Madea's Family Reunion (2005)

Tyler Perry is a resident of Atlanta and his stories are set in Atlanta and environs. His most famous character is Madea - that is Mabel Simmons - a black grandmother that Tyler plays in drag with a big body suit that makes him look like a big ole woman - Tyler himself is 6'5" tall so the grandmother is too but is padded to look like a woman with a big behind, hanging mammaries, etc. 

Perry is a big star on Black Entertainment Television and I think he gets extra props from Atlanta's residents because, to tell you the truth, even though I live in ATL too - from what I've seen of his shtick, it's OK but nothing extraordinary.  The typical format of a Tyler Perry movie seems to be insider black humor; smart alecky children (or chirrun as Tyler pronounces it) whom Madea disciplines, sparing not the rod - or wearing their as s out, as she says; moral teaching, philosophizing, soliloquizing, and song and line dance routines. There is also a strong undercurrent of Bible Belt preachiness that certainly fits in with Atlanta's rep as a socially backward place and is in fact less than attractive to me as one who did not grow up under its influence.

In this movie, Madea's Family Reunion, Tyler plays 3 characters - Madea, Uncle Joe (Madea's brother) and Brian, a younger guy, all of whom resemble - surprise!! Tyler Perry. 

Now where have we seen that before?  Has there been a black comedian who masqueraded as a woman or even multiple characters before this?  Hmm mmm - let me think ... ... Eddie Murphy! Yes, Eddie Murphy has played the Nutty Professor and the Klumps - and both performances were far funnier than anything our own Atlanta comedian Tyler Perry has done.  If anybody tells you different you are listening to a fanboy or girl.  And the costumes in Murphy's movies were better, too.  Even Martin Lawrence, whom I find trying to watch, has done funnier drag (dressed as girl) stuff than Tyler Perry. Please - I am not saying this is trash, exactly, but it's just about.  God bless Tyler Perry. I'm glad he made it, but his movies are only fair at best.

Tyler Perry has moved from writer, actor, and producer of his own material, and now becomes his own director - so he wears at least four hats in this one and plays 3, count em, 3 characters. Talk about keeping the money in the family, but he needs somebody to give him some help because except for his local audience I don't see him crossing over and bringing his entertainment to others than Southern Baptists. One dose of his medicine and you better be fixed for life, because it is all the same. 

We have some younger people trying to couple up and a meddling mother (Lynn Whitfield); wife beating; child molestation; foster children; revelations of past wrongs, etc. etc. Real closet type stuff here and if you like dirty laundry - I don't - this waves it in your face.  Madea pulls out her 9mm automatics a couple times as is common in these "dramas" and in addition to Madea giving us a (boring) moral lesson that drags on and on - we also get them from Cicely Tyson and Maya Angelou - both boring as all get out.   The 20 something girls both have juicy figures but to me the young man is prettier than either of the main young girls. I don't know any of the actors other than Tyler Perry, Lynn Whitfield, Cicely Tyson, and the celebrity Maya Angelou.  The rest are unknowns as far as I know.

The Lionsgate DVD contains the 110 minute color movie in full screen mode - there is also a widescreen version available but you have to buy the disk.  Extra features include a commentary by Tyler Perry and deleted scenes - there should have been more; a gushing making of featurette where all the players tell us what a GENIUS Tyler Perry is - please.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above