Tyler Perry     ...    Madea / Joe / Brian
Eugene Levy     ...    George Needleman
Denise Richards     ...Kate Needleman
Doris Roberts     ...    Barbara
Romeo     ...    Jake (as Romeo Miller)
Tom Arnold     ...Walter
John Amos     ...    Pastor Nelson
Marla Gibbs     ...    Hattie
Danielle Campbell     ...Cindy
Devan Leos     ...    Howie
Shayne Anderson     ...TSA Agent
Dean Balkwill     ...    Attendant
Nelson Bonilla     ...    Agent Mulligan
Frank Brennan     ...    Jack Goldberg
Eric Brooks     ...Bellman



Who doesn’t love Madea‭?  ‬That fun loving,‭ ‬tell it like it is,‭ ‬gun totting,‭ ‬older woman that gets us reeling with laughter and has done so for years.‭  ‬We’ve loved her from her days on the stage,‭ ‬ in our sitcoms and we’ve loved her in some of her movies.‭  ‬But,‭ ‬could our love be going cold‭?  ‬Is Tyler Perry losing his Madea mojo‭? 

Tyler Perry has set the standard for black comedy and he is one of those African American movie directors that get us laughing and thinking simultaneously.‭ ‬Of course,‭ ‬he isn’t without his critiques who believe that in his use of Madea‭ – ‬the stereotypes about black women are reinforced.‭  ‬You know that black women are loud,‭ ‬abrasive,‭ ‬aggressive creatures who are bound to die single and lonely.‭  ‬Hey,‭ ‬Tyler Perry can Madea find love soon‭?  ‬Anyways,‭ ‬lest I go off at a tangent,‭ ‬so,‭ ‬I was prepared for a similar experience of laughter when I dragged another Tyler fan to the movies with me.‭  ‬I was disappointed.‭ In this recent movie-‭ ‬Tyler Perry tells the story of a man (Mr. Needleman) who finds out that he has been set up by his company to take the fall for his company’s money laundering scam.‭  He is given two options by the FBI, either he takes the fall for his company and go to jail or he helps them. ‬He needs a place to hide out and‭ h‬e takes Brian’s offer to stay at his aunt’s house‭ (‬Madea‭).


Madea takes them in and helps them resolve some of the internal problems within the family.‭  ‬It turns out that while Mr.‭ ‬Needleman was out making money‭; ‬his family was a hotbed of anger,‭ ‬confusion and pain.‭  ‬But,‭ ‬with Madea’s help which often come in the form of promises‭ (‬threats‭) ‬he gets to the root cause of their problem at home.  Madea also helps save Mr. Needleman’s life and job.

As usual,‭ ‬Tyler serves up a great story with great content but this time‭ – ‬unfortunately,‭ ‬there is a massive fail.‭  ‬This movie does not live up to the standard set by Tyler Perry.‭  ‬It had its funny moments but it wasn’t as funny as the rest of his Madea movies.‭  ‬Also,‭ ‬Tyler  left some strings hanging in this movie‭ – ‬he raises questions about Mr.‭ ‬Needleman’s parentage but then drops it like hot coal and we are left guessing if he will ever find out the truth about his father but then I guess the answer will be in the next Madea movie‭ – “‬Madea finds love‭?” ‬HINT‭!  

I know that Tyler is a very busy man  but it will be pretty sad if he becomes too busy to maintain the standard that he has built his name on.  

‭ ‬Tyler Perry,‭ ‬go on a little vacation,‭ ‬forget movie making for a couple of weeks,‭ ‬take some books,‭ ‬take your friends or a special friend and go and relax,‭ ‬get your funny mojo back and hit us back with the real Madea that will get us really laughing.‭  ‬This Madea wasn’t real.‭  ‬She wasn’t that funny.‭  ‬In fact,‭ ‬she seemed rather tired.‭  ‬You set the standard,‭ ‬please keep the standard.‭