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Movies / On DVD / Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Diary of a Mad Black Woman

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Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)

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Reviews Counted:106

Fresh:17

Rotten:89

Average Rating:3.9/10

Consensus: Tyler Perry's successful play can't make the move to the screen; this mix of slapstick, melodrama and spirituality lacks a consistent tone.

Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins

Genre: Television

Synopsis: Filled with a mix of comedy and drama, the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman is based on the immensely popular play of the same name written by Tyler Perry. The story focuses on Helen McCarter... Filled with a mix of comedy and drama, the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman is based on the immensely popular play of the same name written by Tyler Perry. The story focuses on Helen McCarter (Kimberly Elise), who has seemingly had the perfect life with husband Charles McCarter (Steve Harris). Over the years, Helen has been a faithful and loving wife, while Charles built a successful and lucrative career as a prominent Atlanta attorney. They wear the latest fashions, drive the nicest cars, have all the possessions they need, and they live on an expansive estate complete with an extravagant mansion, swimming pool, tennis court and all the trappings of wealth – a little piece of paradise away from the city. However, on the eve of their 18th wedding anniversary, Helen’s paradise begins to crumble as Charles announces that he wants a divorce. He abruptly and literally tosses Helen out of the mansion to make room for the other woman. With all of her possessions packed in a moving van, Helen starts on her journey to put the pieces of her life back together. Through the assistance of her friends, family, faith, and a twist of fate, Helen finds the strength and empowerment she needs to get control of her circumstances. She also finds that the tragic events of her life soon become comic, especially with the guidance and help-- mostly unsolicited, by the way--of her pot-smoking, gun-toting, and much beloved, grandmother figure Madea (Tyler Perry). Director Darren Grant brings Tyler Perry’s vision to the screen by intricately weaving together a mix of drama and comedy to tell the universal experience of broken hearts, redemption, forgiveness, recovery, new found love, inner strength and the importance of family and faith as revealed through a cast of colorful and sometimes familiar characters. [More]

Starring: Kimberly Elise, Tyler Perry, Steve Harris, Cicely Tyson

Starring: Kimberly Elise, Tyler Perry, Steve Harris, Cicely Tyson, Tamara Taylor, Shemar Moore

Director: Darren Grant

Director: Darren Grant
Screenwriter: Tyler Perry
Producer: Tyler Perry, Reuben Cannon
Composer: Camara Kambon
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Reviews for Diary of a Mad Black Woman

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This movie really touched upon an aspect of black life that we can all identify with. More realistic then all of these ghettofied movies that have been presented as representation of black life previously.

Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | comment 1 Comment
04/27/05
Kamal  'The Diva' Larsuel
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel
3BlackChicks Review

Stay clear of this mess.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment 1 Comment
02/25/05
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

Here is a brand new genre: A black-Christian romantic revenge comedy. It doesn’t quite work, but Tyler Perry is a jewel.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment 1 Comment
02/25/05
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
02/24/05
AV Club
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The trash-talkin' Madea stuff is raunchy and fun (if you're not over that gag by now), but it's totally out of place within the high melodrama that bookends it.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
02/25/05
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
02/26/05
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/05/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film itself is a touch insane, veering from comedy to cornball melodrama (and torture!) with such startling alacrity that viewers might laugh and not know if they're supposed to.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
02/25/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

this dismal little potboiler delivers only tedium

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/23/05
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

Perry's Madea is so annoying that about halfway through I was wishing the projector would malfunction.

Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony | comment Comment
02/22/05
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

First-time director Darren Grant gives each scene its face value, with no attempt to look for the real people and situations beneath the polemic.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
02/24/05
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Darren Grant, a music vid guy making his feature debut, presents it all in a smooth, elegant package that almost disguises the fact that what we're watching is the narrative equivalent of an eight-ring circus.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
02/25/05
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

Woman leaves the audience with the burden of maintaining a church-appropriate patience to appreciate the small charms to be found in Perry's berserk creation.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
02/24/05
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

Nobody in the movie seems to know quite what sentiment he or she should be channeling at any given moment.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
02/25/05
Bridget Byrne
Bridget Byrne
Boxoffice Magazine

A very curious and very entertaining mix, the Labradoodle of inspirational romantic-comedy-melodramas.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
02/24/05
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

Dear Diary, I want to see a better movie than this one, signed an annoyed film critic woman.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
02/25/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

It becomes clear that the strength of Diary is its refusal to bow to convention.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
02/24/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

This bizarre movie is many things--a celebration of Christian values, a drag act, a drug plunge, a soap opera, a sitcom revenge fantasy.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/18/05
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Madea is a way to model a raucous, powerful, but still jokey mad woman-ness for Helen.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
03/11/05
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
 
 
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Latest News for Diary of a Mad Black Woman

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