SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

aaronmocksing1987 I saw this movie, but I left it on at night and then the DVD player was busted. So, in essence, I really didn't pay much attention or know what it was about. When I saw the main character's face on the cover, I assumed the man was still angry about his people or something. I mean, when you look at it, what's he so unhappy about? Is he looking at me? You? I'm not sure what is going on. The title says he is pretty tired, but he appears to be rather disappointed.Then again, the woman seems to be rather disappointed with him. I sure hope he was able to provide a nice trip down under or something. That's in this movie right? I guess that's what I get for getting a movie to just mess around with for two hours. Seriously though, the title and the cover is funnier than the movie. It needs to be Photoshopped and put into various things like... An American Tail or something, I dunno.

dagreene1 I stopped channel surfing to watch this movie, thinking, "Finally, a movie that will explore the real issues in Black relationships and Black families." How wrong I was! This documentary is so one-sided and the images of Black women are so stereotypical, it's extremely sad! And the mini-movie that plays between real-life interviews is so comically unrealistic, I felt like I was watching a Tyler Perry play. The main woman is more of a caricature of a woman with undiagnosed Bipolar disorder than an example of a real Black woman. (and apparently, the director has something against Asian women, too, because even they aren't safe.) The men and women who can speak proper English and give valid, unbiased points are few and far between. Most of the people interviewed are embarrassingly ignorant. Most of the men are angry and bitter, themselves. They refer to themselves as the N-word. They refer to women as the B-word. One guy even uses the B-word when talking about his own mother. Another guy actually said "The Child Support system was put in place to cause a great divide between the Black Man and the Black woman." Really? (this statement alone makes it seem as if most Black men would not take care of their kids, and are angry that they're being forced to.) The worse part is that they return to the most ignorant of the bunch and ignore the ones who actually thought before they spoke (instead of just spewing nonsensical rants for 10 minutes.) It's as if the director purposefully focused on those interviewees who were saying things (regardless of how absurd they were) that validated his point of the movie: That most Black men were decent, hardworking, faithful men, and that most Black women were nagging, unhappy, manhood-destroying creatures that pushed them away.This movie was a wasted opportunity to dive into real issues about a really important subject, from all different perspectives. Instead, all it does is further the damaging stereotypes of Black women (and, unintentionally, of Black men as well) and allow the director (a man,with a lot of hurt and baggage) to get revenge on not only his ex-wife, but the rest of Black womanhood. Unfortunately for those of us who are Black (and a couple of other races), all must feel the fury of this (Black) man scorned.

koolkc107 Mr. Alexander's independent film, "Diary of a Tired Black Man" should be required viewing for anyone who might want to improve their current relationships or get insight into things that might improve future ones. Ostensibly, it is about black relationships but when you view it, it will be evident how universally applicable the concepts are. Be warned! This is a film done without the backing of any Hollywood studio whatsoever and realized only through the tenacious efforts of its director as well as actors and actresses who felt the subject matter was vitally important. As such, some of the scenes may come across as a bit raw, but no more so than the early efforts of a Spike Lee in his films "...Bed-Stuy Barbershop" or "She's Gotta Have It". What is important is the message gets through loud and clear and what a message it is! I will not go into specifics, but when the trailers and publicity describe this as a man's answer to films like "Waiting To Exhale" and some Tyler Perry offerings, they are not overstating things. If you are a woman or man who believes the "conversation" on relationships in general and black relationships in particular have been too one-sided, too slanted solely toward male vilification, then this film is a resounding and profound counterpoint. Run, don't walk, to your nearest store to get this. Buy multiple copies because as you view it, I promise you will think of someone in your life that needs to see it. Before I go I need to say something else. It never ceases to amaze me how most detractors from the film try to attack some of the filmed scenes. Here's my reply. Go rent a copy of "El Mariachi" the first film by Robert Rodriguez. It is a great film . . .but the acting is not done by Oscar caliber thespians. As a matter of fact, the leads in DOATBM, Jimmie Jean-Louis and Paula Lema, are actually (in my opinion) much better in their film than the freshman-like actors in Robert's. But even if my opinion would not be universally shared, I find this tactic of going after the actors- and after a film obviously shot with a limited budget (read: absolutely no $)- to be a cop out. It is a way of avoiding the true strength of the film, which is, of course, the feedback given by the men and women in the documentary parts. I believe one reviewing critic had it pegged correctly. To paraphrase: The filmed vignettes serve merely to ask questions; it's the feedback that supply the viewpoints that are the heart of Mr. Alexander's opus. But naysayers virtually all to a man and woman avoid comment on these parts and for good reason- it is hard to criticize truth. Not that everyone commenting is correct, but their replies are largely their honest opinion. And this is conveyed so well in Tim's film that in the final analysis their testimony becomes unassailable. My advice to those who want to pan the film. Try going after the essential truths presented not just by the filmed scenes, but by the back and forth commentary of the men and women in the street. If you can attack and deny their truth, then your gripes about Tim's film might have some merit. But if you cannot- and I suspect this is something that will be beyond most- then you need to watch the film again and ask yourself honestly exactly what about it is truly making you uncomfortable . . .then start your own healing process.

karmella Lately, the conversations around the demise of the black family and black relationships have mostly given a voice to black women. Even more specifically, the focus has been narrowed to a sub-population of women, financially and academically successful black women, as if the rest of the community has no voice and does not matter.Finally, Diary of a Tired Black Man explodes on to the scene to shake the dust off of the trite "good black man shortage" formula and open up the dialog to the entire community. What really caught my attention is how we finally get to hear from black men speaking with black men. No, it's not locker-room talk about sexual escapades. Rather, these men are giving first hand accounts of their struggles within relationships.The film is an entertaining and illuminating collage of street interviews and short vignettes. The vignettes, illustrative autobiographical shorts that highlight the struggles of the film maker's past relationship, bring together the myriad of thoughts, confessions, and accounts of the real people who are interviewed. I found that the theatrical interludes worked well juxtaposed with the impromptu interviews. I gave it one less star than ten because I didn't think that all the the acting was executed as well as it could have been.Diary of a Tired Black Man is an important piece that I'm sure will make an impression on anyone who views it. For the first time, I could see very clearly how: * The notorious "attitude" that many men complain about is actually very common, contrary to my previous belief. * The "attitude" often manifests as misdirected anger and verbal abuse. * The broad generalizations about women that sound unfair to my ears actually come from the hurt that men have experienced in past/ current stressful relationships and family experiences.I gave this film a 7/10 stars because I love the intent and the approach and I believe it's an important project, but the acting was lacking and the accompanying online forum contains a suspicious amount of hype-generation/ hoaxing from fictitious writers.