“Diary Of A Mad Black Woman” (Lion’s Gate Films)
“Diary Of A Mad Black Woman” is a romantic, religious and righteous movie that showcases black talent in Hollywood like no major feature has in many years. Kimberly Elise, Steve Harris, Shemar Moore and Tyler Perry show how broad and deep the black talent pool is in Hollywood today. Regrettably the film that showcases their talent is a schizoid effort that is undermined by its inability to know its focus.
Helen and Charles McCarter (Elise and Harris) have been married for eighteen years. He is a very successful attorney in Atlanta and she is his dutiful wife. On the night he receives a prestigious award for his work, he returns home and states he wants a divorce. The next day he physically ejects her from their home.
Helen seeks refuge at the home of her relative Madea (Tyler Perry). There she tries to piece her life back together. She is helped in this effort by the very stable and romantic Orlando (Moore), a man who is a friend of her cousin Brian (Perry, again).
The story of Helen and her struggle to regain a balance in her life is a dramatic one; and her relationship with Orlando is a very romantic one. Therefore it is difficult to blend these events in with the appearance of Perry’s Madea who is a “big Momma” clone and a woman who is straight out of a Martin Lawrence or Eddie Murphy comedy. As good as he/she is, she doesn’t blend in with the overall structure of this movie.
It is unclear as to why Perry was determined to play three roles – Madea, Brian, and Madea’s brother Joe. If he had just played Brian, which is a very nice performance, that would have been enough. That isn’t to say Perry isn’t talented. He is. But he overwhelms this movie and throws the dramatic content of the film off center.
The rest of the cast is nearly perfect. Elise is beautiful as Helen and actually grows in the part. It is hard to understand Helen’s actions in regards to Charles but Elise makes them as believable as possible.
Harris, who was outstanding on the TV series “The Practice,” is impressive as Charles. He is a cold, cruel man and gives the movie its bite. When Helen finally rages at him it is worth the wait to see his reaction. Harris can play a variety of roles and this one is a good one for him.
Shemar Moore is perfect as the romantic lead. He has the looks and the charisma to draw people’s attention to him on screen. Female fans should demand to see more of him in future roles.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity, violence and adult humor.
“Diary of a Mad Black Woman” could have made two better films, if the Perry role of Madea had been separated from it. You could have had a wonderful romantic drama and also an entertaining comedy. As is, you have a good romantic/drama/comedy, but it could have been much, much better based on the talent involved.
I scored “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” a scorned 6 out of 10.
