LaVan Davis Movies

Diary of a Mad Black Woman mastermind Tyler Perry turns the familiar Cinderella tale on its head with this story concerning a successful female attorney who falls in love with a financially strapped mechanic. Monty (Idris Elba) is struggling mechanic and single father of three from a poor neighborhood. Upon learning that custody of his beloved daughters has been awarded to his morally bankrupt, drug-dealing ex-wife Jennifer (Tasha Smith), desperate Monty enlists the aid of beautiful Ivy league-educated lawyer Julia (Gabrielle Union) -- whom he recently met during his brief stint as a chauffeur -- in ensuring that his daughters remain with him in a stable and loving environment. Despite the vast social and economical differences that divide them, Monty and Julia soon begin to find themselves unexpectedly falling in love with one another as they work together to save Monty's daughters from a life of crime and corruption. Now, in order to reconcile their blossoming romance and overcome the forces that threaten to destroy the only thing that Monty holds dear, the concerned father and powerful lawyer will have to bridge the gap that divides them by coming together to prove that true love really does have the power to prevail. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Prolific playwright Tyler Perry adapts his popular stage play of the same name in this family-oriented comedy concerning a desperate mother who connects with the family she never knew. Brenda is a single Chicago mother of three who has been struggling for years to keep her kids off of the streets. Suddenly let go from her job with no warning to speak of, the eternally optimistic mother begins to experience a suffocating sense of hopelessness for the very first time in her life. When Brenda receives a death notice claiming that the father she has never met has passed away, she quickly gathers up the kids and sets out for Georgia to attend the funeral. Upon arriving in the Deep South, the once fretful mother is pleasantly surprised to discover that there is a whole side of the family she never knew existed. A crass but good-natured clan that welcomes Brenda and her children with open arms, the Browns' lazy summer afternoons and frequent trips to the county fair offer a much-needed contrast to the stress of surviving in inner city Chicago. Writer/director/actor Perry reprises his role as indomitable, law-breaking grandmother Madea in a comedy that proves sometimes second chances come when you least expect it. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide