The new addition to Tyler Perry’s Madea films disproves the theory that drag is inherently funny. Perry plays the title role of the potty-mouthed, fried chicken-obsessed matriarch of a dysfunctional family. When Shirley (Loretta Devine) finds out she’s dying, she tries to reunite her children with Madea’s help —the rest is a hodgepodge of uninspired wordplay, soap opera dramatics, religious overtones and misogyny. Cheap laughs are spoiled by negative racial stereotypes: the ghetto “baby-mama,” the horny old aunt and the teenage drug dealer. The men complain about women; the women are weak to varying degrees. Ironically, Madea is the closest to resembling a strong female character —any redeeming qualities are lost after her histrionic display on The Maury Povich Show. Base humour at its worst.
This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2011.
Sam Kinison once famously stated that “America doesn’t have the guts to admit that Whoopi Goldberg isn’t funny” If The Coast is trashing a Tyler Perry “Joint” then it must be a large steamy pile indeed.