Straw Movie Review (2025) | Tyler Perry’s STRAW

O-M-G — “Straw” really blew my mind. The minute the credits rolled, I dove into other people’s reactions and saw the same thing I felt: most viewers are hooked by the story’s raw honesty. Sure, a few call certain moments “over the-top,” but when life keeps punching you, reality can feel exaggerated, too. Let’s break down why Tyler Perry’s newest film is worth your time.

Quick Facts

Title: Straw

Release date: June 6, 2025 (Netflix)

Runtime: 108 minutes

Writer/Director: Tyler Perry

Cast highlights: Taraji P. Henson (Janiyah Wiltkinson), Sherri Shepherd (Nicole), Teyana Taylor (Det. Kay Raymond), Sinbad (Benny), Rockmond Dunbar (Chief Wilson)

Plot Snapshot (Spoiler-Light)

ingle-mom Janiyah is already on her last nerve when a cascade of disasters — eviction notice, a sleazy boss, a car accident — pushes her to the edge. A stolen gun, an un-cashed paycheck, and one desperate trip to the bank spiral into a high-stakes hostage standoff that holds Atlanta spellbound and exposes the cracks in America’s safety nets.

Perry frames the whole ordeal in a single chaotic day, echoing classics like Dog Day Afternoon while keeping the focus on a Black woman’s fight to be heard. The tension rarely dips, and the screenplay sprinkles in just enough dark humor to keep the dread from becoming numbing.

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The Perfect Storm of a Horrible, No-Good Day

Janiah’s day starts catastrophically:

• She’s threatened by a cop after a minor traffic hiccup.
• Her diabolical boss, Colonel Taylor, withholds her paycheck despite her emergency.
• Her car gets towed during a rainstorm after an accident.
• She’s fired on the spot when she returns to work.

Then, chaos erupts. During a robbery at Colonel Taylor’s business, Janiah disarms a thief—only to be accused of orchestrating the crime. In a split-second act of defense, she shoots Taylor. What follows isn’t cold calculation, but a spiral of panic. She flees to a bank, hoping to cash her check. Without ID? The teller refuses. That’s when Janiah pulls out the “blicky” (gun), takes hostages, and accidentally becomes a bank robber.

Performances: Three Women, One Shared Struggle

Taraji P. Henson – Janiyah Wiltkinson
Henson carries the film on raw nerves and mother-bear ferocity. Whether she’s pleading with cops or hallucinating her daughter’s giggle, her eyes never let you forget what’s at stake.

Sherri Shepherd – Nicole
As the branch manager caught in the crossfire, Shepherd grounds the chaos with warmth. Nicole sees Janiyah’s humanity first and her gun second, giving the film its moral heartbeat.

Teyana Taylor – Detective Kay Raymond
Taylor’s Raymond is the outsider who listens — a rarity in hostage thrillers. Her scenes with Henson hum with sister-to-sister empathy instead of the usual cop bravado.

Together they form what Perry calls “three stages of the same Black woman,” bonded by experience more than circumstance.

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Tyler Perry’s Direction & Themes

Yes, this is classic Perry: social-issue melodrama served hot. But here his usual “message” lands with sharper writing and stripped-down visuals. The film questions who society decides to rescue and who it criminalizes, without losing its pulse-pounding pace. A few plot twists may feel heavy-handed, yet they hit because the core emotion is truthful.

What Happens to Janiyah’s Daughter?

Throughout Straw, Janiyah begs everyone — cops, the bank manager, even a hostage — to keep her little girl Aria safe. Mid-way we learn the gut punch: Aria died of a seizure the night before, and Janiyah has been hallucinating her child’s presence all day. The reveal shatters both the audience and the hardened FBI negotiators. Behind the spectacle sits a mother still bargaining with grief that hit too fast to process.

Filming that breakdown reportedly left the crew in tears. Perry himself said the twist “floored all of us,” and the scene lands as the movie’s emotional nucleus.

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Ending Explained (Light Spoilers)

An extraction team lines up shots, and it looks like a bloodbath is inevitable. Instead, Nicole walks Janiyah out, hand in hand, while Detective Raymond literally shields her from the rifles. Outside, protesters chant for justice, turning the bank steps into a stage for solidarity.

The finale is bittersweet. Janiyah survives, but freedom will be fought in a courtroom, not a Hollywood epilogue. Perry leaves the moral verdict to us: Was one desperate day a crime, or a cry for systemic change?

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Verdict: 5/5 Stars

Straw isn’t “easy” viewing. It’s a punch to the gut that lingers. But in Taraji’s tour-de-force performance and Perry’s unflinching lens on injustice, it becomes essential. I cried, I gasped, and I walked away haunted. For its bravery, emotional truth, and powerhouse cast, this Straw movie review stamps it with 5/5 stars.

Straw Movie Review complete: thank you for reading, and here’s hoping your next Netflix search lands on something this powerful.