Diary of a Mad Black Woman

Tyler Perry’s name is all over this movie. He plays three roles, wrote it, and helped produce it. Fans of Perry know him from his extensive touring on the “Chitlin Circuit” (now, according to TylerPerry.com, the “Urban Theater”), a network of artistic venues maintained by blacks.

The film begins with a lavish party in honor of Charles (Steve Harris), the titular character’s husband of eighteen years. He’s the recipient of Atlanta’s Jacob Frienstein Attorney of the Year Award. Life looks great for Charles and Helen but, as Helen profoundly states, “what looks one way on the outside can be a totally different matter on the inside.” Profound.

Anyway, the statement’s truer than we might initially suspect as we soon find Charles telling Helen to get the hell out of his car. Charles isn’t a good guy at all it turns out, and probably doesn’t deserve any kind of award. Soon, he’s even dragging his mistress (and the two sons he’s had with her) up into the mansion. This is when one of Perry’s three incarnations surfaces in the form of Madea, a no-nonsense, six-and-half foot mother-of-all. With a large purse gun. Madea knows when someone has been wronged and knows how to right things. Needless to say, somebody gonna be callin’ da popo.

Unfortunately, Madea rights things with the same chainsaw she shaves with, the same one she uses to hack Diary into its disquieting bipolarity. Madea is such a troublesome character because, while she seems to be a staple for Perry and a great tool for him to reach his audience, she is also so volatile that an otherwise respectable narrative is devastated in her wake.

Madea or no Madea, Perry and director Darren Grant are mostly able to get across their story of self-discovery, forgiveness, and Jesus faith. If you’re into that sort of thing, give this a watch. Otherwise, you may want to keep away unless you’re interested in the filmic possibilities of MPD.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 14th, 2005 and is filed under Film, Reviews.
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