Tyler Perry's Best Out of 3 'Madea' Films
51 of 51 people found this review helpful.
This is the 3rd & latest of Tyler Perry's 'Madea' films & is by far the best. Madea could even straighten out the Middle East! President-Elect Obama might want to consider her for Ambassador to the whole region.
Tyler Perry is a handsome man of color who is so gifted as the actor, writer & director of this film. The family reunion is not the mainline story of the movie: a young woman being physically &emotionally abused by her rich fiance' bully is.
Madea (Tyler Perry) is probably as conventional a sassy as a "post menopausal" American black woman can be portrayed on film. Perry cross-dresses as Madea so convincing that I don't even remember Madea is a man underneath the clothes & character. But that's not the half of it. Tyler Perry is another Peter Sellers, who plays multiple roles against each other in the same film. For instance, Perry appears as himself at the reunion. What's more, Perry is Madea's husband, an older man who is utterly outrageous. As they battle with each other, Perry constructs depictions of an ethnic reality.
Madea's non-nonsense, in-your-face, direct ways of dealing with people & issues is hilarious & sometimes borders on scandalous. Her husband is no match for her, the couple is oh so true to life. Perry scripts them as quite typical for their age, class, culture & situations.
If you've not seen a Madea movie, this should be the 1st one to view. You're really missing a work of art that sends amazingly real cultural & moral messages through comedy.
Dr. Maya Angelou's & Cicely Tyson's performances are truly historical, adding a richness of realism & dignity to the anything but dignified Perry host of characters. Angelou's physical gestures are smoothly sarcastic & perfectly timed. Her poetic self is true to her usual meticulous form. Cicely Tyson delivers the main moral message of the film with the finesse of one of the great actors. Her character is quite similar to Toni Morrison's "Baby Shug," in her Pulitzer prize winner, "Beloved."
Perry toys with racist stereotypes of people of color subverting them with humor. But, Perry's all black cast, in and of itself, subverts racist stereotypes by revealing the diversity of this film's characters. Plus, there's only 1 Madea & she's Perry's stroke of genius. Everyone needs a Madea to help resolve their life crises!
When you've seen the film, remember that I wrote that my favorite scene is the one with a boiling pot of grits & a wrought iron frying pan~
Review ID: 10000000009347797
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