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? series, his only other franchise outside of his own MCU (Madea Cinematic Universe™). Set 16 years after the second film and almost a decade after the TV spin-off, For Better or For Worse, the film follows nearly all the original couples as they prepare to welcome a new married couple into the group. The fun twist is that said married couple is made up of one couple’s daughter and an old friend’s son. Over the course of the wedding weekend, a series of wild (and often humorous) events brings to light old problems and new secrets, forcing each couple to revisit the titular question.
Unlike the last film, this entry returns to its light-hearted roots. That doesn’t mean the characters feel any less pain. The situations they find themselves in here are just less extreme or exploitative (i.e., no one dies). Perry in particular has a blast poking fun at how old the main cast has gotten, including himself. You’ll lose count of how many times a character gets called “Unc,” but it’ll never stop being funny because each character does show their age one way or another.
Despite such a large time gap between films, the ensemble remains the strongest aspect - even if it is a little incomplete. Once the majority do meet, it’s like they haven’t missed a beat. Janet Jackson’s Patricia is the most notable character missing from the film. Having been the literal lead of the first two, it is odd that she doesn’t even make a FaceTime cameo. While some could argue her arc ended with the last film, Perry still mashes in an explanation for her absence through some shameless exposition in the first five minutes.
While Perry stuffs some additions to fill Jackson’s void, it still doesn’t stop some of the original characters from stealing the spotlight. For instance, Tasha Smith and Michael Jai White are electric as the undeniably toxic Angela and Marcus. One brief exchange between the two and you’ll understand why they became the stars of the aforementioned spin-off. Richard T. Jones deserves a special kind of praise for breathing new life into the jerk of the group, Mike. After being a character whose downfall you prayed for in the first two films, he is much of this film’s comic relief. He practically steals every scene he’s in, not because of some amazing character growth, but because of the hilarious sudden growth of his hair.
Taraji P. Henson is the only major name to join the ensemble. While she is always a joy to watch, and she is a frequent collaborator of Perry’s, here she surprisingly feels underused. She plays the groom's mother in the film. Introduced as a potential wrecking ball to the group, she is eventually revealed to be an equally flawed hopeless romantic. Through a somewhat forced subplot, she becomes the most obvious avatar for the film’s underlying theme: love at all ages is complicated.
Henson’s underutilization is only a symptom of the film’s main con, though: overcrowding. Even with an ample two-hour runtime, Perry attempts to introduce too many characters too quickly. Granted, many of them are the children of the original characters. But some are just too one-dimensional and genuinely uninteresting to care about. Sure, their familiar drama and subplots drive the film’s existence, but the development and experiences of the original characters remain far more engaging. It’s why the film’s climax, which consists of the old school lined up, lazily delivering advice to the new school, surprisingly works.
Why Did I Get Married Again? isn’t the best of the bunch. For a film about breaking cycles, it’s bogged down by issues Perry’s been criticized for for years. But sharp self-reflection, mixed with comedic commentary on modern compatibility, makes this his most relatable meditation on love to date.
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