“Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion” (Lions Gate Films)
Madea’s Back, But Not Better Than Ever
When Tyler Perry makes a movie, he really makes a movie. He writes it, directs it, produces it, and stars in it. Oh and he also composes the music. The man is a one-man marching band of talent. Sadly his movies don’t always reflect that talent. Case in point is his latest, “Madea’s Family Reunion.” This movie is a contradictory comedy/drama whose elements work against its enjoyment potential.
Madea’s character is involved in the comedic elements of the film. This is made clear from the start when she appears in court and is made foster parent to a rebellious young girl (Keke Palmer). Madea (Tyler Perry) takes the girl to her home, which she shares with her brother Joe (Tyler Perry) who is the father to Madea’s attorney Brian (Tyler Perry). A young woman named Vanessa (Lisa Arrindell Anderson) also lives here with her two children. She too is a relative of Madea’s.
On the dramatic side, Vanessa’s sister Lisa (Rochelle Aytes) is engaged to a wealthy man named Carlos (Blair Underwood). On the outside they seem perfectly happy but in the privacy of their apartment he is beating Lisa almost daily. Her mother (Lynn Whitfield) encourages her to stay with this man as he can keep Lisa – and her mother – living the good life.
The comedic storyline and the dramatic storyline coexist side by side and it causes a schism in the enjoyment of the film. Carlos beats Lisa and it is alarming and horrifying. Madea whips her foster daughter with a belt and it is supposed to be funny. Violence seems to be everyone’s biggest problem but it is also seen as everyone’s way to even the score.
Perry is enjoyable as Madea, but this character is not on screen enough. She appears sporadically throughout the movie but she needs to be the central figure of the film. Perry is also good as the crude but loveable Uncle Joe as well as the loyal and intelligent Brian.
Underwood is excellent as the vile Carlos and Whitfield makes her mark as the purely evil Victoria. Aytes is beautiful and vulnerable as Lisa while Anderson is touching and troubled as Vanessa. Boris Kodjoe is Vanessa’s knight in shining armor and looks the part completely.
The movie is rated PG-13 for violence, profanity and crude humor.
Towards the end of the movie the story comes to a screeching halt in order to let both Cicely Tyson and Maya Angelou pontificate as elders of the clan. They make some good points with what they say but it is too ponderous and too pretentious for this type of movie.
Tyler Perry is a talented filmmaker but he needs to decide what kind of movie he wants to make. He can make a “big momma” type comedy, or he can make a purely dramatic film about social issues. So far he hasn’t been able to combine these two elements successfully in the flow of one film. It weakened “Diary Of A Mad Black Woman” and it weakens “Madea’s Family Reunion.”
I scored “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion” a divided 5 out of 10.
