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''The Family That Preys'' is a 2008 American movie drama written, produced, and directed by Tyler Perry. The screenplay focuses on two families, one wealthy and the other working class, whose lives are intertwined in both love and business. The movie is the second of four in which Perry's signature character, Madea, does not make an appearance. It is also the second Perry-directed film (alongside ''Daddy's Little Girls'') that is not based on any of the filmmaker's stage plays. ==Plot== In a prologue, socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) hosts the wedding of her best friend Alice Evans' (Alfre Woodard) daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan), who is marrying ambitious construction worker Chris Bennett (Rockmond Dunbar). The couple is congratulated by Charlotte's son William (Cole Hauser) and his wife Jillian (KaDee Strickland), who deprived Charlotte of planning an elaborate reception for them by eloping. William suggests the newlyweds contact him for employment with the Cartwright family's highly successful Atlanta construction company after they return from their honeymoon. Four years later, Ben (Tyler Perry), is married to Andrea's sister Pam (Taraji P. Henson). Pam looks after Andrea's three-year-old son for extra income while working at her mother's diner. It troubles her that Andrea doesn't do more to help their mother financially when her designer clothes and new Mercedes make it clear she is prospering. What Pam doesn't realize is her sister is involved in an extramarital affair with William and enjoying all the perks that come with the relationship. Chris has dreams of opening his own construction firm with Ben, but Andrea - who clearly now thinks she's better than her husband because of her success - ridicules him and his aspirations. He and Ben apply for a loan at the bank and are declined, but he accidentally discovers his wife has deposited nearly $300,000 in a secret account. When Andrea returns home late one night to find Chris sorting through financial records she had hidden, she claims the money is an accumulation of bonuses she received from William and insists she has the right to keep some things private from her spouse. Telling him he never will be as charming and successful as William, she refuses to finance his dream. William is determined to wrest control of the company from Charlotte, and is certain the $500 million deal he recently has closed will prove he's capable of running the firm. Instead, his mother hires Abby Dexter (Robin Givens) as COO. She determines the company will have to front $25 million to make William's new deal viable, and the only way to raise the money is for Charlotte to sell 10% of her shares, thus leaving her with a minority vote. William reminds Abby his vote combined with his mother's will give the Cartwrights continued control, and she advises Charlotte to sell her shares. Charlotte suggests she and Alice take a road trip in the vintage turquoise Cadillac convertible she has purchased. Alice initially declines but eventually agrees, and the two women head west, following neither a set route nor timetable. Rambunctiously adventurous Charlotte introduces Alice to honky tonks and strip clubs with male dancers, while religiously strait-laced Alice reciprocates by bringing Charlotte to a communal baptism so her soul can be saved. Late one night, when Charlotte becomes unduly stressed while trying to deal with her digital camera, she reveals she has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease and has been told there is nothing that can be done to slow the process of her mental decline. Meanwhile both Jillian and Abby become aware of Andrea and William's affair. Although Jillian makes a flippant remark to Chris that Andrea is with her husband, he is oblivious. William then fires both Chris and Ben after being approached for investment money to start a separate construction business on their own. Abby then fires Andrea, who has been told by Jillian to stay away from her husband William. Charlotte and Alice return to Atlanta, where Andrea confronts and gets mad at Chris for depositing her $300,000 into a business account, the majority of which has already been distributed. She says that he is tired of him and that he and Ben will never be like William. Ben remarks that nobody is trying to be like him and that she can't see that because of the affair. Chris pulls Andrea aside and she tells him the money came from William and that he is her man. Chris, furious, slaps Andrea and she falls over the counter. He arguably says that she thinks that he was crazy. She says keep the money and throws some money in his face and says to get some boxes and get his stuff. Chris couldn't believe that after 5 years they have been married, she would talk to him like that. He wonders about their son and Andrea says that William is the father. Meanwhile, William is plotting a takeover of the family firm. Although she and her mother-in-law never have been close, Jillian warns Charlotte about her son's plan. Charlotte then calls a board meeting and fires William from the company, telling him she has the support of the Calvary Company, until now a silent investor that turns out to be Alice, who for years has been given financial guidance by Nick Blanchett (Sebastian Siegel), a homeless man she frequently fed and cared for at her diner. Nick's story behind his homelessness is explained earlier by Alice to her daughter Pam while at the diner. Alice explains to her that Nick had at one point been a frequent customer of Alice's who would leave her "big tips" and loved her coffee. One day Nick lost his job and not long afterward, his wife died and Nick then lost custody of his children. In an assumed severe untreated depression, Nick now lived "wherever". Nick still came into the diner on a regular basis and would repay Alice for her kindness by giving her secretly solid financial investment advice. It is later revealed that the job Nick lost had been working for William, who fired Nick without cause. William's downfall allows Nick to find some comfort as well as satisfaction/vindication. In the parking lot, William is approached by Andrea who, unaware of the recent turn of events, expects him to back her in her battle with Abby and leave Jillian to marry her. Instead, he tells her their affair is over and drives away, despite her claim that her son is his. Alice later receives a call from Charlotte, when she tells her that she is dying of a deadly combination of pills, which causes Alice to have an emotional breakdown as she questions "are you living or existing?" Alice makes a eulogy at her funeral, which becomes a song as the movie ends with Chris leaving Andrea and Andrea moves into a small apartment with their son, whose paternity is left unresolved, Chris gives her some money then leaves her at the doorstep. However, Chris is now successful and wealthier while Andrea is poor in an ironic twist. Chris and Ben open their own firm, Nick is wealthy and buys a house of his own, and Alice decides to sell the diner. Getting into the car Charlotte left her, she resolves to stop procrastinating and enjoy life while she can and, with a photo of her and Charlotte taped to the dashboard, she heads north. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Family That Preys」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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