Tyler Perry’s latest film is about someone you’ve probably walked past on the street. Janiyah (played by Taraji P. Henson) is a Tyler Perry heroine in the classic sense: She’s someone who’s trying to get by in the face of overwhelming odds. In Straw, those odds mount to a point of explosive pressure, and Janiyah reaches her breaking point.
“She’s just trying to survive, just trying to be a great mother to her daughter, and then the circumstances in her life cause her to be in this situation,” Perry tells Netflix. “I think that a lot of people around the world, no matter if you’re a Black woman or not, will be able to relate to that feeling of, ‘I’m at my last straw.’”
Read on to learn more about Straw, hear what writer-director Tyler Perry and the cast have to say about the film, and watch the film on Netflix now.
What is Straw about?
A single mother’s world unravels in chaos as her day goes from bad to worse to catastrophic as she struggles to care for her ill daughter. Pushed to the brink by a world that seems indifferent to her existence, she’s forced to confront impossible choices in a society that offers her no safety net.
Can I see any photos from Straw?
Yes, check out some first-look photos below.
Who is in the Straw cast?
The cast of Straw includes:
- Taraji P. Henson (The Color Purple, Hidden Figures) as Janiyah, a struggling single mother who can’t catch a break.
- Sherri Shepherd (Precious, 30 Rock) as Nicole Parker, a bank teller who meets Janiyah on the worst day of her life.
- Teyana Taylor (A Thousand and One, the upcoming The Rip) as Detective Raymond, a police officer who sees Janiyah’s humanity and empathizes with her situation.
- Glynn Turman (Rustin, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) as Richard, Janiayh’s boss, who doesn’t give her a break.
- Sinbad (Atlanta, A Different World) as Benny, a neighborhood resident who witnesses Janiyah’s generosity.
- Rockmond Dunbar (Prison Break, Sons of Anarchy) as Chief Wilson. He writes Janiyah off and doesn’t care to understand why she’s doing what she’s doing.
Chip Bergmann
What else does writer-director Tyler Perry have to say about Straw?
Taraji delivers an incredible performance as Janiyah. Can you talk about casting her in this role and what she brings to the table, not only as a performer, but as a human being with a story to tell of her own?
Taraji is the heart and soul of this film — she carries all of the emotional weight of this woman having the most challenging moment of her life. Taraji takes the audience through every emotion her character is having and that’s why she’s such a brilliant actor. You can’t take your eyes off her when she’s on screen. Anytime I start to write, I see a person’s face, and Taraji was the person that I saw fully and clearly. From the first word that Janiyah spoke on the page, I thought, “This is Taraji. I hope she will do it.” So I sent it to her and she read it, and she was like, “I love it. I’m in. Let’s do it.”
How did Sherri Shepherd and Teyana Taylor come to be part of the film?
What the movie represents is three different types of Black women from different walks of life, and at different stages of success, but who can all empathize with each other. I chose Sherri Shepherd to play Nicole because she’s a phenomenal actor who could represent this woman beautifully. Ever since she did Precious for us years ago, I knew that as a dramatic actor, she could pull it off, so when she said yes, I was very excited.
And then Teyana Taylor, I had worked with her [on Madea’s Big Happy Family]. Again, I’ve worked with all these women in the past, I knew the gears and levels that they had yet to show the world. To have Teyana play this officer who empathizes, who connects, who carries her burden with Taraji’s character throughout the movie, was something that I found poignant, yet necessary and pivotal to this type of storytelling.
How do these characters play off of each other?
Well, let’s be clear about this: Taraji and her character carry the entire movie. But the support of these characters is so important to turn the page in the story and understand that Janiyah didn’t want to get to this point — life and situations and circumstances happened. And it takes all of these pivotal women and their characters and their experiences to tell that story.
Straw plays with the concept that you never really know what a person is going through. What do you hope the audience will take away from this story?
I don’t set out to teach or have people think about anything when I’m writing. I just want the story to come through me as it comes. But if people walk away from this realizing that everybody’s going through something, that everybody has a story, and that one smile or that one bit of kindness that you give them could be the difference between making or breaking their entire world, that’s a message that I’d love to resonate.
Chip Bergmann
Janiyah is treated with indifference at every turn. Can you talk about that a little?
Janiyah says in the script, “I have to do everything myself, every fucking thing I do myself. Nobody sees us, nobody hears us.” There’s a contingent of people walking around on this planet who feel that way, and especially ones who look like her and are in her position.
She’s just trying to survive, trying to be a great mother to her daughter, and then the circumstances in life put her in this situation. But that’s a lot of people. A lot of people around the world, no matter if you’re a Black woman or not, will be able to relate to that feeling of, “I’m at my last straw.”
