| Daddy's Little Girls | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tyler Perry |
| Written by | Tyler Perry |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Toyomichi Kurita |
| Edited by | Maysie Hoy |
| Music by | Brian McKnight |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release date |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million |
| Box office | $31.6 million |
Daddy's Little Girls is a 2007 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Tyler Perry and produced by Perry and Reuben Cannon. The film stars Idris Elba, Gabrielle Union, Louis Gossett Jr., and Tracee Ellis Ross. It tells the story of a lawyer who helps a mechanic in a custody battle against his mean-spirited ex-wife over who will get custody of their daughters.
Daddy's Little Girls was released on February 14, 2007 by Lions Gate Entertainment. This is the first of six films directed by Perry that he does not appear in (the other five being Acrimony, For Colored Girls, Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, Nobody's Fool and A Jazzman's Blues) as well as the first of Perry's films to not be based on any of the filmmaker's stage plays.
Plot
In Edgewood, Atlanta, Monty James (Idris Elba) is a mechanic who dreams of owning his own shop. His three daughters, Sierra (Sierra McClain), Lauryn (Lauryn McClain), and China (China Anne McClain) live with their maternal grandmother Kat (Juanita Jennings), but Monty visits regularly and provides financial support. Before her death from lung cancer, Kat asks Monty to take custody of them since her daughter/Monty's ex-wife Jennifer (Tasha Smith) has no interest in the girls, caring more about her live-in boyfriend Joe (Gary Anthony Sturgis), the main drug dealer in the neighborhood who people are afraid of testifying against, knowing he'll have them killed if they did so.
Following Kat's funeral, Jennifer arrives with Joe and his thugs, upset that no one notified her of her mother’s death. She tries to physically take the girls from Monty, but her aunt Rita (Cassi Davis) steps in. She leaves, telling Monty that she intends to seek full custody of the girls.
In an effort to earn extra money, Monty accepts a job as a driver for attorney Julia Rossmore (Gabrielle Union) at the recommendation of his next-door neighbor Maya (Malinda Williams). When Monty and Julia meet, she insists they refrain from fraternizing and keep a strict schedule. Monty has to work later than expected one night after Julia’s friends Brenda (Terri J. Vaughn) and Cynthia (Tracee Ellis Ross) set her up on a blind date with Byron (Craig Robinson) who turns out to be an unemployed and obnoxious aspiring rapper. While driving her home, Monty receives a call that his children were involved in a house fire, so he immediately heads to the hospital without telling Julia, who fires him.
When Monty arrives at the hospital, it is revealed that Sierra accidentally started a fire and that the girls were home alone with no adult supervision until Maya rescued them. Julia follows Monty into the hospital to demand she be driven home as the Social Services representative Laurie Bell (Donna Biscoe) grants immediate temporary custody to Jennifer, setting a date for a custody hearing. Monty drives Julia home and they part ways. Julia hires a replacement driver and Monty returns to work as a mechanic. Meanwhile, the girls face constant abuse and neglect from Joe and Jennifer.
Monty is called to Sierra's school after she is caught with drugs. In a meeting with the principal, Sierra explains that Joe and Jennifer are forcing her to sell drugs under the threat of hurting Monty if she refused. Jennifer and Joe arrive, the latter threatening Monty. Aware that Joe can afford a high-power attorney for the custody hearing, Monty goes to Julia for help, but she knows that he cannot afford her and turns him away, assuming he only wants the girls to get government assistance. Feeling insulted, Monty leaves after telling Julia to get a life and a man.
Julia goes on another blind date with the attorney Christopher (Brian J. White), who she thinks is perfect for her until his wife and kids expose him. On the day of Monty’s custody hearing, Julia is leaving a different courtroom and overhears Monty’s failing attempt to represent himself. After listening to Monty try to inform the judge that the girls are living with a drug dealer, she steps in as his attorney and is able to get the hearing delayed. Julia agrees to represent him provided that case preparation occurs after office hours. Later, while preparing for the hearing, Julia asks Monty if there is anything bad she should know about him so that she is not surprised in court. They are interrupted by a phone call and the question goes unanswered.
Upon discovering it's her birthday and that Julia has no plans, Monty takes her to the jazz club in his neighborhood where they drink with his friends and dance. Julia kisses Monty and asks him to spend the night. Monty obliges, but a drunken Julia vomiting in the bathroom changes her mind and tells him to go home.
Over the next few weeks, Monty and Julia develop romantic feelings for each other. Monty invites her to meet his daughters at his apartment during his visitation. She continues to spend time with Monty and his girls and they take a trip to the aquarium. Julia runs into Brenda, who met Monty before and figures out that they are now a couple. Brenda pulls Julia to the side and berates her, stating that he is beneath her status. Monty overhears Julia’s friend and is hurt. She later opens up to Monty and tearfully tells him about her last relationship that ended in betrayal. Monty promises that he won’t betray her and they continue dating.
After being injured in a robbery, Monty's boss Willie decides to retire and offers to sell the shop to Monty for a $10,000 deposit that can be paid on a payment schedule. Monty accepts his offer.
At the child custody hearing, Julia argues that it would be in the children's best interest for Monty to be awarded custody and provides the court with a written statement from Kat stating the same. Jennifer's lawyer counters by claiming that Monty is not suitable to raise the girls due to a conviction of statutory rape that occurred 16 years prior. Julia feels betrayed because Monty never told her, so she stops representing him and leaves. Julia is later comforted by her friends.
