Taraji Henson shines in Tyler Perry's 'I Can Do Bad All By Myself," Madea needs to go

"I Can Do Bad All By Myself" didn't need Madea. It had enough excellent actors in the film without the heavyset, loud-mouthed, Bible remixing woman, Madea. Joe wasn't saying much that lent to the script either. Their scenes were almost a distraction to "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" about three children who are trying to find out where their grandmother is. The oldest child, Jennifer (played by Hope Olaide Wilson) steals needles for her brother, Manny (played by Kwesi Boakye), to get his insulin shots, and then everybody is trying to find a home for those two, plus their silent brother, Byron (played by Frederick Siglar). But they make the dumb decision to break into Madea's house, and Madea takes them to their aunt's, April (played by Taraji Henson), house with her no-good boyfriend, Randy (played by Brian J. White). To add to the confusion is a Mexican associate of the same church who is looking for labor work, and his name is Sandino (played by Adam Rodriguez).

Whatever you're thinking in your mind about how this movie will turn out, it did just that. There were no surprises. From the moment the audience saw Sandino's shaved face, we already knew what was going to happen before the movie was out because this guy was surprisingly handsome underneath all that beard and fluffy hair. And although the movie was predictable, I enjoyed the developing relationships between the children, April and Sandino.

Even though Mary J. Blige playing the singing bartender, Tanya, probably won't win her an Outstanding Supporting Actress award, it was interesting to see her act too (plus I noticed it looked like she got laser surgery on the band tattoo around her right arm). Gladys Knight, who played church wife Wilma, sang really well, as to be expected.

But the highlight of the movie for me was Taraji Henson singing. I knew she had some pipes on her when I saw her in 2005's "Hustle and Flow," but in this movie, she really let loose. My jaw dropped hearing her sing a song towards the end of the movie at her kitchen table. If she ever decided to become a singer, I'd support her. Every time I look at her, I think about why my favorite R&B singer of all time, Marvin Gaye, should have his own movie about his life, and Henson should play the part of Tammi Terrell. Not only is Taraji Henson beautiful, but her voice had me tapping my feet immediately.

Tyler Perry has brought so many great actors to the limelight who may have gone unnoticed in leading roles for various reasons, be it size, race, gender or being categorized as models only, including drop-dead gorgeous Ryan Gentles and Christian Keyes, Lance Gross, Cassie Davis, Larramie "Doc" Shaw, LaVan Davis, Demetria McKinney and veteran actors like Keshia Knight Pulliam and Allen Payne. I still respect what Tyler Perry is doing, but there's a reason why my favorite movie of his was one without Madea, and that was "Daddy's Little Girls." I thought Idris Elba and Gabrielle Union had the strongest chemistry onscreen since one of my top favorite movies, "Love Jones," with actors Larenz Tate and Nia Long. I think Tyler Perry is fantastic because he can bring intelligent roles to actors who go unnoticed in Hollywood.

But Madea needs to take her and her strapped pistol purse back to jail and stay there, so we can get more great movies that have folks flocking to the theaters. I'd give "Tyler Perry's 'I Can Do Bad All By Myself'" 3 out of 5 stars solely because Madea was in too many scenes and distracted the audience from the film. But Taraji Henson and Adam Rodriguez kept me from leaving the theater.