Why is it so important to you to highlight these kinds of characters?
Well, if you think about it, when have you seen these types of characters before? In what film have you seen a Janiyah, or a Nicole, or Detective Raymond? What film have you seen them in and realized their struggle? When you have this opportunity and this platform to tell a story, whether you want to teach or not, you have to be mindful that people will take away lessons. Because these images are so profound and powerful, I think that as people watch it, it’ll tell the story of real people.
And I know that there are a lot of Janiyahs out there in the world for real.
Chip Bergmann
What does Taraji P. Henson have to say about the film and working with Tyler Perry?
What is Straw about?
Straw is about a woman who reaches her tipping point. It’s the day from hell. I don’t know if anyone out there has ever experienced a day where it’s like, “What else could happen?” Everything that can go wrong, goes wrong in this one day. It’s about how humans operate in that heightened state of panic and anxiety and pressure. When the pot is boiling and it finally explodes, what happens? What does that look like and how does it affect the people around you?
Tell us about your character, Janiyah.
Janiyah is a woman who doesn’t really have a voice. She hasn’t been allowed to find it and she’s just trying to survive under the radar. I don’t even really think she wants to be seen by many people. She just wants to do what’s right for her daughter and live her life. There are so many people like that in the world. And, I think for Janiyah, the thing that is keeping her alive is her daughter, because that’s her sense of belonging. That’s the one thing that makes her feel like a person, because she brought life into this world and she takes it very seriously. She doesn’t have much, but all she has, she gives to her daughter. I know so many people who’ll be able to identify with her and that love you have for a child, whether you’re rich or poor.
How did you become involved in Straw?
Tyler Perry called and said, “I have something for you.” He started explaining the story to me and sent me about 30 pages of the script, and after I read them, I said, “You got me. This is the one.” I’m such a fan of Tyler Perry and everything that he does. This is my fourth film with him. I really enjoy working with him, so I was excited when he called with the idea of Straw for me.
What attracted you to the project?
I was drawn to playing Janiyah, a woman no one sees. I do extensive work in the mental wellness area, and I just found her very interesting because when someone has a break, it’s not always a mental illness. This was just a woman who reached a breaking point. And with the way the world is going now — prices are going up, people are losing jobs — what happens to that person who no one really sees? I love how Tyler takes us into the world of that person and we go on this ride.
I’m always cognizant about how I treat people because you never know what someone is carrying. And just because she’s quiet and she doesn’t speak up and doesn’t have the biggest personality, she’s a real person with a real cross to bear. That’s why I always err on the side of kindness, because you never know. It could be the tone of your “hello,” or the way you didn’t hold the door, or the way you dismissed a person that could drive them to their breaking point. I thought that was so interesting to explore. We all are capable of it.
Chip Bergmann
Can you tell me a little about how you drew from your own life experiences in portraying Janiyah?
As a single mother, I understood Janiyah’s struggles profoundly. She’s trying her best with very little, but what she lacks in opportunity, she has in abundance when it comes to the love she has for her child. She’s been given a difficult hand, but it’s how she deals with that really moved me. It’s so easy for people like her to be overlooked and disenfranchised by society. All the odds stacked against her and it’s something I’ve dealt with in my own life. I felt like I knew this woman personally.
Tell us about working with Tyler Perry.
I love working with Tyler Perry. I can’t get enough of it. I come from theater, so I think we really understand each other in that way. I love the fast pace of the work. I know everybody can’t work like that, and I know I can’t for every project, but I love working like this with Tyler Perry. I trust him to no end. He knows what he’s doing and he’s a genius — I don’t know how this man can watch four different cameras all at once and know what is going on everywhere at all times. It blows my mind. I marvel at his greatness: the one and only Tyler Perry.
What was it like working with Sherri Shepherd and Teyana Taylor?
For Sherri, I never worked with her in that light before, and I hope it isn’t our last time. She was really great to work with, especially in those intense scenes where we had to bond. We always see Sherri as the funny girl — she’s a comedian — and I love when comedians get to flip it and play the dramatic roles because I think they make really good dramatic actors. Kudos, Sherri! You killed it.
Teyana brought a nurturing and caring touch with her to all of her scenes. She exemplified why it’s so important to have women in every field. Sometimes, you find yourself in a tough spot and need that uniquely female supportive presence.
What do you think audiences will connect with most in this film?
I think they’ll definitely relate to a lot of Janiyah’s struggles. We’ve all been in a situation where we felt like we weren’t heard, where no one understands what you’re saying, and it’s one big miscommunication and all of a sudden this one little thing becomes this great big thing. I think so many people everywhere will identify with that. That is universal.
What do you hope the takeaway is from Straw?
