How do you solve a problem like Madea? How do you catch a cliché and pin her down? How do you find a word that means Madea? A flibbertijibbet! A stereotype! A clown!
With apologies to a certain Austrian lass, that seemed a clever way into a piece about “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion,” the follow-up to last year’s “Diary of a Mad Black Woman.”
Or so it seemed before the weekend. Beware the easy lead. Events may have you eating your words.
Over the weekend, “Madea’s Family Reunion” took the top spot at the box office, bringing in $30 million. According to boxofficemojo.com, 38 percent more people went to this sequel’s first weekend than attended “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” its predecessor. That success story cost $5 million to make and went on to gross $50.3 million.
Still, it wasn’t the powerhouse opening weekend that forced a reconsideration of Madea, her family and creator-portrayer Perry. (Though those numbers make yet another argument about underserved audiences yearning to be entertained.)
When CNN morning anchor Soledad O’Brien gushed over guest Perry last week, it didn’t change my opinion about “Diary.” Instead, I wondered about the cable network’s agenda. Was the Atlanta-based CNN trying to make nice with its hometown impresario, who is so clearly in touch with many in the African-American Christian audience?
What changed my mind was seeing the movie.
Distributor Lionsgate chose not to screen the sequel before opening it wide. Understandable. Last year, the company previewed “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” moviegoers’ introduction to the broad-bottomed, loud and proud grandmother and her kin. (Perry’s Madea plays had sold out urban theaters throughout the country for years.)
Directed by Darren Grant, “Diary” was deservedly torched by critics. In a recent TV interview, comedian Dave Chappelle smiled wry and wise after clips from his variety show ran. In a serious voice unlike his amped, antic twang, he jokes “somewhere there’s a black professor saying ‘buffoonery.’ ”
That’s a smart articulation of the problem some African-
Americans have with comedies featuring African-Americans, “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” included.
It wasn’t just that Madea was played by a guy – and not in some illuminating way. Instead, Perry (who also plays Madea’s brother Joe and nephew Brian) joined Martin Lawrence, Eddie Murphy, a number of the Wayans’ bros (and Flip Wilson) decades before them, doing the sort of Milton Berle-esque drag that the fellas have have been taking to the bank.
In a movie about female self-esteem – or lack thereof – it was vexing when the only characters dispensing real wisdom to protagonist Helen were a gun-toting grandma in drag and a foxy, sensitive steelworker (Shemar Moore).
Just like “Diary,” “Reunion” features a successful black man who brutalizes his woman. This time the character is played with venal relish by Blair Underwood. It also has a working-
class brother with the soul of an artist and a tender but true faith in Jesus. Madea still waves her gun. Joe still provides a stream of off-color commentary.
Who knew more of the same also could be better? “Madea’s Family Reunion” is full of soul-healing ambitions and fairly fabulous telenova histrionics. It reveals more than it reviles.
As one would hope from a black filmmaker, Perry has delivered a version of black life that is broad, over-the-top and celebratory.
Watching “Madea’s Family Reunion” is akin to reading E. Lynn Harris’ novels. In the ’90s, the author had popular success with his fun tales of upscale black women and the bisexual men they fell for. Harris’ success also started with a personal relationship with his audience: He started out selling self-published books from the trunk of his car.
Perry also has a real interest in class and status within the black community. Like Harris, Perry will continue working the form he knows to give his audience a popular pleasure.
When Perry told CNN that he had plenty more Madea stories, I groaned.
Now I hope, guiltily perhaps, that the next installment will be “Madea’s High School Reunion.”
