Playwright/director Tyler Perry has carved out his own show business niche as the preeminent chronicler of middle-class black American life. In House of Payne, Perry adapts and updates well-worn sitcom tropes while also injecting his own signature flourishes. The series opens with fireman Curtis “Pops” Payne (LaVan Davis) and his wife Ella's (Cassi Davis) lives disrupted when their nephew C.J. (Allen Payne) and his family moves in after losing their own house in a fire. With three generations of Paynes under one roof, chaos—not surprisingly—quickly ensues. Unfortunately, the characters are thinly drawn and the show uneasily mixes lame humor with “reality,” resulting in some cringe-inducing subplots, such as the revelation of C.J.'s wife Janine's (Demetria McKinney) drug abuse (crack-heads being not particularly funny). This boxed set includes 20 episodes from 2006-07 on three discs, along with a behind-the-scenes featurette. Not a necessary purchase. (E. Hulse)
Tyler Perry's House of Payne: Volume One
Lionsgate, 3 discs, 440 min., not rated, DVD: $39.98 April 14, 2008
Tyler Perry's House of Payne: Volume One
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