When Tyler Perry leans into melodrama, he doesn’t hold back.

In the first 20 minutes of his latest Netflix film “Straw,” Taraji P. Henson’s Janiyah loses her job (mean boss), sees her car impounded (nutcase cop), gets evicted from her apartment (nasty landlord) and watches welfare services take away her daughter (presumptive school principal).

Drowning, Janiyah tries to cash her last paycheck. But the teller thinks she’s robbing the bank, and — oh, wait, is that a bomb in her purse? The bank manager, played by Sherri Shepherd, eventually figures out the truth and begins to feel for Janiyah despite becoming a hostage.

In comes Atlanta native Teyana Taylor as a capably intense Atlanta cop and hostage negotiator who thinks Janiyah isn’t the monster some of her fellow cops assume she is.

“

See Full Page