Delayed Reaction: Madea's Family Reunion

Other Delayed Reactions


The Pitch: Remember Diary of a Mad Black Woman? It's basically that.

How I Came Into It: I'm a long time hater of the Tyler Perry movies. It once was a blind hate. It's slowly becoming an educated distaste. For some reason, I thought this movie came much later in his filmography.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) I'm getting used to the Tyler Perry oeuvre and the more comfortable with it, the easier his movies are to watch. I can see why Perry enjoys playing Madea so much. She's a fun character, even when she seems to exist only on the fringes like in this.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Just because I'm comfortable with Perry's movies doesn't mean I like them any more than I did before. As opposed to the more recent Madea movies, the comedy is not as prevalent and the melodrama is cranked up. What was that speech at the reunion all about? Like, it was a fine, if not cheesy, message, but it came out of nowhere. And I felt sorry for Lisa Arrindell Anderson having to try to reel in her big reveal about her mother allowing her to be raped by her stepfather. That is played in such a big way that there's no way to not overdo it. It feels uncomfortably emotionally manipulative. This is basically the movie I was thinking of all the years when I assumed that I wouldn't like Tyler Perry movies.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend