Divorce In The Black Review: Tyler Perry's Lukewarm Prime Video Drama Doesn't Even Try
Summary
Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black largely focuses on two main characters. The movie's troubled central couple is played by Meagan Good and Cory Hardrict. The supporting cast of the movie also includes Joseph Lee Anderson, Richard Lawson, and Taylor Polidore Williams.
Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black features several notable actors in its cast. The Prime Video drama is a 2024 outing from the prolific writer, director, producer, and star, who is best known for creating and starring in the Madea franchise, both on the stage and on the screen. Perry's cinematic work is notable for generally featuring large ensemble casts. In addition to frequently playing multiple roles himself in various costumes and prosthetic facial appliances, he tends to gather talented performers from a variety of diverse backgrounds, including everyone from Oscar winners to literary icons like iconic poet Maya Angelou.
Although the Divorce in the Black Rotten Tomatoes score has earned Perry his first 0% movie, critics have generally avoided leveling their ire at the cast, which has been drawn from a pool of talented and notable individuals just like the majority of Perry's projects. Although the movie primarily focuses on the relationship between the dissolving couple at its center, it also features a robust supporting cast full of both fresh and familiar faces, though Perry himself does not appear. As is usually the case in Perry's more dramatic works, there are also no performers playing multiple roles.
Actor
Character
Meagan Good
Ava
Cory Hardrict
Dallas
Joseph Lee Anderson
Benji
Taylor Polidore Williams
Rona
Shannon Wallace
Jim
Richard Lawson
Clarence
Debbi Morgan
Gene
Related
Divorce In The Black Soundtrack Guide: Every Song & When They Play In Tyler Perry's Movie
Tyler Perry's new movie, Divorce in the Black's soundtrack features songs from different artists and genres including pop, country, and hip-hop.
Meagan Good As Ava
Date Of Birth: August 8, 1981
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Active Since: 1991
Actor: Meagan Good was born in Los Angeles, California, and had her breakout role in 1997's Eve's Bayou before she had even turned 18. Since then, she has gone on to a variety of roles. While she has appeared in her fair share of comedies before the Divorce in the Black movie, she has also starred in notable genre projects including the 2000s horror movies The Unborn, Saw V, and One Missed Call as well as the superhero outings Shazam! and its sequel Fury of the Gods, in which she plays the superhero version of pre-teen foster child Darla Dudley.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Title
Character
Eve's Bayou (1997)
Cisely Batiste
Cousin Skeeter (1998-2002)
Nina
Deliver Us from Eva (2003)
Jacqui Dandridge
Stomp the Yard (2007)
April
One Missed Call (2008)
Shelley Baum
Saw V (2008)
Luba
The Unborn (2009)
Romy
Jumping the Broom (2011)
Blythe
Think Like a Man (2012)
Mya
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
Linda Jackson
Think Like a Man Too (2014)
Mya
Minority Report (2015)
Lara Vega
Shazam! (2019)
Super Hero Darla
The Intruder (2019)
Annie
Harlem (2021-2023)
Camille Parks
Day Shift (2022)
Jocelyn Jablonski
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)
Super Hero Darla
Character: In Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black, Meagan Good plays Ava. Ava is a young woman who works at a bank whose potential divorce sends her into a crisis of faith. Her family has long been at odds with the Bertrands, the family to which her husband belongs. This could be both the reason that she found him appealing in the first place and that the impending dissolution of her marriage brings up such complicated feelings. On top of these issues, meeting a potential new soulmate throws her into a fit of indecision that could potentially ruin her life.
The character of Ava is played at age 8 by the uncredited actor Milan Respress, whose only previous credit is a 2023 episode of Caught Up .
Cory Hardrict as Dallas
Date Of Birth: November 9, 1979
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Active Since: 1998
Actor: Cory Hardrict was born in Chicago, Illinois, and had his first film role starring opposite Drew Barrymore and David Arquette in Never Been Kissed after getting his start in television. The star also has horror experience, having starred in the Return of the Living Dead sequels Necropolis and Rave to the Grave, but he is better known for his long-term television roles, including playing Cole Hammond in The Oath and Coach Marcus Turner on the CW sports drama spinoff series All American: Homecoming. Hardrict was married to Tia Mowry, with whom he has two children, from 2008 through 2023.
