Laugh To Keep From Crying [DVD]

Description

Step into Tyler Perry’s neighborhood, peel back the rough
exterior and BEHOLD! Get on the laugh wagon as some of your favorite stage
stars strut, sing and remind us, no matter how tough it gets, that laughter,
faith and love are the best remedies. The Tyler Perry entertainment
machine keeps cranking across entertainment markets with this home-video entry
of one of his many stage plays, Laugh to Keep from Crying. It was taped during
a live performance in Perry’s hometown of Atlanta before the show went on a
healthy, extended national tour starting in the fall of 2009. Perry wrote and
directed the production and his fans will find a lot to like in the mix of
sitcom gags, down-home moralism, old-fashioned melodrama, and rousing gospel-
and soul-based music (cowritten by Perry and Elvin Ross). The only thing
they’ll miss is the performing presence of Perry himself since Laugh does not
feature the character of Madea, his big-bosomed, gun-toting, potty-mouthed
granny of an alter ego. Laugh takes place round about a tenement apartment on
an unnamed urban street where gunshots are frequent and the primarily African-
American tenants are struggling to get by as they also struggle with a variety
of life issues. The building is home to Carol (Cheryl Pepsii Riley), a single
mom with two teenagers who have different fathers and wholly different
attitudes. There’s Tony (Donny Sykes), a momma’s boy who’s dedicated to
school, church, and singing in the choir, and Lisa (Tamar Davis), a rebellious
handful and a chronic truant who can’t understand why her mother is keeping
the identity of her father hidden. Across the hall is Belinda (Chandra
Currelley-Young), a hard-working widow who just lost her job, and upstairs is
Niecy (D’Atra Hicks), a goodhearted aging hooker, along with Peter and Anna
(Wess Morgan and Stephanie Ferrett), white newlyweds who have moved into the
building to save money. Rounding out the ensemble cast is Donnie (Anthony
Dalton), a caring cop who’s trying to woo Carol; Peter and Anna’s uptight
mother-in-law Jane (Rachel Richards); and Niecy’s pimp, Eddie (Celestin
Cornielle), who functions as a genuine Simon Legree villain. Presiding over
pretty much all of them is the building’s super, Floyd (Palmer Williams Jr.),
who practically steals the show with his shucking, jiving, and distinctive
Perry-esque comic manner of the huckster-fool who gets all the good lines. The
struggles that would presumably keep everyone crying without the upbeat music
and constant string of jokes involve Lisa’s disobedient behavior and dabbling
into street life, Belinda’s struggle with her sudden lack of security, Niecy’s
struggle to be free of Eddie, the young white couple’s struggle to fit in, and
Carol’s struggle to keep her kids on the right path in a dangerous, modern,
urban world. There’s lots of crossover in these many struggles, but the action
is pretty simplistic, full of broad comedy, exaggerated movement, overt
sentimentality, and spiritual posturing that comes across as exactly what it
is–a rich man’s story about the strength and moral courage of poor people
just trying to get by. The telling is also simplistic and straightforward,
with the camera and cutting staying unobtrusive, cleanly showing off the
action without any showoff-y style. The blocking is direct and easy to follow
on the single set of the double-decked cutaway apartment and its four rooms,
complete with proscenium stoop and sidewalk for downstage action. The perky
musical numbers come early and often, giving the sitcom/drama a nice breakup.
There’s even a background score in several sequences, which adds to the
undemanding, TV feel of the show. The disc includes short interview segments
with the cast members, ending with a few audience testimonials, many of which
attest to Floyd being the best and funniest thing about the Laugh production.
Palmer Williams Jr. will be familiar to Perry aficionados from his role as
Floyd (coincidence?) in the Tyler Perry-produced TV series House of Payne. But
even though Madea is missing, Perry does get a chance to show off his
charismatic show-biz sparkle in an extended curtain-call speech. As in the two
hours that came just before, he delivers his personal message of hope and
inspiration that the audience in Atlanta eats up. His home audiences will
almost certainly do the same. –Ted Fry

Features:

Product Details:

• Genre: Drama
• Format: Multiple Formats, AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Contributor: Chandra Currelley, Wess Morgan, Ebony Sinclair, Anthony Dalton, Stephanie Ferrett, Chanta Rose, Calvin, Rachel Richards, Tamsin, Celestin Cornielle, D'Atra Hicks, Palmer Williams, Jr., Tim Bevan, Chandra Currelley-Young, John Hoffman, Eric Fellner, Melanie, Omar, Nira Park, Cheryl Pepsii Riley, Palmer Williams Jr., Tamar Davis, Donny Sykes, Tyler Perry, Zara, Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley See more
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2 hours and 19 minutes
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 0.71 Ounces
• Audio Description: ‏ : ‎ English
• Item model number ‏ : ‎ 64298088209
• Director ‏ : ‎ Tyler Perry, John Hoffman
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 19 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ August 30, 2011
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley, D'Atra Hicks, Palmer Williams, Jr., Tamar Davis, Palmer Williams Jr.