Perry is a shameless panderer and his movie is cliché-ridden, rudimentary, completely unfocused and about as subtle as a wind-breaking contest in church.
Madea's Family Reunion (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:52
Fresh:14
Rotten:38
Average Rating:4.5/10
Consensus: Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion is sincere in its positive intentions, but leaves something to be desired as a film.
Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Tyler Perry follows up his DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN with more of his unique fusion of soapy melodrama, poetry, spirituality, romance, and raucous humor based on his popular stage play. This time... Tyler Perry follows up his DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN with more of his unique fusion of soapy melodrama, poetry, spirituality, romance, and raucous humor based on his popular stage play. This time around, the drama centers on a pair of half-sisters struggling to overcome the oppression of their materialistic mother (Lynn Whitfield). Weak-willed daughter Lisa (Rochelle Ayetes) is being pushed into marriage with an abusive investment banker (Blair Underwood), while Vanessa (Lisa Arrindell Anderson) is unable to trust the love of too-good-to-be-true Brian (Boris Kadjoe). It may be a bit jarring at first to veer from harrowing scenes of domestic abuse to hilarious scenes of Tyler in his dual role as the tough-talking grandma Madea (here also raising a troubled foster kid) and her flatulent brother Joe, but it works, especially when Cicely Tyson and poet Maya Angelou show up as old relatives at the reunion; their powerful presence provides the weight to anchor everything down. Hearing Tyson pour her heart out while addressing the young people at the reunion from the porch of an old slave shack--Angelou at her side--is an unforgettably moving experience. This is the work of a daringly original comedian and filmmaker; fearlessly confrontational and generous of heart (without being corny), MADEA is three kinds of great: gut-bustingly funny, socially progressive, and genuinely inspiring. [More]
Starring: Lynn Whitfield, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Rochelle Ayetes, Maya Angelou
Starring: Lynn Whitfield, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Rochelle Ayetes, Maya Angelou, Cicely Tyson, Boris Kadjoe, Blair Underwood
Director: Tyler Perry
Director: Tyler Perry
Screenwriter: Tyler Perry
Producer: Mike Upton, Reuben Cannon
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for Madea's Family Reunion
This movie's trailers promise a slapstick comedy about an obese black woman who takes no guff and enjoys beating people up. It isn't exactly, and that's a disappointment.
Madea is one extended, brutal soap opera, stacked with mediocre actors in an endless "smell the fart" acting contest (Lynn Whitfield wins), and kills any chance for important messages to be taken seriously.
Perry has a heart as big as Madea's so, as the writer-director, he ensures his movie has the right sentiments.
That's the most offensive thing about Madea: the way it pretends to deal with difficult problems -- child abuse, rape, spousal abuse -- and then offers simplistic answers.
At times it feels as if Perry made three separate films, dumped them in a blender and hit the puree button.
Tyler Perry's heart is in the right place, but he still has a tin ear.
For his revolutionist’s passion and for allowing Tyson to once again fill the screen with her glory, Tyler Perry is my new hero.
Domestic violence, incest and greed are some of the issues that boil over in this sweet and sour comedy that adheres to theatrical guidelines that are seldom politically correct.
The Madea franchise is premised on her excessive characterization, and audiences love the character. Still, she can be repetitive, and this film is unevenly paced and predictable.
Madea is meant to be a communal experience. But a critic's job isn't to judge how a movie plays in an ideal viewing. It's to look at the movie. Madea is dismal.
While not nearly as offensive or dim-witted as Diary, this one's still a gigantic mess.
No question, Tyler Perry knows what he's doing, and he's doing it better with each movie.
Like horror flicks or family films, Tyler Perry's Madea movies -- based on his enormously successful plays -- are a genre unto themselves, which means one thing: Either you are going to see them or you are not, and no review will change your mind.
Better than its predecessor, but only in the same way that the bomb on Nagasaki was better than the one on Hiroshima.
If there's one thing that Reunion doesn't lack, it's good intentions. Unfortunately, good intentions don't automatically guarantee a good movie.
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