Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself

Seen at: Century 12, in Aurora, late morning on Oct. 27

Tyler Perry is a national treasure. I didn't used to think that, because I didn't really get his movies. It seemed annoying that he came out with a movie every six months and put his name on the front of every title.

But he deserves to put his name there. He creates lucid and compelling stories on screen with lucid camera work . He shares well-drawn and interesting characters with us. He addresses issues of personality morality in an innovative fashion.

Perry is probably the most Classical director in Hollywood right now. From a Hollywood standpoint, perhaps the most exceptional part of his stories is that he can address the theme of spirituality in contemporary life, and draw upon the good parts of Christianity, without covering it all in the sauce of too much base-level irony.

That he can do this is in large part because of the character Madea, the sexagenarian woman whom he plays in drag. It's an absurd concept, but I've decided it works, at least for me. I take back what I said about it not working, because it does.

I got the pleasure of seeing it with a primarily Africa-American audience in Aurora, near the mall off the interstate, on a late morning, mostly among couples and older folk. There were about fifty people in the audience, a good crowd for that time of day. Most of them seem to like it a lot, and I learned some things about black culture from the jokes they laughed it.

Perry is excellent at evoking true Aristotlean pathos. Seeing his movies puts me in a good state, in a heightened appreciation of the world, and of other people. I like life better, after I see his movies. That's the power of art, in a nutshell.

Maybe I'll even like the next Woody Allen movie. Who knows? I'm game to try.

Verdict: one of my favorite movies of the year, without a doubt.