Ntozake Shange's stage play used a series of poems, told in a bracingly bare spoken word format by women, black women, identified by the colors of the rainbow, who endured the abuses of life, the daily trials and tribulations. Unfortunately, an able cast is let down in Tyler Perry's film adaptation via his inability to frame things in any way outside his rudimentary narrative boxes. Grade: D-plus.  

Neil LaBute remakes the zany British comedy of errors during a time of mourning, setting it in the cultural milieu of African-American suburban dwellers in Los Angeles and featuring a who's who of black comedians (Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Kevin Hart and Tracy Morgan) as well as comedic performers like Luke Wilson and Loretta Devine. This remix keeps the melody and the arrangement largely intact with similarly rowdy results. Grade: B-plus.