Warning: This post contains spoilers for “Tyler Perry’s Divorce in Black."
Tyler Perry latest film, "Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black" released on July 11, and it's already a hot topic on social media.
In the film, Meagan Good plays Ava, a preacher's daughter and God-fearing woman who will do anything to save her marriage. But once her husband, Dallas, played by Cory Hardrict, decides to leave her, she realizes his true abusive nature and finds comfort in her longtime friend-turned-lover, Benji (Joseph Lee Anderson).
In a joint interview with TODAY.com, Good and Hardrict spoke about their characters in the movie, with Good saying she didn't fully relate to Ava's experience despite her divorce from film producer DeVon Franklin, which was finalized in 2022.
"Sometimes your character is just your character and so what they're going through, even though you may be able to relate to it, it's still that character's journey," she tells TODAY.com.
Hardrict, who also experienced a public divorce with now-ex wife Tia Mowry, the mother of his two kids, agreed.
"I would say Dallas is nothing like Cory so I didn't pull the violence or the rage. That's not me at all. Plus, I don't even drink," he says. "He (Dallas) had vices of alcohol. I don't drink alcohol, so I had to act my behind off and do a lot of scene study and character work."
Thus far, Perry's film has earned a 0% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 10 reviews and a 51% audience score, at the time of publication. Since its July 12 release, fans have taken to social media to share their mixed reactions about the film.
On X, one person called it a "typical Tyler Perry film."
"'Divorce In The Black.' This is an awful movie," the person wrote. "Story wasn’t good, blah cast, acting atrocious, terrible direction. This is a typical Tyler Perry film. Abused woman, bad guy, better man ends up with the woman."
Another critiqued the film's "many plot holes."
"Why does Tyler Perry do this to every movie? Every movie has the same characters: a single father, a woman that has low self esteem and then finds her power in some way, a praying mother/grandmother. someone get this man some writers!," the person said.
A third added, "I need all my time back" with two double exclamation point emojis.
However, there were some who felt the film was still worth the watch.
On X, one viewer wrote, "Divorce in The Black was pretty good, Megan Good gave Tina Turner /Jennifer Lopez in Enough vibes. Cory Hardict played the hell outta this Dallas character and Taylor Polidore did her thing as the best friend."
Another social media user agreed, saying they enjoyed the Perry's finish product.
"I don’t care if you’ve watched a movie with that kind of story before, I don’t care if you have a problem with Tyler Perry movies. DIVORCE IN THE BLACK is a good watch. I recommend," the person said.
Read on to learn more about “Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black” and how it all ends.
How does 'Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black' end?
"Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black" ends with Ava killing Dallas after he and his crime-ridden family attacked her father and pastor, Clarence (Richard Lawson).
Dallas' actions against Clarence were the last straw for Ava, who dealt with multiple instances of abuse and stalking from Dallas in the past. After Ava reported some of those instances to the police following their split, she was told by law enforcement that they couldn't offer much help because there was no proof of Dallas' violent behavior.
But, towards the end of the film, Ava decides to take matters into her own hands after Dallas' family retaliated on her dad, which included beating him up and shooting him in the leg, after he confronted them at their home with a gun.
While her dad recovers in the hospital, Ava devises a plan to bait Dallas. She gets him to come over to her house by telling him she's there with her new lover, Benji. But, once he arrives in a rage, Ava uses Dallas' temper to get him to repeatedly hit her, leaving visible bruises on her body.
With her marks now serving as evidence of abuse, Ava tells Dallas she's calling the police to show them so he can be arrested. But things quickly take another turn for the worse when Dallas refuses to leave Ava's home, forcing Ava to protect herself by aiming a gun at him.
Instead of backing down, Dallas charges toward Ava causing her to fire one round into his body, killing him on the spot.
Seeing how Dallas and Ava's love story turned out, Good tells TODAY.com that major takeaway of the film is knowing once's value and "self-worth."
"I would just say one thing I hope that the film does impart to people is self-love and self-worth," she says. "And understanding that sometimes what seems like the worst thing in the world can actually be a blessing because it allows you to have the ability to speak life over others since you’ve been through something that they can relate to."
Who dies in ‘Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black’?
While Ava's ex-husband Dallas eventually dies, viewers learn in the first few minutes of the film that Dallas' brother has recently died -- and the family is mourning the loss at a funeral during the opening scene.
This scene is pivotal to the film because it shows the turbulent and complicated relationship between Dallas and Ava's family that has apparently been going on for years. At one point during the funeral, Dallas' mother refuses to let Ava's father continue to officiate the service because she disagrees with his judgmental commentary about her family's misdeeds in the town.
But, in what some would call true Tyler Perry fashion, the film takes a dramatic turn when Dallas' mother stops the funeral, rips off her clothes and tells her other sons to get her son's lifeless body out of the casket. Her reason? She doesn't want to feel obligated to Ava's family -- so she says the best way to do that is to give them back everything they gave her, from the casket her son rests in to the clothes on her back.
This shocking scene immediately sets the tone for the rest of the movie, and later on in the film when Dallas confesses to Ava that his mother asked him to kill his father.
Does Ava get a happy ending?
Yes. After Dallas' death, Ava feels free to pursue a relationship with Benji now that she knows Dallas is no longer around to watch her every move. However, her moment of happiness could be short lived as Dallas' family, who are currently mourning his death, seem to have a vile vendetta against her that they appear to want to follow through on.
Even though Ava tells them that she's not happy that her ex-husband is dead, Dallas' mother does not believe her, and gives her a look like she plans to exact revenge.
When asked what he thought about the ending, Hardrict tells TODAY.com that he was satisfied with the film's conclusion.
"Don't change it," he says. "It was perfect the way it is. We trusted the creative directions. I'm not changing anything. I'm just trying to play my role, be a piece of the puzzle and try to make this the best experience ever, and we did that. So now we're sharing it to the world and we're about to see what happened."
As for how she feels about Ava finding love again, Good, who is now dating actor Jonathan Majors, also seemed satisfied with the ending, noting that divorce can be a "painful thing for everybody involved."
"Sometimes, what seems like the worst thing is a blessing in disguise for everybody. And ultimately, sometimes what feels like an ending is really a new beginning," she tells TODAY.com. "That's a beautiful thing. At the end of the day, it's just perception mentality, attitude and mindset."
Hardrict echoed the same response and says fans should never let a person or situation bring them down.
"You always have another chance," he says. "As long as you wake up and God wakes you up, you got breath in your body. That's always newness for your life, so just keep pushing."