Tia Mowry and her twin sister Tamera Mowry are famous for starring in the sitcom Sister, Sister , which ran for six seasons between 1994 and 1999.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Title
Character
Never Been Kissed (1999)
Packer
Crazy/Beautiful (2001)
Wilcox
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (2005)
Cody
Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave (2005)
Cody
Gran Torino (2008)
Duke
He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Tyrone
Battle Los Angeles (2011)
Cpl. Jason Lockett
Warm Bodies (2013)
Kevin
American Sniper (2014)
Dandridge
Walk of Fame (2017)
Nate
All Eyez on Me (2017)
Nigel
The Oath (2018-2019)
Cole Hammond
The Chi (2020-2024)
Dante
All American: Homecoming (2022-2024)
Coach Marcus Turner
Character: In Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black, Cory Hardrict plays Dallas. Dallas is a member of the Bertrand family, which has long had friction with the family of his wife, Ava. They live together in Atlanta, Georgia, where he psychologically and physically abuses her. Because the story is told primarily from her perspective, Dallas' character is presented as more of an outright villain with less degrees of characterization. He is largely shown to be reactive and angry when presented with challenges, either in his relationship or in the divorce proceedings that result from it.
Divorce In The Black Supporting Cast & Characters
The Tyler Perry Movie's Supporting Cast Includes Stars From Young Rock & Poltergeist
Joseph Lee Anderson as Benji - Anderson, who plays Ava's potential soulmate Benji, is perhaps best known for playing The Rock's father Rocky Johnson as part of the main cast of the biographical sitcom Young Rock, though he can also be seen playing Maj. Harold Kernst in the MacGruber television spinoff on Peacock in addition to supporting television roles in shows including S.W.A.T., Timeless, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods, and Chicago P.D.
Taylor Polidore Williams as Rona - Williams, who plays Ava's best friend Rona, has previously appeared opposite Cory Hardrict when she played Tootie on nine episodes of All American: Homecoming, but that isn't even her longest tenure on television, as she has appeared in ten episodes or more of the shows The Pre-Quarter Life Crisis, Rival Speak, It's Pony, and Snowfall.
Shannon Wallace as Jim - Wallace, who plays Dallas' friend Jim, is another consummate television actor whose credits include playing Paul Kibebe Roth on four episodes of Jacqueline & Jilly, Nate Barker on six episodes of American Soul, Anton Campbell on seven episodes of City on a Hill, Tyce Dickson on two episodes of Blue Bloods, and Chris on six episodes of Diarra from Detroit in addition to having one-episode stints on the shows The Family Business and Dynasty.
Richard Lawson as Clarence - Lawson, who plays Ava's father Clarence, got his start in blaxploitation movies in the 1970s including Scream Blacula Scream, Black Fist, and Sugar Hill. He soon moved onto many roles on 1980s television, though he also continued to appear in movies including playing Ryan in the 1982 classic Poltergeist and appearing as Jack opposite Angela Bassett in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. More recently, he has appeared in Grey's Anatomy, Mixed-ish, and For Colored Girls.
Debbi Morgan as Gene - Morgan, who plays Ava's mother Gene in Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black, is a versatile performer who has appeared in movies as varied as Taxi Driver, She's All That, Spawn, and Eve's Bayou. However, she is likely best known for her long-running television roles including playing Chantal Marshall #2 on 71 episodes of Generations, Dr. Ellen Burgess on 214 episodes of Port Charles, and Dr. Angie Hubbard on more than 400 episodes of Loving and The City combined, as well as 508 episodes of the flagship soap opera All My Children.
Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black
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Ava, a young bank professional, is heartbroken when her husband Dallas leaves her. Despite her determination to save the marriage, fate reveals Dallas' deceitful actions, which not only ruined their relationship but also prevented Ava from being with her true soulmate.
Director Tyler Perry
Release Date July 11, 2024
Cast Meagan Good , Cory Hardrict , Joseph Lee Anderson , Shannon Wallace , Taylor Polidore , Richard Lawson , Debbi Morgan
Runtime 143 Minutes