At 3:00 am, Monty's daughters arrive at his house and inform him that Joe has been hitting them, showing bruises on China's back. While his daughters are asleep, a livid Monty flashes back to his arrest. He drives off, crashes into Jennifer and Joe's car, and mercilessly beats the latter as punishment, waking up the rest of the neighborhood. As Joe's thugs arrive and attack Monty, his neighbors rush to his defense and fight Joe's thugs. Julia sees a news report about the incident, and learns that Monty was wrongfully convicted of the rape charges. Upon hearing this, Julia rushes to help Monty.
Jennifer and Joe face drug charges, as law enforcement used the incident to search Joe's car and house. All of the neighbors decide to testify against Jennifer, Joe, and his thugs, so the judge has them to taken into custody with no bond. Monty is then charged for attacking Joe, but Julia walks in to represent him, apologizing for not hearing his side of the story. The witnesses refuse to testify against Monty, so the judge dismisses the case. Monty tells Julia that he loves her.
Monty's daughters greet him and Julia at the auto shop, now owned by him. The rest of the neighborhood celebrates that he has full custody of his daughters and Jennifer, Joe, and his gang have finally been locked away.
Cast
- Idris Elba as Monty James, a loving, hard-working mechanic with three daughters who dreams of owning his own garage
- Aaron Momon as young Monty James
- Gabrielle Union as Julia Rossmore, Monty's lawyer and love interest, who struggles to find a decent boyfriend
- Louis Gossett Jr. as Willie, Monty's elderly boss, best friend, and mechanic
- Tracee Ellis Ross as Cynthia, Julia's colleague and friend who sets Julia up on blind dates
- Tasha Smith as Jennifer Jackson, Monty's selfish, drug-dealing ex-wife who is bent on getting custody of their three daughters
- Malinda Williams as Maya, Monty's next-door neighbor and Julia's personal assistant
- Terri J. Vaughn as Brenda, Julia's lawyer friend who despises Monty
- Gary Sturgis as Joe, Jennifer's gangster boyfriend and drug dealer who has the neighborhood in fear
- Cassi Davis as Rita, Jennifer's aunt and one of Monty's neighbors
- Sierra Aylina McClain as Sierra James, Monty's oldest daughter
- Lauryn Alisa McClain as Lauryn James, Monty's middle daughter
- China Anne McClain as China James, Monty's youngest daughter
- Juanita Jennings as Kat Jackson, Jennifer's mom and Rita's sister who died in the beginning of the film
- LaVan Davis as Lester, a friend of Monty that works in a bar as the lead singer of a band
- Craig Robinson as Byron, a low-classed, loud-mouthed, middle-aged rapper
- Maria Howell as Christopher's wife
- Rochelle Dewberry as Miss Rochelle
- Bob Banks as Mr. Jones
- Donna Biscoe as Laurie Bell, a representative of the Department of Social Services
- Eddie Long as himself
- Leland L. Jones as a district attorney
- Bennet Guillory as Principal
- Joey Nappo as Player #1
- Arvell Poe as Player #2
- Javon Johnson as Brenda's Husband
- Mark Oliver as Jennifer's lawyer
- Dan Albright as a judge that previously oversaw Monty's trial
- Dan Beasley as a family court judge that oversees the custody battle between Monty and Joe
- Greyson Chadwick as Amanda, a girl that Monty was falsely accused of raping
- Ric Reitz as Amanda's father who had Monty arrested for supposedly raping his daughter
- Joan Pringle as a civil court judge that oversees the case against Joe which is dismissed due to lack of witnesses
- E. Roger Mitchell as Joe's criminal lawyer
- Giulia Pagano as a criminal judge that oversees the cases against Monty and Joe, Jennifer, and Joe's thugs following a near-riot in the Edgewood community
- Brian J. White as Christopher (uncredited)
Reception
Box office
The film opened at #5 on Valentine's Day 2007 behind Ghost Rider, Bridge to Terabithia, Norbit's second weekend, and Music and Lyrics,[1] and has grossed $31,609,243 worldwide, making it Tyler Perry's lowest-grossing film.
Critical reaction
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 26% based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Daddy's Little Girls boasts fine performances and a poignant message, but is ultimately let down by amateurish filmmaking."[2] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[3] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Soundtrack
Atlantic Records released Music inspired by the film: Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls, in stores and online on January 16, 2007. Among the highlights of the album is "Family First," the first-ever recording by the Houston Family -- Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, and Cissy Houston. The song "Can't Let You Go" by Anthony Hamilton is not on the soundtrack. Also, the song "Beautiful" by Meshell Ndegeocello is featured in the movie.
- Anthony Hamilton featuring Jaheim and Musiq Soulchild - "Struggle No More (The Main Event)"
- R. Kelly - "Don't Let Go"
- Tamika Scott of "Xscape" - "Greatest Gift"
- Adrian Hood - "Brown Eyed Blues"
- Whitney Houston, Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick and The Family - "Family First"
- Yolanda Adams - "Step Aside"
- Brian McKnight - "I Believe"
- Beyoncé - "Daddy"
- Anthony Hamilton - "Struggle No More"
- Governor - "Blood, Sweat & Tears"
- Charles "Gator" Moore - "A Change Is Gonna Come"
- Wallmart exclusive
12. 3McClainGirls - "Daddy's Girl"
References
External links
- Official website
- Daddy's Little Girls at IMDb
- Daddy's Little Girls at Box Office Mojo
- Daddy's Little Girls at Rotten Tomatoes
