Tyler Perry has entertained audiences for years now with many film and television programs one of which is House of Payne and Volume Six of the popular show is now out on DVD. The series airs on the cable channel TBS and is sort of a cross between The Honeymooners and Family Matters. The show is the brainchild of Perry and has been on TV since 2007. It is currently in its seventh season.
House of Payne revolves around a middle-class African-American family that lives in a suburban part of Atlanta, Georgia. The family consists of many multi-generational members. They include patriarch Curtis Payne (LaVan Davis), a grumpy overweight fire chief who mirrors Ralph Kramden. The matriarch Ella (Cassi Davis) is more down to earth and caring and is the perfect yin to Curtis’ yang.
There’s C.J. (Allen Payne), Curtis and Ella’s nephew who also works in the firehouse. He is married to Janine (Demetria McKinney). Together they have four children Malik, Jazmine and baby twins Hayden and Jayden. Other family members include Calvin (Lance Gross), Curtis and Ella’s son who is a partner at a barbershop and is in a troubled marriage with wife Miranda (Keshia Knight Pulliam).
Other characters include Flloyd Jackson (Palmer Williams, Jr.) who owns the barbershop that Calvin is a partner of. He is narcissistic and often makes sarcastic remarks. The barbershop is also where a few other characters work such as Kiki (Bobbi Baker), a fearless barber who often speaks her mind. There’s Dana Carter (Denyce Lawton), an oblivious manicurist who is half-African-American/Korean and there’s Zack (Gary Owen), a likable barber who serves as the show’s token white guy. Also part of the show, are the Hernandez’s, a Hispanic family that adds some humor and drama to the program.
Tyler Perry’s House of Payne: Volume Six includes 24 episodes that feature the Payne’s going through the good and the bad. The first two episodes deal with Janine going through labor and eventually having her twin babies Hayden and Jayden. She then goes through postpartum depression and this worries everyone. Other issues that come up in the episodes involve newlyweds Calvin and Miranda. The bulk of the DVDs concern their strained marriage, moving into a new apartment, lying and keeping secrets from one another, one of which involves Calvin cheating on Miranda.
Other issues that arise in the episodes include sexual transmitted diseases. Malik’s friend Kevin catches syphilis from a promiscuous girl and due to a misunderstanding, the Payne’s suspect Malik of having the disease. Stereotyping also becomes the primary focus of one episode when the Payne’s are invited to the Hernandez’s for one night for dinner. Curtis arrives wearing a poncho and a sombrero and the head of the Hernandez household tells the Payne’s he has prepared fried chicken, collard greens and watermelon. This then leads to a major culture clash.
The rest of the episodes deal with Curtis and Ella trying to lose weight, one of the Hernandez’s applying for U.S. citizenship, drug dealing, young love between Malik and one of the Hernandez girls, drinking, fighting, working, HIV, budget cuts and home renovation.
Tyler Perry’s House of Payne is a typical laugh track family sitcom. It doesn’t tread new territory or shed light on any revolutionary topics. Basically if you grew up in the late 80s through the 90s, you saw very similar subject matter and themes brought up in The Cosby Show, Full House, Family Matters and so on. Tyler Perry means well by regurgitating the material from those classic shows but it sadly comes off as lame and uninspired.
If you want to watch a sitcom that’s funny and original, I suggest you pick up a DVD of one of the shows I mentioned above because Tyler Perry’s House of Payne is not very good. The acting is pathetic and the writing is lame. I can’t think of any good reason to own this on DVD. Please do yourself a favor and skip this one. If you see it on TV, change the channel quick because watching this show is truly, truly painful.
DVD Bonus Features
The bonus features for Tyler Perry’s House of Payne: Volume Six contain two trailers and that’s it.
"Tyler Perry’s House of Payne: Volume Six" is on sale February 8, 2011 and is not rated. Comedy, Drama, Television. Written and directed by Tyler Perry. Starring Allen Payne, Bobbi Baker, Cassi Davis, Demetria McKinney, Denyce Lawton, Gary Owen, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Lance Gross, Larramie Doc Shaw, LaVan Davis, Palmer Williams Jr.
