Diary of a Mad Black Woman

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For years now, music video directors have had no problem at all making the leap to the big screen to direct feature length movies. The cinematic virtues of this are up to debate, but surely a veteran video director will be able to corral a world-class soundtrack, right? In the case of Diary of a Mad Black Woman, the answer’s yes—and no. The talent is certainly impressive on Diary—Natalie Cole, Angie Stone, India Arie—but most of the songs sound like cuts that were left off an album. India Arie’s 'Purify Me' is a sweet, light, and excellent bit of confectionery that might be about God, it might be about a physical man—it’s hard to tell. Her other song here , 'Different Directions,' is definitely about a man, and it kicks. Cheryl Riley’s cover of Jewel’s 'One of Us,' however, is run-from-the-room-screaming bad. Ms. Cole’s 'I Wanna Love Again,' a new song, is a sweet, excellently-produced torch ballad, but is not the thing that comebacks are made of.