I must commend Tyler Perry. Out of the many films about World War II, he chose one so foreign to most of us that it almost seems entirely unbelievable. Perry’s latest feature isn’t a hoopla of major battles and violent sequences. It tells the untold story about the U.S. Army’s 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, another history lesson that’s been buried long enough. The Six Triple Eight
is about the first and only Women’s Army Corp unit of color that served overseas in Europe in WWII, a tale long overdue even if it is extremely rough to get through.

The Six Triple Eight is a documentary released in 2019 that chronicles the experiences of the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-black female unit in World War II. It highlights their mission to clear mail backlogs in Europe while overcoming racism, sexism, and the challenges of wartime.

Release Date

December 6, 2024

Runtime

72 minutes

Director

Tyler Perry

Writers

Kevin Hymel
, Tyler Perry

As great as it sounds to witness a film like The Six Triple Eight, it comes with as many hurdles as one would expect from a Tyler Perry movie. From the beginning, the storytelling is jumbled, beginning with a 1943 battle where soldiers struggle to get the better of their enemies. After a plane crashes, a despondent soldier removes a blood-soaked letter from his fallen brother to place it in a large mailbag. Though this letter is central to the story, Perry holds onto this important information for the majority of the film.

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Perry then takes us back to 1942 to tell a brief, albeit sweet, story of Lena (Ebony Obsidian) and Abram (Gregg Sulkin), an interracial couple who must say their goodbyes before Abram departs for war. Given the decade, the couple often experience snickering and they get scoffed at by their peers and family. That doesn’t stop their growing love for one another. They promise each other to stay connected via written letters, only for Lena to learn that Abram died in battle. Determined to “fight Hitler,” Lena joins the Women’s Army Corps.
The Six Triple Eight’s Awkward Dialogue Often Leads To Shoddy Acting

Up until this point, Perry does what he most often does in his films: incorporate wonky dialogue to explain scenes that have just happened. It serves no purpose other than to remind us of what’s going on, while simultaneously (and hopefully unintentionally) annoying us and insulting our intelligence. The real victims here are the actors, who are forced to regurgitate such nonsensical sentences that lead to iffy performances. Additional writers were needed for this script, but at this point, that sentiment is a broken record when it comes to Perry’s film productions.
The meat on this film’s scanty bones approaches when our heroine arrives at basic training along with a handful of colorful side characters. There’s Johnnie Mae (Shanice Shantay), who joined the army to escape her abusive husband. Delores (Sarah Jeffrey) is the compassionate history lover. Elaine (Pepi Sonuga) is the math genius, while Bernice (Kylie Jefferson) is longing for education. Together, these women forge a sisterhood full of support, laughs, and understanding that they all want something more for themselves. This is where Perry’s feature shines, showing Black women in a positive light — a feat that seems foreign to the director.

Time would have been better spent on the film’s strengths — when the women get to showcase their brilliance and great decision-making skills.

With overwhelming racism and sexism, along with grueling working conditions, these Black servicewomen commit to the mission: to serve their country with honor and to bring morale to the soldiers and their families. Under the leadership and guidance of Captain Charity Adams (a formidable Kerry Washington and the film’s clear saving grace), all 855 women finally get their chance to show their value by sorting and delivering lost letters. At the time, families and soldiers had not received any communication, which led to decreased optimism about fighting in a seemingly long war.
Perry shows the obstacles these women must overcome to reach their end goal and doesn’t let up on telling us. Even small victories are sidelined to showcase the extremities of racism and sexism during that time. It feels odd I have to say this, but we get it. It’s pretty obvious what these ladies had to endure during the 1940s. Time would have been better spent on the film’s strengths — when the women get to showcase their brilliance and great decision-making skills. For some reason, however, there’s only a small montage of this even though it’s the film’s highlight.
Perry’s Storytelling Fails To Give Us Breathing Room Between Events

The turning point finally arrives after a special letter emerges. Unfortunately, this moment, which deserves its spotlight due to the emotional weight it’s supposed to carry, is weakened by a major event. Perry, no stranger to contrivance, heavily leans on it here, which speaks to a larger issue regarding his films. There’s no room to breathe and digest what’s happening. Whatever emotion we’re supposed to feel gets washed away, whiplash style, due to Perry undercutting his own writing. You’d have to have a black heart not to feel anything at that moment, but Perry doesn’t make it easy.
History shows there’s a positive ending, but The Six Triple Eight makes for a frustrating journey getting there. There’s a lack of focus on what made these women so valuable to the army. Much of the attention centers on the hurdles they faced to make an impact. Don’t get me wrong, racism and sexism were certainly part of their journey. But when a filmmaker, whose track record doesn’t necessarily put Black women in the best of lights, makes a film about an entire Army Corps of Black women, the result is disappointing. This story and these women deserve better.
The Six Triple Eight is now available to stream on Netflix. The film is 127 minutes long and rated PG-13 for language including racial slurs, thematic material and some war violence.

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Pros

The film’s highlight is when it showcases the characters’ strength and wit

Cons

The film doesn’t provide breathing room for the story
Most of the film is too focused on the hurdles the women faced
The film uses wonky dialogue to explain what we just saw