The harrowing story depicted in Tyler Perry’s “Straw” is one that Teyana Taylor and Taraji P. Henson both know all too well.
In the psychological drama, Henson plays Janiyah, a struggling single mother who runs into a myriad of problems while trying to care for her sick daughter. After waking up on what turns out to be the worst day of her life, Janiyah encounters a series of unfortunate events, which ultimately pushes her to her breaking point.
The film, which explores themes like resilience and injustice in the Black community, is poetically narrated through the eyes of Janiyah, a poor, frazzled mom-of-one who tries to keep her cool amid the harsh outcomes of the day. Though it may seem like she has no one on her side, Janiyah finds a friend and advocate in Detective Raymond (Taylor), who empathizes with her plight and makes her feel heard.
Speaking to TODAY.com about the movie, Henson said she could easily resonate with Janiyah’s story because she knows what it’s like to be a single mom and have the odds stacked against her.
“I moved to California with my son on my hip and $700, so I know how it feels like to have the world on your shoulders, trying to take care of yourself and another human and raise them to be a contribution to society,” Henson says. “It’s tough. It’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”
We already know that Black women are the least protected.
Taylor, who is a proud mom of two kids, Junie, 9, and Rue, 4, agrees, adding that moms are “sheros for their children.”
“We’ll do anything for them, rich, poor, it doesn’t matter,” she says. “There’s nothing like a mother’s love.”
Taylor shares her kids with her ex-husband, Iman Shumpert, and Henson is also a proud mom to her 31-year-old son, Marcell, whom she shares with a late partner.
The “Fade” dancer notes that there’s plenty of takeaways in “Straw,” such as having more “grace, compassion and empathy” for others.
“We need to continue to pour into one another and help one another,” she says.
Taylor’s comments are a nod to Janiyah’s ongoing struggles and current predicament, which are met with harsh criticism by those who don’t understand her painful plight. This includes a sharp rebuttal by an old veteran who feels like the poor mom simply wasn’t working hard enough to make ends meet.
The veteran, like many others, whom she encounters that day, isn’t aware that Janiyah, who holds two jobs and has been supporting her child without the help of her family or the child’s father, is doing all she can to keep it together.
However, Janiyah finally receives some much-needed support from a bank manager named Nicole (Sherri Shepherd) and Detective Raymond, both of whom try to de-escalate a bank standoff that happens when Janiyah pulls out a gun in an effort to cash her last check for her daughter.
Amid the unravelling of her day, Janiyah tells Nicole that she appreciates her for not leaving her when things got tough.
“(Janiyah) was a woman who felt unseen and unheard. These stories are important because those people exist and they need to see themselves and to know that they’re not alone.”
taraji p. henson
Taylor says the film is a great example of how people should show up for one another, especially Black women.
“This movie shows sisterhood,” the “Made It” singer tells TODAY.com.
“It also goes to show that you never know what people are going through, no matter what hat you wear, what outfit you wear, where you are in life. We’re all mothers and we’re all Black women, and we already know that Black women are the least protected. So I think this movie displayed Black women showing up for Black women, which was dope,” she says.
“Straw” is the latest film that’s written and directed by Tyler Perry. The “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” creator has worked with Taylor and Henson on past projects and though he’s often praised for his personal support of Black women, the director has received some flack over the years for making movies and TV shows that some argue often depict Black women in a negative light.
While most commenters on the trailer for “Straw” applauded Perry for his latest project, with some saying Henson “deserves an Oscar” for her riveting performance, others online said Janiyah’s story felt eerily similar to Perry’s past projects.
“Once again Tyler Perry repeats his formulaic over-used “female black lead goes through hell and back” plot with straw,” one fan wrote on X.
A second viewer agreed, but pointed out that “Straw” did have it’s notable differences. “You might think it’s your typical Tyler Perry’s black struggling single mother kind of movie, yeah you are partially right, but you are not going to see the end coming at all,” the person wrote on X.
Another fan weighed in on X with similar sentiments, writing, “Tyler Perry needs to stop making black women suffer in his movies that being said Straw was amazing, 10/10 great movie Im never watching it again.”
Still, Henson appears to have no qualms about playing the broken Janiyah. She tells TODAY.com that she got “very emotional” when she read the script because it felt like Perry was “giving a voice to the voiceless.”
“She was a woman who felt unseen and unheard. These stories are important because those people exist and they need to see themselves and to know that they’re not alone,” Henson says, adding that she loves how much Perry “challenges” her as an actor.
As for Taylor, she says that she also doesn’t have an issue with Perry’s work. If anything, the criticism he receives just shows her that you’ll always be “damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”
“That’s his art. Let him display his art,” she says. “…People know their fan base, so whatever is still keeping these movies alive, baby, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Taylor adds that the people who are making these critiques tend to be the ones who are “online bored” and can’t understand the significance of the movie.
“There are people who feel like, ‘Wow, they’re displaying what women go through.’ If anything, it brings more empathy and more compassion,” she says. “I think it brings more awareness for people to open up their eyes and see that this is how we’re being treated.”
To that end, Taylor says if critics want to see a “change” so these types of films are “not our only display of us,” then it needs to start at home.
“Like, treat us better, protect us more, see us more,” she adds.
“Straw” is now available to stream on Netflix.
