What's Done in the Dark – DVD Review

Tyler Perry’s latest play to hit DVD is more of the same.

Tyler Perry started his multimedia empire with each theatrical plays. On the stage is where he gained an audience and a name for himself. From the very beginning, Perry has been a quadruple threat in his plays. Not only has he written, directed, and produced all of them, but he has also starred in most of them as either his infamous character “Madea” or some other character. But when you take Madea completely out of one of Perry’s plays, like his latest What’s Done in the Dark, can it still be just as funny? Well that’s where the character of Leroy Brown takes his cue and enters stage left.

What’s Done in the Dark centers on three nurses working at a local county hospital. Kerry Johnson (Shawna Vinson) is having an affair with Dr. Bowman (Terrell Carter), the chief of staff. She doesn’t know that he’s keeping a secret of his own. Brenda Rhoads (Chandra Currelly) is a single mom raising basketball prodigy, Calvin Rhoads Jr. (Ahmad Jamal McGhee). Their lack of money forces the boy into a dangerous position. In the meantime, crazy RN Trudy (D’Atra Hicks) is trying to get a hook-up with available M.D., Dr. Harris (Christian Keyes). Unfortunately, she can’t figure out the right approach. Then along comes Leroy Brown (David Mann) into their lives, escorted by his favorite daughter Cora (Tamela Mann) after Mr. Brown faints at the airport. We learn that Mr. Brown is an eccentric hypochondriac who seizes on any excuse see a physician.

Madea Simmons is no doubt the scene stealer in most every play she appears in. She’s the gun-toting, pot-smoking matriarch that has caused many of the laughs found in Perry’s previous plays. Some may think that without this character What’s Done in the Dark may be less funny. That’s not entirely true, though, as most hardcore Tyler Perry fans know that Leroy Brown is equally capable of stealing scenes and taking over as the main comic relief in this play. However, he’s not alone in this aspect of this play. The underrated character of Trudy played D’Atra Hicks has her own scene-stealing moments as well. Of course, Tamela Mann is there again as Leroy’s reliable and outstanding “sidekick” so to speak. The rest of the cast of this play is a combination of Tyler Perry regulars and some newcomers, but there is one thing that Perry knows how to do right and that’s cast people into roles that are believable.

Despite the lack of Madea, there are still many trademarks found in What’s Done in the Dark that have appeared in most every other Tyler Perry work. There is singing, lots of singing. There is dramatics, lots of dramatics. There is plenty of preaching, lots of preaching. The message of this play is also very clear and similar to past plays in that if you stay true to yourself and have faith in God, everything will work out fine.

The main negative of this play is that there is nothing new here. Fans of previous Tyler Perry plays will enjoy What’s Done in the Dark just as much. For those you didn’t like Perry’s previous plays, you already had your mind set before and nothing in this play will change it.

The video is given in 1.33:1 fullscreen color. It’s a fairly decent transfer from stage to DVD, but some will find this presentation frustrating since there numerous close ups throughout the play. No real problems, though, as this is a new play so there little wear and tear here.

The audio included is available in either English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound, or Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. There are subtitles available in English and Spanish as well. The music and dialogue come out loud and clear, so no major problems here either.

“Mr. Brown Goes Shopping” Featurette – This is a 13 minute featurette with David Mann, as Mr. Brown, and Tamela Mann, as Cora, shopping at a thrift store. This is a little weird since they are in a real thrift store with real people, but they are in full fantasy character mode here. But if you like the character of Mr. Brown you will probably enjoy this. He is at his manic best.

“Mr. Brown Introduces the Cast” Featurette – This is a 27 minute feauturette that basically acts as your “behind-the-scenes” or “making of” featurette. David Mann, as Mr. Brown, leads you around the set of this play, introducing the viewers to the main actors in the play and talking about the characters they play. This really drags on a little too much, but it’s worth it to catch the end of this featurette. At the end, we get to see the real David Mann for the first time. He talks to Mr. Brown in an interesting conversation, but it pretty insightful. So at least fast-forward until the end of this featurette to check that out. Otherwise, if you like Mr. Brown you will enjoy this.

What’s Done in the Dark is similar to other Tyler Perry plays. Madea is not in this one, but there still an equal mix of comedy, drama, and message. Fans of Tyler Perry will no doubt want to add this to their collection. Non-fans will not find anything groundbreaking to change their mind about Perry’s work. So it’s really all or nothing here. If you are new to Perry, then rent it to see what side of the fence you fall onto.

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Lions Gate Home Entertainment presents Tyler Perry’s What’s Done in the Dark. Directed by Tyler Perry. Starring David Mann, Christian Keyes, Tamela Mann, D’Atra Hicks, Chandra Currelley, Terrell Carter, Ryan Gentles, Latrice Pace, and Shawna Vinson. Running time: 140 minutes. Not rated. Released on DVD: February 12, 2008. Available at Amazon.com