For years, four very close couples, friends since college, have been taking an annual vacation together to luxurious getaway spots to reconnect, reminisce, and reflect on the state of their marital relationships. Their previous reunion at a Colorado ski lodge proved very eventful, especially for the emotionally-abused Sheila (Jill Scott), who eventually summoned up the courage to dump her openly-unfaithful husband, Mike (Richard T. Jones).
This go round, in Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too," the revelers make reservations at an oceanfront resort in the Bahamas, where just as much melodrama unfolds as before. First, Mike shows up uninvited, hoping to rekindle a little romance with his ex who's now remarried to Troy (Lamman Rucker), the local cop who rescued her like a knight in shining armor in a blizzard back in the Rocky Mountains.
Meanwhile, the other three couples find themselves facing their own issues, too, starting with outspoken Angela (Tasha Smith) who has trouble trusting her hunky hubby (Michael Jai White). After all, the former pro athlete has cheated on her before, and likely has more opportunities to stray since he's finally gainfully employed as host of "The Sports Shuffle," a TV talk show.
A little more difficult to discern are the subtle strains on the seemingly-perfect marriage of psychologist Pat (Janet Jackson) and architect Gavin (Malik Yoba), given that she's a celebrated love guru with a new best-seller out on the market. However, we soon learn that even a mild-mannered shrink might need to blow off some steam after keeping her feelings about the death of her son bottled up inside for so many years.
Last but not least, there's Terry (Tyler Perry) and Dianne (Sharon Leal), whose relationship tension revolves around his suspicious that his workaholic, attorney spouse might be having an affair in spite of her perfectly plausible explanation for her whereabouts. "Can this marriage be saved?" remains the running theme raised repeatedly in Why Did I Get Married Too, one of those rare sequels which is actually better than the original.
Tyler Perry earns high marks for not only reassembling his entire principal cast, but for embroiling the talented ensemble in another compelling, modern morality play which feels as fresh as it is funny.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for mature themes, sexuality, profanity, drug references and domestic violence.
Running time: 121 minutes
Distributor: Lionsgate Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Several featurettes.
To see a trailer for Why Did I Get Married Too
