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Netflix adds Tyler Perry's new movie — and it has vibes of a brilliant Denzel Washington thriller

Netflix adds Tyler Perry's new movie — and it has vibes of a brilliant Denzel Washington thriller

Yahoo06-06-2025
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Since partnering up with Netflix, mega producer/writer/director/actor Tyler Perry has really been cranking out the hits for his fanbase, which includes the recent Beauty in Black, She the People and The Six Triple Eight. Joining the ranks as of today, June 6, is the new heart-wrenching drama, Straw. And judging by the movie's premise, this is a movie I have to add to my must-watch list, as it sounds similar to one of my favorite Denzel Washington movies.
Straw sees Perry team up with another member of Hollywood royalty, Taraji P. Henson, making this the fourth time the duo has partnered up on the big screen, following I Can Do Bad All By Myself, The Family that Preys and Acrimony.
In the movie (a story written and directed by Perry), Henson plays Janiyah, a struggling single mother who's at her wits' end trying to care for her child. Netflix teases: "A single mother's world unravels in chaos as her day goes from bad to worse to catastrophic as she struggles to care for her ill daughter. Pushed to the brink by a world that seems indifferent to her existence, she's forced to confront impossible choices in a society that offers her no safety net."
Now, in terms of the Denzel Washington factor in my excitement for Straw, the Tyler Perry film's premise and trailer remind me of Washington's John Q (2002).
In John Q, Washington plays a desperate father who, after being told his son couldn't get a much-needed heart transplant because his family couldn't afford it, walks into a hospital with a gun, demanding doctors and nurses save his son's life. From beginning to end, the movie is a tearjerker, but it's incredibly riveting to see the lengths a parent will go to in order to save their child. If you want to watch John Q. before or after Straw, it's now streaming on Prime Video.
Beyond the premise, I'm also excited to watch the performances from some talented stars, in addition to Henson. It should prove rather interesting to see Glynn Turman and Sinbad reunite on screen since their days starring together on A Different World. Turman in particular, has proven to be a solid dramatic actor in recent years, appearing in things like Rustin, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Queen Sugar. I'm also excited to see Teyana Taylor, as her rise in Hollywood continues, recently being spotted in A Thousand and One and The Book of Clarence.
Again, Straw is now streaming on Netflix in the US and UK. If you're interested in watching, you'll need a subscription to the streaming service.
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