[4] The rest of the cast consists of Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Brian White, Mary J. Blige, Gladys Knight, and Marvin L. Winans.

Meanwhile, their aunt April, an alcoholic singer, lives with her abusive boyfriend Randy, who is married with children.

Meanwhile, Pastor Brian sends Sandino, a Colombian immigrant, to her house for work and a place to stay.

Randy eventually sees April with the kids and heckles Sandino while making advances at Jennifer.

Sandino tries to stop her, but April is enraged, revealing that she was sexually abused by her stepfather Lee, who then lied about it to her mother.

I Can Do Bad All by Myself received generally positive reviews from critics, becoming his most acclaimed film, until 2021's A Jazzman's Blues.

The site's consensus states: "Though somewhat formulaic and predictable, Perry succeeds in mixing broad humor with sincere sentimentality to palatable effect.

"[7] Metacritic reported that the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

"[9] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe called the film "overlong but well-shaped and involving", praising Perry for finding a balanced mix of "earnest soap opera moralism with [his] comic instincts", calling it his "most confident and competent mixture of uplifting black middle-class melodrama and low-down comedy.

"[10] Cliff Doerksen of the Chicago Reader said about the film: "Contrived, sentimental, tonally bipolar, and as predictable as clockwork, this latest from chitlin' circuit impresario Tyler Perry is just a fat slab of ecstatic entertainment.

"[11] Rob Humanick of Slant Magazine felt the film was a great gateway for people not familiar with the "scabrous antics and homegrown moralizing" delivered by the Madea character, saying that Perry lends his creation a more "greater level[s] of tonal consistency" than his previously contradictory Madea Goes to Jail, writing that "I Can Do Bad acknowledges Madea's flaws with loving scrutiny, and doesn't require approval of her more selfish attributes.

"[12] Randy Cordova of The Arizona Republic was critical of Perry's filmmaking for delivering lengthy musical numbers and overlooked story elements but gave praise to the performances of Henson and Wilson for showcasing his ability to "create meaty roles for women.

"[14] Kimberley Jones of The Austin Chronicle criticized Perry for prolonging the film's conclusion but gave him credit for bringing "increasingly mature moviemaking" to his production, highlighting the Madea scenes as being "pretty damn funny" and the performances of Wilson and Henson for being "nuanced and quite moving" and having a "likable screen presence" respectively.