The Stream: Now you know Tyler Perry’s good for some plot holes and for being longwinded.

The Big Screen: A nice twist and a very heartfelt story.

The Final Bill: Tyler Perry and Taraji entertain again with the ridiculousness, the crazy and the heartbreaking.

– S2S: Movie Review
Director: Tyler Perry
Writers: Tyler Perry
Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Sinbad, Glynn Turman
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Rating: TV-MA – language
Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes
Production Companies: Tyler Perry Studios
Platform: Netflix released June 6, 2025
Coming soon to Netflix: The Old Guard 2, Ziam, Brick, Madea’s Destination Wedding, Happy Gilmore 2

Streamers, we’ve struck Tyler Perry time once again. This weekend the man who never sleeps or edits is at it again with another one, Tyler Perry’s Straw. In his latest, Taraji P. Henson stars as Janiyah, a struggling single mother, who works two jobs to support herself and her ailing daughter. We follow Janiyah on one of her worst days as she encounters an escalating series of events that would break anybody. Unfortunately, as the calamities mount, Janiyah gets caught up in a dangerous situation that will impact her life and her ability to care for her daughter. Taraji-on-11 hijinks ensue.

Despite the quality of the end product, Tyler Perry movies are invariably entertaining. The man struggles with details, dialogue, and continuity in his storytelling; but, he knows how to grab the audience’s attention whether good or bad. In Tyler Perry’s Straw, it is mostly for good, so I’ll focus on the positives. Taraji P. Henson came to play. She is giving her all to her performance – tears, sweat and crazy eyes. Yes, her performance is pitched very high from the very beginning of the movie, but she’s able to sustain it and it fits the circumstance. Sherri Shepherd is unexpectedly a bright spot. She perfectly complements Taraji’s performance. Where Taraji borders on hysteria, Sherri has a grounded vulnerability that makes the emotional beats of this movie hit very hard. Taraji and Sherri find the heart of this movie and make it worthwhile. There’s also a clever twist that I thought would derail the movie, but it gives some extra impact to it as a whole. Keep some tissues nearby.

In my opinion, the good of this movie is so good that it outweighs the bad, even though the bad list is way longer. For instance, Tyler Perry wouldn’t know subtlety if it knocked him upside the head. The first 30 minutes of this movie seems like a horror movie. Everything that could go wrong all goes wrong at one. Really? I know people have bad days, but DANG!!!! Also, what’s up with Teyana Taylor’s wig. Is this lady a police detective? Is she going to work looking like this? For real, y’all? The situation with the police and most of their actions make no sense. The dialogue they are given doesn’t help matters. There are scenes that somehow take place during bright daylight and in the dark of night!?!?! Did no one realize that the timing of the story is not consistent? It’s truly maddening, especially when the emotion of this movie hits so hard. I’m giving you a pass this time, Tyler Perry, but you’re still on… my… list!

Now, you already know Tyler Perry’s Straw is a bowl a popcorn. If Tyler Perry only knows how to do one thing well, it is to make an entertaining movie. Straw has its issues; and, if you actually start dissecting the movie, you’ll either go cross-eyed or over a reality cliff. Somehow none of that matters when this movie is packed with a leading lady going for broke, an intensely heartbreaking story, and a bona fide twist. So, No! It’s not the best movie ever made but, definitely, check out this guilty pleasure on Netflix.