For Colored Girls:Too old fashioned for 2010?

The women in the play adaptation of the choreopoem

In order for a proper analysis of the movie to be made, one must read the original choreopoem by author Ntozake Shange. There were two different emotions felt after reading the original work and watching the movie. After I read the book, I felt empowered, but after seeing the movie I felt depressed. I'll begin with the book...we are introduced to seven different women who are only identified by the colors they wear: Lady in Red, Lady in Blue, Lady in Orange, Lady in Brown, Lady in Green, Lady in Purple and Lady in Yellow. The reader learns where they come from, their lives, and what they do to overcome their obstacles in a collection of poems, with monologues, song and dance. The original has been adapted into plays, including a performance at the Broadway theater in 1982 starring unknown actresses at the time Lynn Whitfield and Alfre Woodard and movie directed by Tyler Perry shortening the name to "For Colored Girls".

Terry Perry's work is in modern day New York City, unlike the book first written in 1975. All of the characters live in or around Harlem, in the original work the ladies were all over in Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Manhattan, and St. Louis. Perry incorporated Shange's poetry throughout the movie, at times you couldn't tell the script from the poetry, while other times the transition from the poetry to the script didn't flow. In the movie the women have names unlike the original work. The Lady in Red name is Jo a successful magazine editor, the Lady in Brown is Crystal who is the assistant to Jo, the Lady in Purple  is Nyla a high school graduate and dancer, the Lady in Yellow is Yasmine dance instructor to Nyla, the Lady in Green is Juanita, a nurse who also runs a support group to promote safe sex, the Lady in Blue is Kelly a social worker, and the Lady in Orange is Tangi a bartender and sister to Nyla. Other characters include Gilda the nosy building manager in which the majority of the ladies live, Alice a member of a religious cult and mother of Tangi and Nyla, Rose a back alley abortionist, Beau Willie Crystal's boyfriend and father of her two children Kenya and Kwame, Carl is Jo's husband, Frank is Juanita's boyfriend, Donald is Kelly's husband and Bill casually dates Yasmine.

The movie was a lot to digest in two hours and every emotion was pulled, stretched, and eventually left you drained once leaving out of the theater. The movie dealt with promiscuity, date rape, HIV, pregnancy and abortion, child barren from an untreated STD, physical and emotion abuse, murder, and unfaithfulness in a relationship. The enjoyed the movie, and was thoroughly impressed with Perry's attempt to re-create it for the modern day woman; however, I have a few issues with the characters and movie. Alice was oddly placed in the movie, over the top and at times heartless, Jo's character obviously patterned after Meryl Streep's character from the Devil Wears Prada lacked dimension. Juanita was overdramatic at times, and just plain annoying. The back alley abortinist wasn't modern at all, I imagine in the 70's abortions were very controversial and probably more expensive, so why keep that portion of the play in the movie? Why did Perry have the women refer to themselves as colored women in present day New York City? If Perry was going to keep the dialogue of the choreopoem he should have set the movie in the 70's. The stories of the women are real, and do not discriminate; however, there were no solutions to the issues the women faced in the film. The only positive ending to the film was Nyla going off to college. Overall, the movie is still something that everyone must see...after reading the original work of course.

Donald and Lady in Blue Kelly

Bill and Lady in Yellow Yasmine

Lady in Purple Nyla

Gilda

Lady in Brown Crystal and Beau Willie

Lady in Red Jo

Lady in Green Juanita

Lady in Orange Tangi and Alice

 

 

The cast of For Colored Girls, l to r: Anika Noni Rose, Kerry Washington, Janet Jackson, Kimberly Elise, Phylicia Rashad, Tessa Thompson and Thandie Newton