Madea's Big Happy Family Review

Tyler Perry gets a lot of flack from critics, but I go into every one of his movies with high hopes. I like that he's working outside the system (even if it means he doesn't screen his films for review). I appreciate that he respects his fans enough to speak to them directly, and for me, at least, the sight of him swanning around in Madea's housecoat still hasn’t gotten old.

But it's not enough for him to assume that people will buy whatever he's selling, simply because he's selling it.

If last year's "For Colored Girls" indicated an interest in taking some risks, "Madea’s Big Happy Family" is a giant step backwards. He's recycled the same material so many times, it's starting to turn rancid.

Madea (Perry) is still funny as ever, and each time she takes the screen, we're reminded of Perry's eternal promise: to entertain with empathy and enlightenment. But even the most lighthearted Madea movies have a dark side, and this one is uglier than usual.

Perry's characters have always been drawn with broad strokes, as heroes or villains. In this case, all the villains are young women, and all the young women in this film—without exception--are monstrous. 

The story begins at the hospital, where Madea's niece Shirley (Loretta Devine) learns she has terminal cancer. A modest, God-fearing woman, she wants nothing more than to gather her children and share the news. 

Unfortunately, this isn't as easy as it should be. Tammy (Natalie Desselle) can barely organize her own obnoxious kids long enough to be in one room together. Byron (Bow Wow) is torn between a crazy baby mama (Teyana Taylor) and the gold-digging girlfriend (Lauren London) pushing him to deal drugs again. And career-obsessed Kimberly (Shannon Kane) is just plain nasty, especially to her husband, Calvin (Isaiah Mustafa). Anyone who’s seen a single Perry movie will instantly guess the tragic secret that fuels her anger.

The older cast members do a nice job with their roles, both sentimental and silly. An understated Devine is typically touching as the pained matriarch, while Cassi Davis provides necessary comic relief as the perpetually-stoned Aunt Bam. And Madea’s outraged lectures to her wayward relatives are the reliable highlights of the film. 

But too much about this movie is cheap and easy—not just the familiar plotlines, but the current of cruelty that runs through them. What's made Perry so successful is a sense of understanding, paired with compassion and advice. Here, he seems disconnected from his core female audience, in a way that feels dismissive and condescending. 

Honestly, it's hard to know why Perry even bothered to write a story about these women, since he despises them all so much. When his movie's biggest running gag is a hotline for men called "1-800-Choke-Dat-Ho," it's time to start over
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