Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Family movie night? There's an app for that

Download our new mobile app on iOS and Android.

Parents' Guide to

For Colored Girls

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Tyler Perry melodrama deals with intense, disturbing themes.

Movie R 2010 120 minutes
For Colored Girls Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 17+
a must see for girls 17 and up, I would not take my 12yr old son to see it. Too much sexual references. Overall a good inspirational movie for adult viewers
age 16+

decent movie with some flaws.

i am not saying that i absolutely loved it over i am blown away by this movie, it was a decent contribution to the these type of Art house movies, it was Mr Tyler Perry's first time doing this kind of movie. he did a decent job not a great one but of course he will someday but that doesn't mean to just slam this movie, give extremely bad reviews. i don't understand why critics hate it so much. i know i did not liked the whole movie or somethings in it but that doesn't mean to just call it a disaster. movie was really disturbing and very emotional, seeing these different women's life and their different problems they face and all that things were really well shown but the problem is that they were first of all too much to show in little time, audience could not just connect with it instantly, too many stories too many emotions. i think this was the problem why everyone is hating this movie. this movie has perfect casting and very great performances. Janet, kimberly, Thandie, Loretta, Phylicia and everyone else performed brilliantly their own characters. somewhat overdone but its ok. little bit problem in the writing of this movie, something to really notice and editing too. women can see that their are many different ways of abuses they have and men can see how they effects and completely change upside down women's life. Any woman can relate and men as well can see and hear struggles that their mothers,sisters, wives and friends never talk about. its deep, intense and passionate BUT definitely with some flaws or other wise this could have been a great movie. AND yes it doesn't reminded me of Precious i mean come on people grow up. Go see it for just MR Tyler perry.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (2 ):

This is Perry's best film so far. He extracts fabulous performances from his all-star cast. The actresses -- particularly Devine, Rashad, and Elise -- are excellent (the only slightly off-note performance is Goldberg's, because her character's religious cult's beliefs aren't explained, and her devotion rings slightly false). As the award-winning theater veterans of the ensemble, Devine and Rashad are an absolute pleasure to watch. With an arch of the eyebrow or a jut of the hip, they steal every scene from their younger co-stars.

Given that Shange's "choreo-poem" featured unconnected poems, Perry was smart to thread them together through the apartment building and other coincidences. But his compulsion to include long, poetic monologues -- accompanied by an emotional score -- only works part of the time. Other times it takes the viewer out of the story and creates an overwhelming sense of melodrama, both predictable and occasionally cringe-inducing. And then there's the dialogue (added by Perry) that just doesn't work at all, like a climactic exchange between Jo and her husband Carl (Omari Hardwick), in which the words "sorry" and "sorries" are traded at least 50 times. It reduces what should have been a powerful scene into a ridiculous, predictable conversation. With a tighter script and a little less of the soliloquies, this could have been an award-worthy film. As it is, it must settle for being Perry's best so far.

Movie Details

  • In theaters: November 5, 2010
  • On DVD or streaming: February 8, 2011
  • Cast: Janet Jackson , Kimberly Elise , Loretta Devine
  • Director: Tyler Perry
  • Inclusion Information: Black directors, Black actors, Female actors
  • Studio: Lionsgate
  • Genre: Drama
  • Run time: 120 minutes
  • MPAA rating: R
  • MPAA explanation: some disturbing violence including a rape, sexual content and language
  • Last updated: April 28, 2023

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate