Steve Pulaski Madea's Big Happy Family is one the best Madea film I've seen so far, as most of them tend to be nothing more than noise and a lot of different genres and themes meshed together in one grand, tonal inconsistency. It's not that Big Happy Family is much different from this formula, but it's definitely more spirited and quick-witted than a great deal of its predecessors and successors. Rather than focusing on sight gags and tired racial humor, this particular outing showcases Tyler Perry like a variety show performer, breathlessly running between characters and delivering a fast-talking performance out of each one. Just when you think Perry's liable to run out of gas in the third act, he turns it around and continuously cranks out a tireless bout of one-liners and meaningful monologues through the most unlikely character in the entire film - the titular one.More on that later; the film opens with Shirley (Loretta Devine) visiting a doctor with one of Perry's signature character, Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis), to discover that her cancer has reoccurred in a more aggressive state. In response, she request Aunt Bam gather all of her children and their significant others together for what could very well be the last get together they ever have. Shirley's children, Byron (Bow Wow), Tammy (Natalie Desselle), and Kimberly (Shannon Kane), all arrive promptly. Byron is in a loose relationship with another woman, struggling to maintain the intimacy, take care of his son, escape the drug-dealing scene, and manage his destructive baby mamma (Teyana Taylor). Tammy and her husband Harold (Rodney Perry) are also fighting constantly, never coming to an agreement on anything and experiencing rough patches in their marriage when it seems like only yesterday they loved each other unconditionally. Then there's Kimberly, who, amidst arguing with Tammy constantly, has a secret for Bryon that nobody is expecting, which is quietly held until it comes out at an inappropriate time.Punctuating all this oppressive, soap-opera drama is none other than Tyler Perry in drag, playing his famous Madea character along with her brother Joe. Madea is the matriarch of the family, holding the fort and desperately trying to keep everyone stable, even if she frequently snaps, pulls out her pistol, gets physical, or simply has to knock some sense into her family. Much to my surprise here, Madea is more about her verbal banter here than her psychotic rampages or emotional hissyfits. Sure, the occasional one slips out unexpectedly, particularly in an early scene in a drive-thru which is too outlandish to take seriously amidst the more serious drama, but overall, it's remarkable how pleasantly light-hearted Madea can be and how incredibly serious she can be in this film as well.Consider the scene when Madea knocks some sense into Tammy and Harold, as their marriage has been souring for quite sometime now and neither know how to handle it. In a roughly two minute monologue, where no humorous or sentimental punches are pulled, Madea talks about couples struggle the most when they hit their forties for a number of reasons that are painstakingly honest: both couples generally begin to see their parents' age, and even die, financial stress has the ability to take its toll, he's going through a midlife crisis, she's going through menopause, a sex life is hard to maintain in a tumultuous society, and so on. This kind of brutal honesty and realism is something I've humbly come not to expect in a Tyler Perry film; I generally expect to see silliness on display and the occasional reality of a bad situation portrayed in a modest light. Madea's Big Happy Family isn't really different on that level, as it still cherrypicks a great deal of issues that often plague the black community (drug-dealing to get by, the struggles to be a father to children born out of wedlock, etc) and oversimplifies them, but, every now and then, the film stumbles upon a hint of genius that shows maybe if Perry would stop clowning around, he'd be able to extract some true, heartwrenching meaning and insight from his characters and situations, even his band of comic characters.As expected, Perry creates a conglomerate of genres with this film, merging slapstick comedy, family drama, marital debacles, and gospel all together into a film that, especially towards the end, find itself almost crumbling under the weight of all these genres. This narrative hodgepodge is enough to make one forget all of Perry's accomplishments thus far within the film, from the brutal realism of a tough marital situation and creating one of his most unpredictable characters into a rare laugh riot. The last twenty minutes of this film, which manage to squeeze in a strange choir rendition and an agonizingly unfunny Maury skit, seem like they're coming from an entirely different writer who was only given a vague paraphrasing of the prior events of the film.Give Perry credit not only for the difficult aforementioned accomplishments but the fact that he managed to at least make an attempt to humanize the bulk of the characters he introduces throughout the film. Another one of Perry's unsung talents is that while he includes a great deal of characters in his films, he manages to allow them room to run and space to play in so no character is left without some kind of personality. Madea's Big Happy Family is a great deal of fun at times and a dreary slog at others, making it a fairly accurate depiction of life in the eye of someone who is "this close" to fully portraying everything in a believable and balanced manner.Starring: Tyler Perry, Loretta Devine, Bow Wow, Natalie Desselle, Shannon Kane, David Mann, Cassi Davis, Tamela Mann, Lauren London, Isaiah Mustafa, Rodney Perry, Rodney Perry, and Teyana Taylor. Directed by: Tyler Perry.

