Common Sense Media Review
No Madea in mature Tyler Perry melodrama.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls
What's the Story?
Monty (Idris Elba) is a good-hearted mechanic who works to support his three daughters: 5-year-old China (China Anne McClain), 7-year-old Lauryn (Lauryn Alisa McClain), and 12-year-old Sierra (Sierra Aylina McClain). They're living with his ex-mother-in-law (Juanita Jennings), until, at the film's start, she dies of lung cancer. Monty briefly brings the girls home to his one-bedroom apartment, but then their long-absent, excessively trashy mother Jenny (Tasha Smith) arrives, demanding custody -- not because she actually wants them, but because she wants to make Monty miserable. She and her live-in boyfriend -- drug dealer/local menace Joe (Gary Sturgis) -- gain custody of the girls and proceed to use them for various evil ends. Jenny provides Monty with an estimable obstacle while he tries to nurture his relationship with his new girlfriend, high-powered lawyer Julia (Gabrielle Union).
Is It Any Good?
None of Tyler Perry's movies are subtle, but in DADDY'S LITTLE GIRLS, he makes the mistake of omitting his broadest invention: the wildly popular drag character Madea. Instead, this film digs into Perry's most melodramatic and stereotypical inclinations to date, exploring class conflicts, single parenting, and the horrible ways that drugs, violence, and gang-bangers affect regular folks in an Atlanta neighborhood.
A disappointingly outsized villain, Jenny fills up the space left by Madea -- only she's not as strong, entertaining, or even convincing as Perry's alter ego.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the dynamic between the girls and their respective parents. How do you feel about the child abuse shown in the movie?
Which characters are sympathetic or unsympathetic, and why?
Movie Details
- In theaters : February 14, 2007
- On DVD or streaming : June 12, 2007
- Cast : Gabrielle Union , Idris Elba , Louis Gossett Jr.
- Director : Tyler Perry
- Inclusion Information : Black Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Lionsgate
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 95 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : thematic material, drug and sexual content, some violence and language
- Last updated : September 17, 2022
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