Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz have done a fine job of doing Tyler Perry’s real-life story justice.
Actor, filmmaker, studio head, and media titan, Tyler Perry is America’s consummate multihyphenate. But underneath this entertainment behemoth is a man working humbly to heal his childhood trauma by transforming his pain into promise.Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story, a nod to his mother’s love, is a tender and intimate portrait of visionary and innovator Tyler Perry and his harrowing-but-faithful road to the top of an industry that didn’t always include him. Nearly a decade in the making, with unfettered access, directors Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz lead us into the inner world of a man whose story has never fully been told, as he becomes a father and a media mogul with a mission to pave his own road to the top. The product is a profound lesson on remembering where you came from to know where you want to go.