Ryan_MYeah I have to make a confession. I watch Tyler Perry's Madea films. OK, JUST HEAR ME OUT! Now, I think they're all FAR from perfect films, but at the very least, I do enjoy watching the portions featuring Madea. Such was the case of my latest viewing, Madea's Big Happy Family. It's a bit embarrassing to say, but let's just get down to my review.First of all, we have a tangled web of subplots. The mother of a family, Shirley, is devastated to discover that her case of cancer has worsened, prompting her to plan a family dinner to tell her children about her condition. This includes her daughters, Kimberly and Tammy. Kimberly is a secretive woman (Improperly focused character #1), and Tammy is having trouble with her marriage, and her two disobedient children. This also includes Byron, a man on an unlucky streak, having served jail time for selling drugs, and behind on paying child support to his insufferably obnoxious ex-girlfriend. There's also some drama between Cora and Mr. Brown. But leave it to Madea to set things straight, and not be afraid to beat the living hell out of anyone who steps out of line.This movie is textbook Tyler Perry. As always, he gathers together a cast that could have been quite good, with good material, but their characters are inconsistently written, and their focus tends to blur because the script is overly cluttered with subplots. It's not a problem because they're hard to follow (They really aren't), but it's because it doesn't give these characters all the attention they deserve.This isn't even mentioning Tyler Perry's ubiquitous switch in tone. His rhythm moves as comedic scene, dramatic scene, comedic scene, etc. I think the comedy portions are better than the dramatic portions, but the flip flopping between the two makes things feel dull. At the end of the day, I didn't emotionally connect with the story like I feel I should have. For once, I wish Perry would construct a film that's sure of what it wants to be.I give it ** out of ****

rarriaga831 Tyler Perry is NOT a good director, writer or anything. All he does is think of depressing things to write about, add a couple of "oh lord what is i gonna do??" and say that it is a move for black people. Well its not. I really think that he is the epitome of black exploitation (and this is coming from someone who saw Black Dynamite <-awesome movie BTW. He is funny at first but then when you see his other plays/movies you realize that....there really nothing more to him that some big black guy in a fat suit saying "Heller" I really don't like this guy or his films...he really needs to stop before he does some serious damage to his community. He is whoring himself and other black people out so he can make money and its not right. screw you Tyler perry, you and your untalented butt

zardoz-13 Watching the menacing matriarchal figure of Madea as she convinces quarreling relatives to show up for a family function reminded me of those military boot camp chronicles such as "Full Metal Jacket," "Heartbreak Ridge," and "Sands of Iwo Jima," where the drill sergeant whips the recruits into shape. When Madea isn't harassing her relatives, she winds up sitting around the dinner table with them. Indeed, Tyler Perry's fifth foray as Madea looks like the versatile, Atlanta-based auteur may have watched the classic 1997 African-American opus "Soul Food." "Madea's Big Happy Family" features more soul than food. Madea is summoned to assemble a shattered family so its own matriarch can warn her children about her impending peril. Not-surprisingly, Perry parades the usual stereotypical characters across the screen; piles on pop cultural psychobabble blended with religious fervor, and then pays off suspenseful situations with predictable goodwill in his adaptation of his own stage play, minus most of the musical interludes. Mind you, the details don't really matter because Perry is hilarious again not only as Madea but also as Joe. No, he doesn't reprise his role as sensible, straight-faced, buttoned-down attorney Brian that he made in both "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and "Madea Goes to Jail." Nevertheless, Madea makes this tolerable drama about family secrets an above-average opus. No, it lacks the polish of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and doesn't pay off at the end as well as "Madea