Last week, our N’Crew attended an exclusive pre-screening of Tyler Perry’s new war drama, The Six Triple Eight. Popcorn trailed across the movie theater floor, excited fans took selfies, and applause rang throughout the film. Yes, throughout the film. Along with this special pre-screening, our N’Crew received a free copy of Think You’ll Be Happy by Nicole Avant, one of the producers of the film also known as the former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas.
In all honesty, our expectations for The Six Triple Eight weren’t high considering our pre-screening even of Perry’s recent film, Mea Culpa, left us unimpressed. This time, Perry delivered. Here’s our official N’Review of The Six Triple Eight.
17 million parcels of crumpled, drenched and torn mail. Only six months to return them to their rightful owners, sporadically traveling throughout the world. Owners who could be dead. Owners who haven’t heard from their families in years. American soldiers. The Second World War.
Madea series director Tyler Perry, in a pleasant surprise, brings this historic scene to life in his newest film, The Six Triple Eight. The war drama follows the true story of the only majority-Black, women of color-lead (three Hispanic soldiers), all-female battalion to serve overseas during WWII.
Narrating the true experiences of Major Charity Adams (Kerry Washington) and Private Lena King (Ebony Obsidian), The Six Triple Eight follows the last few months of WWII, detailing how the 6888 women successfully restored ambition to low-morale American soldiers through speedy, savvy and innovative re-routing and management of millions of undelivered letters in the U.S.
The film zeroes in on Private Lena King, a real-life member of the battalion who served as the primary source of information for the film. King passed away earlier this year at 100 and brought to life the film through her amazing vault of memories from over 70 years ago.
Relying on her and other narrations from the few surviving members of the 6888, Perry’s thoughtfulness shines through his newest film. It makes up for some of his worst movies released to date and this year, Mea Culpa and Divorce in Black,both cheesy soap opera thrillers with eye-rolling plots.
Perry’s downward spiral into 18% and more baffling, 0% Rotten Tomato score films nearly marked the end of his career as a talented director. This surprisingly bold turn from comedy and poorly made thrillers was a smart and well-executed move on Perry’s part. Certainly met with some lingering soap opera writing and imperfect acting, The Six Triple Eight has solid ground to stand on.
Co-lead actress Kerry Washington carries a lot of the movie’s success, with impeccable, fervent and badass acting. Each monologue she delivers as a scorned Black major hits hard and each clap back at the white patriarchy she encounters hits harder. The fact that much of her lines are real accounts shared by Lena makes it all the more satisfying.
While Major Adams’ backstory is a bit underdeveloped, the resilience of her leadership and anecdotes with Lena suffice for much of it. Audiences never know why she joined the army and how she was able to rise to the rank of Major despite the piggish sexism and racism evident throughout the film.
Lena, on the other hand, has a more developed character arc, as expected, as she was there behind the scenes to bring depth to her on-screen character. Her narration begins with the origin of her passion for joining the army, revealing a short-lived romance with her best friend, a Jewish man named Abram (Gregg Sulkin) who vows to marry her after he returns from war.
After some narration on the ethnic tension between Abram’s circle of white friends and Lena’s protective mother and lax grandmother, audiences get a sweet “awe” moment of interracial love before it is cut short by Abram’s death resulting from being shot down while flying in the war.
Sulkin, a British actor known for his playing Selena Gomez’s on-screen boyfriend on the Disney show Wizards of Waverly Place, isn’t the best fit for portraying Abram. While the actor is certainly eye candy, his line delivery feels forced and cheesy with no nuance. Though his love for Lena defies racial boundaries, it moves from 0 to 100 quickly. The two begin as crushing best friends to practically engaged true loves within a few days.
Perhaps Lena and Abram did move at that pace in real life, but the fluffy execution of their acting makes their romance less meaningful and more so a plot tool. When Lena finds out Abram has died, her tears are crocodile and Obsidian seems to struggle with portraying believable distress and grief throughout the film.
Additionally, Perry adds tidbits where Abram floods Lena’s imagination, appearing as a motivational guide through rough boot camps. He visits her in her imagination while she is seasick on her way to Europe, holding her tenderly. Such moments add depth to Lena’s experience, but are once again delivered in a cheesy manner that has Sulkin’s acting voice sounding like a carnival worker saying, “Step right up!”.
Nonetheless, Perry provides a satisfying balance between showcasing Major Adams’ adversity and Lena’s journey through grief. Along the way are archetypal and endearing soldiers and friends of Lena like Johnnie Mae (Shanice Williams), the funny and out-of-pocket sassy pants and Dolores (Sarah Jeffrey), her calm and level-headed friend. The sisterhood between the soldiers and solidarity against racism adds more character to the film, especially given Johnnie Mae was another real-life soldier.
Perry is known for adding plot holes and unfinished narratives in his films, but for The Six Triple Eight, it works, mostly because it is based on truth. Lena meets her future husband while serving and grapples with her interest in him and loyalty to Abram. She receives closure and “finds Abram” again while serving overseas and earns the respect of Major Adams through her strategic problem-solving during the mail crisis.
Major Adams’ victory comes when she proves her white superiors and male colleagues wrong, demonstrating how much of an intelligent and capable asset she and her women are to the war. She earns their salutes and speaks up for herself, leaving audiences whistling and clapping in the theatres.
All in all, Perry’s experimentation with drama is successful in The Six Triple Eight.
While the acting in The Six Triple Eight is sometimes flat and cheesy with fast narration, the structure of character development and growth is balanced between Major Adams and Lena, leaving audiences with satisfaction at the end of the film. Out of five stars, it sits at a 3.8.
The Six Triple Eight comes out in select theaters on December 6 and will be available for streaming on Netflix on December 20.
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