Crime and custody

>> Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls is a feel-good inner-city drama that succeeds in spite of its melodramatic self

cars and careers: Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba

by MALCOLM FRASER

Idris Elba attracted his own following as troubled drug kingpin Stringer Bell on HBO’s The Wire. Ladies loved his irresistible combination of athletic physique and puppy-dog eyes, and everyone loved the depth and complexity he brought to the character. In Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls, he maintains his intensity while displaying some range as Monty, a car mechanic in inner-city Atlanta struggling to get custody of his three daughters.

The girls’ mother, Jennifer (Tasha Smith), is a no-good schemer hooked up with the local crack dealer. She’s never expressed any previous interest in family values, but gains custody after the girls get in an accident while home alone. Trying to raise money to fight his case, Elba moonlights as a chauffeur for uptown lawyer Julia (Gabrielle Union). Playing a variation of her ice-queen character from Deliver Us From Eva, Union is a no-nonsense career woman who can’t seem to lighten up and find a man. She gets mixed up in Elba’s case, and before long, in his personal life as well.

Writer/director Tyler Perry went from homelessness to fame in an Oprah-worthy rags-to-riches story culminating in his indie hit Diary of a Mad Black Woman in 2005. His name is not only in the title of his new film, but also appears a good three times before the title in the main credits, so you know he’s invested. Perry is clearly striving to make an inspirational film for the African-American community; Elba’s character is explicitly indicated as a corrective to the deadbeat-dad stereotype, and Union is just as obviously a symbol for upper-class blacks who need to get back to their roots.

Perry shows a tendency to lay things on thick. Smith and her crack-dealer boyfriend are pure evil; the plot is melodramatic enough to make Douglas Sirk weep, and Perry never hesitates to cue the strings (or the smooth R&B, as the case requires). That said, Elba and Union give great performances that flesh out their characters; the supporting cast, including ’80s action hero Louis Gossett, Jr., is equally strong, and the inspirational feel wins you over with its sheer sincerity. Subtle it’s not, but Perry’s drama is well made with a lot of heart

Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls  opens this Friday, Feb. 16