Nearly two decades after Why Did I Get Married? arrived, Tyler Perry still has one line from the film stuck in his head. The filmmaker recently revealed the Jill Scott moment he considers especially memorable while promoting the franchise’s latest chapter.
Tyler Perry’s favorite Why Did I Get Married? quote comes from Jill Scott
Perry shared his pick with PEOPLE during the Los Angeles premiere of Why Did I Get Married Again? on Sept. 8. His choice comes from Sheila, played by Scott, who delivers the line, “I’m going up this mountain to save my marriage.” The scene remains one of the original movie’s most recognizable moments for Perry.
Scott’s Sheila had been forced to leave a flight after the airline required her to buy two seats because of her weight. Her husband, Mike, stayed on the plane rather than helping her and flirted with her single friend Trina, played by Denise Boutte. Sheila then drove alone through snowy conditions toward the mountain house where several couples planned to spend a week together, and relax.
The original Why Did I Get Married? arrived in 2007 with Perry sharing the screen with Richard T. Jones, Janet Jackson, Michael Jai White, Sharon Leal and Tasha Smith. The story continued with Why Did I Get Married Too? in 2010, and the latest chapter brings much of that ensemble back for a wedding involving two of their adult children. Taraji P. Henson is also in the sequel, playing Roselyn, the groom Wesley’s mother.
For Perry, bringing the longtime cast back together offered more than nostalgia. It gave the returning stars an opportunity to pass their hard-earned lessons to the newer performers. He talked about their willingness to share what they had learned, describing that guidance as a key part of the production. “Hey, here’s what I know, here’s what I went through, here’s how we did it,’ and they’re sharing everything. That’s what it’s all about,” Perry said.
Perry also reunited with Henson, a collaboration he characterized not simply as another reunion but as “family coming home.”
