"A Madea Christmas" *** (out of ****)Guess who's coming to (Christmas) dinner in "A Madea Christmas" (2013).
I'm not knowledgeable enough on the work of director Tyler Perry to give an in-depth analysis of the meaning of his movies and the common themes flowing throughout them. However, I have been exposed to enough to know I have problems with his movies and storytelling.
"A Madea Christmas" was the eight movie to feature Perry's female alter-ego Madea, an elderly, loud, sassy, brash, sometimes violent, so-called truth teller.
In some ways Perry's approach to the character reminds me of classic comedies starring the comedy greats such as Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel & Hardy and W.C. Fields. In those movies, as in the Madea movies, the formula is similar. We have an established character that remains consistent movie after movie. This allows the audience to identity with the character and create a relationship. Then we take that character and put them in different situations which the audience knows, by now, will cause major conflicts. For example, we know Laurel & Hardy are inept at any task given to them no matter how big or small, so, lets make a comedy where they are police officers. Because of our preconceived notions of the characters we laugh at the very idea. We just know something terrible will happen and crooks will be able to outsmart the two.
So too has Perry created a character in Madea that his fan base knows. A relationship has been established. Perry now can have fun creating new scenarios to place the character in which will result in maximum conflict. That seems to be some of the thinking behind "A Madea Christmas".
Madea (Perry in drag) finds herself on a road trip from Georgia to Alabama after her great niece, Eileen (Anna Maria Horsford) becomes heartbroken and suspicious when she learns her daughter, Lacey (Tika Sumpter) will be not visiting her for Christmas. Lacey is a school teacher in a small town that is going through a lot of financial difficulty thanks to a construction company that has built a damn which has affected crops grown by farmers.
This has an effect on the school's funding causing a Christmas jubilee to be cancelled. The townspeople are not willing to accept this. You can take away our jobs but you will never take away our jubilee!
This however is only part of the reason why Lacey will not be home for Christmas. Lacey also got married without telling her mother. Not only did Lacey get married but she married a white man, Connor (Eric Lively). Eileen may have looked pass her daughter not telling her about the marriage but will not be able to accept her only daughter marrying a white man.
The conflict will escalate when Eileen and Madea unexpectedly arrive at Lacey's house and find out that Connor's parents, Buddy (Larry the Cable Guy) and Kim (Kathy Nnajimy) will be staying at Lacey and Connor's home too to spend Christmas with them. How will Eileen react?
Perhaps this reverse "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" (1967) scenario was meant to serve as a Christmas reminder of the theme of forgiveness and love thy neighbor. But Tyler Perry really doesn't have anything interesting to say about race relations. Madea and Connor's parents cannot understand Eileen's objections over their marriage. I suppose the deeper question to ask is, did Perry address this topic because it is a topic of controversy within the African-American community?
Perry takes on racism from a different angle when it is subtly implied one of the townspeople, Tanner (Chad Michael Murray) is a racist and explains why he does not like Lacey. This sub-plot is too subtle and again Perry really has nothing to say on the subject.
"A Madea Christmas" was made for two reasons. One was to place the Madea character in a situation that audiences know will make the character uncomfortable. Without knowing much about the character, one can assume, Madea doesn't like children. Christmas time presents a perfect opportunity for Madea to be surrounded by children. Hence why we get a completely unnecessary sequence involving Madea working at a department store, insulting customers and at one point, playing Santa. Why do this? Because in theory it should be funny.
The other objective for "A Madea Christmas" is to promote a Christianity theme and place an emphasis on the religious aspects of Christmas as oppose to the secular event the holiday has become. It is possible to celebrate Christmas and take all the religion out of the holiday. How many people celebrate Christmas but don't go to church on that day to celebrate the birth of Jesus? How many people will have decorations of Santa and Frosty the Snowman but not a Nativity scene? So, it is possible to take religion out of the holiday.
Tyler Perry and "A Madea Christmas" want to fight back. Many times religion is brought up in the movie and characters are outraged in one sequence when the Christmas jubilee will be turned into a holiday jubilee.
As a "bad Catholic" it is refreshing to see a movie about Christmas mention Jesus Christ. But, as strange as it may seem, doing so could be off putting to viewers.
This is the third Tyler Perry movie I have seen, coming after "Acrimony" (2018) and "Madea's Family Reunion" (2006). "A Madea Christmas" is my favorite so far. On a purely entertainment level, it was the most fun I've had watching a Tyler Perry movie but the movie does have flaws.
I don't like Perry's dialogue. It is neither naturalistic or poetic. Perry is too forceful when trying to make a social point. He leans in to hard. And then there are the characters and Madea in particular. Perry works a lot with stereotypes. What else to make of Madea. There are only two possibilities. Either Perry is perfectly aware of this and uses it as an opportunity to get laughs or the character comes from a good place in Perry and he truly believes there are people out there like this. In the end it really doesn't matter because the character always becomes larger than the movie and it out of place. I sense Perry wants the character to serve as a moral conscience hence why some believe she is a truth teller but whose truth is she telling?
The most enjoyable performance is Tika Sumpter's. This is the first time I have seen this actress and hope to see her in many more projects. It would be nice to see her in something that requires more of a range of emotions.
Devotees of Tyler Perry seem to view "A Madea Christmas" as a mix bag. They imply newcomers to Perry's work probably wouldn't like. Naturally I had the exact opposite reaction. I believe this movie is one of the more mainstream and easily accessible Tyler Perry movies I have seen. Than again, that may be exactly why Perry fans don't like this movie. Maybe they feel he sold out for commercial appeal. Surely Madea's truth telling wouldn't allow Perry to do that, would she?
Posts
