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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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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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A would-be feminist farce that will leave you slackjawed at its incompetence.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
02/25/05
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

There’s an audience for this schizophrenic movie, without question, but that doesn’t make it any better.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
02/25/05
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

A crudely made hodgepodge of rank clichés that veers between shrill melodrama, glossy soap opera, and broad, sitcom-level comedy.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
02/25/05
Timothy Knight
Timothy Knight
Reel.com

Perhaps the juxtaposition of slapstick comedy and stark drama somehow works on stage, but it's jarringly off-putting on film.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
02/25/05
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

The quality of mercy is a little strained.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
02/25/05
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

Raucous and overwrought, the movie is still a hoot to watch and even more fun to talk back to.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
02/25/05
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle

The material comes off as a serious miscalculation in Perry and director Darren Grant's film adaptation.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
02/25/05
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times

This peculiar and none-too-felicitous mix of Bible-thumping, heartstring-jerking and man-bashing never finds its tone, careening wildly from slapstick comedy to soapy melodrama.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
02/25/05
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Stay clear of this mess.

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

There's nothing real or even funny in Perry's performance; all padding and crude makeup, he shouts every line as if he's still playing to the upper balcony in a rundown Masonic Hall.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
02/25/05
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger

Tries to be every single movie ever made all at once, leaving the viewer with the emotional equivalent of whiplash.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
02/25/05
M.E. Russell
M.E. Russell
Oregonian

The low comedy and high melodrama, with a touch of inspiration, don't blend easily, and here the match seems forced.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
02/25/05
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Be forewarned that writer/actor Tyler Perry's cross-dressing turn as same only accounts for a meager portion of this cynical exercise in manipulation.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
02/25/05
Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

Those who aren't already converts to Perry's dramaturgy will wonder what elevates this material above, say, a typical episode of '227.'

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
02/25/05
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

It's an unusual mix of vulgarity and piety.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
02/25/05
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

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

One is left with the sense that while Perry has captured certain truths about human experience, he undermines himself by ignoring psychological detail in favor of big gestures and simplistic explanations.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
02/25/05
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

It turns on a dime from scenes of maudlin sentimentality to manic slapstick, then turns on another dime to trite Christian moralizing.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
02/25/05
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News

While the movie fills a much-needed niche in the lily-white Hallmark movie department, this clunky, borderline-amateur directorial effort from music-video veteran Darren Grant simply doesn't do justice to the material. In fact, it's downright awful.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
02/25/05
Peter Debruge
Peter Debruge
Miami Herald

The whole thing is a melodrama; there's nothing fatally wrong with that. But the set-ups are so easy and obvious, the humor so broad and the characters such one-dimensional stereotypes that the drama is laughable.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
02/25/05
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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