Goes to Jail.""Madea's Big Happy Family" is anything but happy. Madea's favorite niece, Shirley (Loretta Devine of "Waiting to Exhale"), has learned from her doctor that her cancer is no longer quiescent. She decides to summon her family and deliver the dire news. Battling cancer, Shirley discovers with chagrin, is a picnic compared with battling one's own family. Shirley's two grown-up daughters, upscale real estate broker Kimberly (Shannon Kane of "Brooklyn's Finest") and middle-class garage co-owner Tammy (Natalie Desselle of "Set It Off"), despise each other with a passion. They cannot stay under the same roof long enough for Shirley to tell them about her dreadful condition. Things fare no better for Kim and Tammy in their own homes where they display no respect to their respective spouses who they accuse of 'disrespecting' them. Kim's husband Calvin (Isaiah Mustafa of "The Island") cannot believe how arrogantly his wife treats her long-suffering mother. Tammy's henpecked mechanic husband Harold (Rodney Perry of "Johnson Family Vacation") is constantly in the dog house with her and cannot discipline his own sons because of her. Meanwhile, Shirley's adult son Byron (Shad 'Bow Wow' Moss of "Lottery Ticket") finds himself torn between his baby's momma, Sabrina (Teyana Taylor of "Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming"), and his latest high-maintenance girlfriend Renee (Lauren London of "ATL") as both demand that he indulge their every whim. You see, Byron is fresh out of prison for selling narcotics and has to furnish child support to his ghetto queen mother. As the same time, Byron's new girlfriend wants him to start dealing dope again since they need a higher income. After everybody storms out of Shirley's house, she calls on Madea to shepherd them back for some more table talk before it is too late. Since Madea values Shirley as her 'favorite' niece, she cruises off in her Cadillac to round them up. Along the way, Shirley's family endures some shocking discoveries. Before everything is said and done, Kim and Tammy at each other's throats, literally tearing apart with devastating results on Byron. Literally, Byron is left reeling when he learns that Kim was his mom after a relative raped her. Naturally, Byron isn't the only victim. Once "Madea's Big Happy Family" establishes Shirley's grim prospects for a short-lived future, the storyline shifts to Madea. Our heroine's first scene at a fast-food restaurant is terrific. Madea arrives too late for breakfast and an obnoxious female manager fuels her rage. What Madea doesn't know is that Sabrina manages the joint. When Madea cannot buy breakfast at the drive thru window, she smashes her massive Cadillac into the lobby, vaults the counter and gets everything that she wants. This is by far the most outrageous scene and proves once again that when Madea is on screen, neither Perry nor she can do no wrong. Indeed, Madea shows no signs of mellowing. On the other hand, Joe isn't as insufferable. He gets a lot of mileage out of his proposed service: 1-800-Choke-A-Ho." Instead, Perry has forged a new character, white-haired Aunt Bam, who takes over the pot-smoking, trash-talking elements of Joe's feisty old character. Aunt Bam could qualify as a Madea wannabe, and she keeps the plot brewing when Madea exits off-screen. Perry has done a couple of other things to make this "Madea" outing a little different from previous escapades. Madea breaks the law, but she doesn't suffer the consequences. Madea gets away with just about everything that she does. Aside from Madea/Joe and Aunt Bam, the only other cast member that may trigger guffaws or outrage is the unforgettable Teyana Taylor as Byron's whiny baby momma. Taylor gets more mileage out of whining the name Bryan than you could ever imagine. Of course, Loretta Devine registers believably and sympathetically as Shirley. The characters are tragic, like poor Shirley; comedic like Madea, Aunt Bam, Mr. Brown, and arrogant like Kim, Tammy, and her boys. Happily, Madea delivers some equally unforgettable dialogue as she enforces her stern will on her erring relatives. Aside from some depressing moments involving Shirley's cancer, "Madea's Big Happy Family" has more than enough hilarity to keep your ribs tickled for its 106 minutes. Like any good movie, this one packs more than a surprise or two.