The Family That Preys

About The Family That Preys

The Family That Preys is a 2008 comedy-drama film written and directed by Tyler Perry, who also co-produced and co-stars. The film starring Alfre Woodard, Kathy Bates, Sanaa Lathan. The film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA and was released on September 12, 2008. The film focuses on "two families from different sides of the tracks that become intimately involved in love and business".

Wealthy socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) and her dear friend Alice Pratt (Alfre Woodard), a working class woman of high ideals, have enjoyed a lasting friendship throughout many years. They set out on a cross country road trip to experience life while they leave their love ones behind to continue their lives. Suddenly, their lives become mired in turmoil as their adult children’s extramarital affairs, unethical business practices and a dark paternity secret threaten to derail family fortunes and unravel the lives of all involved. Alice’s self-centered newlywed daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan) is betraying her trusting husband Chris (Rockmond Dunbar) by engaging in an affair with her boss William (Cole Hauser), the son of her mother’s best friend. While cheating on his wife Jillian (Kadee Strickland) with a string of ongoing dalliances with his mistress Andrea, William’s true focus is to replace the COO , Abigail "Abby" Dexter (Robin Givens), of his mother’s lucrative construction corporation. Meanwhile, Alice’s other daughter Pam (Taraji P. Henson), a kind but no nonsense woman married to a hard working construction worker, Ben (Tyler Perry), tries to steer the family in a more positive direction.

Although director Tyler Perry sought to maintain some of the comedy in the style of his films featuring Mable "Madea" Simmons, an outspoken and over-the-top elderly woman played by Perry himself, The Family That Preys also marked an attempt by Perry to reach a wider audience. During filming, the largely-female cast said Perry treated them with great care and respect; lead actress Alfre Woodard said Tyler "kept everybody feeling like (each was) the apple of his eye," and added, "I had fresh flowers in my trailer and in my hotel room every three days."