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DIARY OF
A MAD BLACK WOMAN |
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"A Morality Film
Featuring A Man In Drag" |
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Directed by Darren Grant
- Written by Tyler Perry
Starring Kimberly Elise,
Tyler Perry, Cicely
Tyson, Steve Harris
Distributed by Lions
Gate - 2005 - 116mins -
Rated PG13 |
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Richard Propes'
Review
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C- |
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Time heals the heart. Faith heals the rest. |
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"Diary of a Mad Black
Woman" is one of THOSE films.
No, silly, I'm not talking about yet another African-American film
content to be about African-Americans and devoid of anything
resembling cinematic value.
I'm talking about THOSE films that are "love em' or hate em' films."
"Diary of a Mad Black Woman" is a "love it or hate it" film that
certainly is an indicator that Tyler Perry is a talented man, however,
it's also a strong indicator that he may have a problem with letting
his ego get the best of him.
"Diary of a Mad Black Woman" is based upon Tyler's own play. Does your
city get these plays? They nearly always play in small auditoriums,
are frequently musicals, and are almost always centered around
Christianity and the African-American community. Black churches adore
them and they've traveled the circuit for years. It was almost
inevitable that we would get a film based on one of the plays.
"Diary of a Mad Black Woman" centers around Helen and Charles
McCarthy, a couple that have been married for 18 years when, not so
suddenly, Charles kicks out Helen and announces he will divorce her.
With nowhere to turn, Helen goes to her grandmother Madea's home, gets
back into church, meets another man and learns about life, moving on,
God, forgiveness, etc.
Kimberly Elise, fresh from her outstanding performance in "Woman Thou
Art Loosed", is hindered by a MUCH more cliche'd script here and a
character that is your basic wandering Christian. It's challenging to
explain the differences between "Loosed" and this film, but I'd
suffice it to say that this film feels less authentic and considerably
more forced. Thus, Elise's dramatic crescendos feel uncomfortable and
inappropriate at times.
Steve Harris plays Charles, and most of the time resembles a playboy
version of the father on "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." I kept waiting for
Will Smith to pop out and start singing "Parents Just Don't
Understand."
Perhaps my biggest complaint with "Diary" is in the performance of
Perry himself. Rather unwisely, Perry has chosen to take on three of
the roles in this film including the Godawful portrayal of Grandmother
Madea. This sort of stunt casting can be, at times, quite wonderful
and works fairly well in theatre. It does not work well in "Diary" and
primarily distracts from the serious themes of the film. Perhaps had
this sort of casting not been done in "Big Momma's House" previously,
then this may have worked. Yet, almost every time Medea was onscreen I
found myself saying "That's one ugly man." It's hard to catch the
dramatic impact of a film when those thoughts keep infiltrating. Perry
also portrays Brian and Joe, however, these performances are less
over-the-top and thus less obnoxious in presentation.
The film is blessed with the presence of Cicely Tyson, who apparently
was desperately for one last cinematic fling. Here's hoping this isn't
a final production as this is a horrid way to be remembered...Tyson is
fine in the film, but the film is not worthy of Tyson.
Darren Grant directs the film, and why Perry didn't just go ahead and
direct is simply bizarre. He clearly had a unique vision for the film,
but then he puts the vision in someone else's hands? Bizarre decision.
Grant's background was primarily as a video director, and he's
woefully inadequate here.
In a world where so many high quality films struggle to attract
anything resembling decent box office, I am completely baffled that a
film such as "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" can come away with a gross
that is ten times its production budget. I find that completely
baffling. Perhaps the mediocrity of this film can best be summed up by
noting the film portrayed African Americans positively, exhibited
positive values AND made money and still didn't even merit an NAACP
Image Award nomination. It did, however, garner a nomination for Perry
as Breakthrough Male on the MTV Movie Awards.
Life is weird.
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© Written by Richard Propes -
Email Me! |
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How We Rated This Film
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TC Candler -
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| Richard Propes
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C- |
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Jacob Hall
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TC Candler's Comment
n/a
Jacob Hall's
Comment
n/a
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