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.

(Plot) Shirley (Loretta Devine) gets devastating news about her health, and wants her family to come together for it all. The problem is the family is in complete disarray, and they are ignorantly oblivious to everything going on around them. I have yet to see Madea's Witness Protection, but this is by far the worst Madea movie I have seen. Tyler Perry has assembled a cast that isn't up to past standards of Madea movies. He brings in some key players from Meet The Browns such as David Mann (Brown) but it all just felt slightly phony to me with nowhere near the passion as a lot of the other Madea films. Even Madea's act feels tired here, and I usually find Madea to be a lot of fun. The problem here is the plot. I realize Perry writes characters that are morally corrupt a lot of the time, and amps up the melodramatics for emotional effect, but it was overkill here. I get the message Perry was going for in this one, but he should have toned it down a LOT. Some of these characters are written so reprehensibly (Not in an effective way) It was extremely unpleasant to witness and ruined the viewing experience for me. We get the typical Perry ending where the despicable characters wind up feeling copious amounts of guilt for how they've acted and want to be better. I just didn't care one iota about it. Loretta Devine is the most sympathetic character in this film, but that isn't saying much. She's forced to be the most sympathetic because she is the one with the terminal illness. It's a solid, if unmemorable performance. Tyler Perry does his thing as Madea, and I wasn't feeling it this time. Maybe it's because I was so annoyed with my viewing experience, but he just wasn't funny this time around; though. Admittedly, his "Old ass whips the new ass" line was gold. Bow Wow doesn't embarrass himself. That's all I really have to say about him. He was OK as Byron. Cassi Davis has her moments as Aunt Bamm. Shannon Kane should be the most despicable character in this film, but she isn't… That dubious honor goes to Teyana Taylor. Who in their right mind thought calling somebody's name with exaggerated theatrics (BYRONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN) was funny? Rest of the cast does OK, but most of them annoyed me by being too weak or too overbearingFinal Thoughts: Maybe I'm being too much of a stickler, but as a Madea fan, this movie annoyed me to no end. I was so disappointed with it, and its flat presentation. I really hope this series isn't running out of juice, but this was utterly terrible and wildly unfunny. Next up is Madea's Witness Protection & Madea Christmas (Later on this year). I hope you can redeem yourself, Tyler3/10

This movie is perfect for every Medea fan, vintage Madea which is why it has her name in the title instead of "another cheesy black movie so blacks can feel better about missing the opportunities others took to give them the right to do so." I am personally sick and tired of seeing movies that only make blacks look like a bunch of animals who do nothing but rut and swear,and act all ghettofied. Madeas family shows that there are black people who have class, and can be dignified and can take care of things with love and hardwork. Anybody saying anything else is just a typical hater, jealous of a brother who is making something of himself. You all are just loving up a pathetic sob story cause it makes you feel better about your horrible lives. Madea is Madea, and if you don't like it, don't watch it. Ps: Where's my "For white girls movie?"

Let me start I have watched all of his films. Tyler Perry I implore you, please! bring us Afro-Americans, etc., more colored girls, the family that preys, why did I get married and less of this drivel. OK! I will give it to you maybe 1 of your other Tyler Perry presents, Madia.... was OK, 7 maybe out of 10.After the first 5 minutes of the movie, I promise you this, if you are cracking up and find it hilarious, stay. However, if you watch the first 5 minutes and think WTF; don't waste the other 1 hr and 40 minutes. Wait till Netflix, wait till HBO, wait till TBS/BET carry the movie. Do not encourage this, and just to remind you yes I typically like Tyler Perry Movies.The most infuriating thing about this is that I know he is capable, as a writer, producer and director of more. Subsequently, in this movie he took lots of short cuts, and it seemed like these scenes were shot and wrapped on the first take. I could excuse it more if this was his first movie and he continually got better from there....at the end of the movie, and I have never done this but I got my money back, and there is nothing more than what I would like than to support black movies, any of them Wayans, Spike, Martin, Eddie, and yes I will still see the next Tyler Perry Movie.Think of it this way out of a 10 rating there is a reason why the average is 2.5, ouch!