Honestly, empathy is what I hope the audience gathers from this movie. Because again, you never know what a person is going through and you can’t judge a person just from the way they look. You really have to get to know a person, and to get to know a person is to listen and to understand. When you understand someone, that’s when you allow empathy. So that’s what I pray people get from this, because we live in a world now where it’s needed more than ever.
Chip Bergmann
What does Sherri Shepherd have to say about the film and working with Tyler Perry?
Tell us about your character, Nicole.
Nicole Parker is the branch manager of a bank called Benevolent Pain and Trust. Nicole wants to help her people. She really does. She wants to make a difference and feels she hasn’t been able to do that. When Janiyah walks into the bank with the weight of the world on her shoulders, it just calls to Nicole. It completely snaps her out of her whole suburban world. She sees that Janiyah’s a real person, and the way she can make a difference in this person’s life.
How did you become involved in Straw?
I got a text from Tyler Perry. I was in the middle of doing my talk show, and I wasn’t available to shoot, actually, but after he told me who the character was and after reading the script, I begged the company to let me leave the talk show early. I said, “It could be an empty chair, let me just go.” So we worked it out and I was able to join him and it was a blast.
What attracted you to the project?
What I loved was that it was about this woman who just can’t catch a break. I know women like this intimately, and I felt that Tyler was telling their story. And I love the character of Nicole, because that’s kind of me: that nurturing person who always wants to make a difference, who’s always trying to fix things, sometimes to her detriment. The script spoke to me, and I wanted to work with Taraji and Teyana Taylor, so that also was a big draw. It was not hard to say yes.
What was it like working with Taraji P. Henson?
Taraji is such an excellent actress. Watching her, it’s like acting one-on-one, and Taraji playing this woman I’ve seen so many times before in my life? It’s nothing short of breathtaking. She’s absolutely amazing in how she can go from being the Taraji that we know to just real and raw, stripped raw. Just real.
What about working with Teyana Taylor?
It was really wonderful working with Teyana. She brought gravitas to Officer Raymond, the hostage negotiator. I [have] never worked with somebody who had so much lip gloss in their life. [Laughs.] I said, “Girl, are you wearing yoga pants? What hostages are you trying to get out of the bank looking sexy like you just stepped off the set of Dynasty?” There should have been nobody left in that bank by the time Officer Raymond came through with those pants!
What do you hope audiences will connect with in terms of the characters’ ethical and personal struggles?
I think audiences will connect with Taraji’s realness. They will connect with the real-life problems that she’s going through. So many women feel unseen, unacknowledged, and feel like they cannot catch a break no matter what they do. I think that so many women will see themselves in Taraji and will be inspired by her resilience, her being able to come back. You can’t keep her down.
What do you hope the takeaway is from Straw?
Never give up, never sway or swerve from your character, your moral center. Sometimes things don’t go as you want them to, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t stop trying.
Chip Bergmann
What does Teyana Taylor have to say about the film and working with Tyler Perry?
How would you describe your character, Officer Raymond?
She’s a cool cop. She’s very fair in this case, very passionate, compassionate, and empathetic. I see a lot of Raymond in Janiyah and vice versa, with both of them being single moms, both of them coming from single-mom homes. So she could empathize and sympathize with her a lot as well.
How did you first get involved in this project?
So Tyler Perry texted me and said, “Give me a call when you can.” I was super excited when I saw his text, and I called him back immediately. He pretty much told me he had this role he knew I would kill. And I was like, “Okay, bet. Send a script.” And when I read it, I was really excited about it. It was a different character for me. I had been very strategic and intentional about the roles I’d been taking on, and I was very, very excited about this one.
Talk to us about working with Tyler Perry.
It’s a dream. With Tyler Perry, it’s so fast — he is going to get his shot. But it’s not about just grabbing anything to say he got it — if he believes it, then he moves on. We first worked together when I was 19 years old on Madea’s Big Happy Family. That was one of my first major movies. I was excited for him to see how far I’ve come and how much I’ve grown.
Most of your scenes with Taraji P. Henson are over the phone. How was working with her in that way?
It’s crazy — even though we didn’t have many scenes together, she helped me through a lot of my scenes emotionally because she’s so amazing. I’m hearing her voice in my head. I can just read the words on the paper and know that Taraji is killing it, know that she’s giving her all, and that alone gives me the energy I need. So it’s like she’s there without even being here.
What do you think audiences will connect with most in this story?
I honestly think that every single character is relatable in their own way. What it goes to show is you just never know what somebody’s dealing with. I think at the end of the day, this movie showed that we’re all human, we all bleed, we all have our personal traumas, our personal struggles. I just feel like the overall thing is just to be more kind and more compassionate, and more empathetic.
What is the Straw release date?
Straw is available to stream on Netflix now
