Whether you love or hate his movies, actor and director Tyler Perry seems like an incredibly sweet guy.
He donates huge sums of money to charity, he’s buddy-buddy with Oprah Winfrey and he really loves his mother.
“She loved from the purest place in her heart. The strength and power of a black woman is empowering to me,” said Perry in a recent Essence interview. Altogether now: Awww!
But this weekend, Perry hopes to add a new twist to his sweet and sensitive persona. With his new film Alex Cross he hopes to re-invent himself as a big-screen tough guy.
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He’s taken over the lead role made famous by Morgan Freeman in the hit thrillers Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Will audiences buy it, even if critics don’t?
“Perry is low-key bordering on sleepwalker dull,” writes David Germain of the Associated Press. Earlier in his review he writes, “They might as well have gone for broke and called it Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Stab at Expanding Her-His Hollywood Marketability as James Patterson’s Alex Cross.”
“The cross-dressing Madea star seems out of his depth playing the hard-boiled detective,” writes Peter DeBruge in a review for Variety, adding, “it turns out the actor’s range is more limited than expected.”
“He doesn’t have the skill that can lift a performance up, up and away from the substandard movie surrounding it, one of Mr. Freeman’s enduring, oft-tapped talent,” writes the New York Times‘ Manohlia Darghis. She argues that Perry’s performance in Alex Cross “lacks both nuance and the majestic, uncompromising wrath that makes Madea so memorable.”
The Madea references speaks volumes about Perry’s dilemma. He has become a multimedia mogul on the strength of his most famous characterization but it has become a double-edged sword.
His gun-toting loud-mouthed Madea is both his most popular and polarizing character and his image of as a comedian who routinely appears in drag has cemented itself into the popular consciousness. Sure, action vet Wesley Snipes dabbled in wearing a dress for To Wong Foo, but that was just one film. Perry has made a career out of gender bending.
That said, actors mostly known for their comic chops have successfully transitioned into action before. Eddie Murphy, Chris Tucker and Will Smith (just to name a few) have all headlined blockbuster, stereotypically macho movies. But unlike Perry, their genre shifts retained the comedic roots that made them famous.
“I know my lane; I know it really well. I realized here is a moment for me to learn,” Perry told theGrio’s Courtney Garcia.
In Alex Cross, Perry is attempting something he has not really done successfully before — play it straight. His last attempt at portraying a serious male lead role in Good Deeds fell flat even with some of his most dedicated fans and his attempts to play romantic scenes in his Why Did I Get Married? films have been criticized as awkward, to say the least.
Originally, when this reboot of the Morgan Freeman franchise (which in turn drew its inspiration from a series of best-selling James Patterson novels) was conceived, producers cast rising star Idris Elba as the titular hero. But the studio behind the film decided to go with the more unorthodox choice of Perry because of his impressive box office track record.
Bill Block, CEO of QED International, which is behind the Alex Cross reboot, told Entertainment Weekly that “Sure, Idris is a great actor; Tyler Perry is a phenomenon. Tyler Perry is one of the most significant entertainers in all of media.”
Perry has proven to be arguably the most consistent black box office draw of the past decade. He is also one of the few stars that is largely critic-proof. While his films almost always receive a tepid critical reaction at best, his fanbase has been reliable for him, especially on those crucial opening weekends.
Most prognosticators expect Alex Cross to debut strongly but whether the film has real staying power will largely depend on whether he can broaden his appeal with his most challenging role to date.
Right or wrong, the film’s failure or success will be hung on his shoulders, which, uncharacteristically, aren’t hidden under a house-dress and a wig.
Follow Adam Howard on Twitter at @at_howard