TYLER PERRY PRESENTS PEEPLES (Tina Gordon Chism). 95 minutes. Opens Friday (May 10). For venues and times, see listings. Rating: N
Hitting every cliché and missing all the punchlines, Tina Gordon Chism’s Peeples is a slog.
When musician Wade Walker (Craig Robinson) decides to propose to his lawyer girlfriend Grace Peeples (Kerry Washington), he crashes her family’s annual getaway in the Hamptons to seek her father’s approval. It doesn’t come easily, and the weekend quickly turns into a nightmare. Much like the film.
Peeples begins on a promising note with gospel-style music (all but expected in a film presented by Tyler Perry) heard over the credits. The twist, however, is that the “pastor” turns out to be Wade, his flock a group of schoolchildren he’s singing to about not peeing their pants. It’s a cute move, but Chism’s creativity ends there.
Peeples is essentially a Meet The Fockers premise featuring what Wade calls the “black Kennedys.” But the cast is left hanging, forced to make lame jokes about boob jobs, lesbians and sagging scrotums.
While watching Robinson struggle with the hollow material gets increasingly painful, worst of all is seeing Washington, a true talent, with nothing to do but pout and play a daddy’s girl.
Peeples fails to deliver one crucial thing: real people.
