Although the first film of his not to be based on one of his stage productions or to feature his signature character of Madea, Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls fits very much within the traditional gospel play rubric: fairly simple story, mix of the silly and the spiritual, underlying positive message with clearly-defined good triumphing over very extremely-defined evil. The good in this case is Monty James (Idris Elba), a hard-working mechanic fighting to retain custody of his three daughters (played by real-life sisters China, Lauryn, and Sierra McClain) from the evil, his ex and their mother (Tasha Smith), who is shacking up with the local drug dealer (Gary Sturgis, playing major evil). Good at heart is attorney Julia Rossmore (Gabrielle Union), whose icy exterior is melted when she decides to help Monty with his case. The outcome of both the case and the relationship between Monty and Julia may never be in doubt, and while some of the other formula trappings may not always ring true, the performances of and electric chemistry between Elba and Union go a long way toward lending the proceedings emotional truth and audience investment.