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A Madea Family Funeral
Director: Tyler Perry
Starring: Tyler Perry, Rome Flynn
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“Typical of Tyler Perry’s Madea series: excruciating, baffling; garishly lit and cheap-looking; woefully overlong and ham-fistedly plotted because Perry has no incentive to improve.”
“As usual, slapstick reigns supreme, peppered with sentiment, stilted melodrama and social commentary.”
These are just two choice comments from critics about the 12th instalment of Tyler Perry’s Madea franchise, A Madea Family Funeral. Luckily for the critics, this is also the final Madea movie as the old lady is finally being retired.
The Madea franchise is perhaps the best example of movies that critics hate but audiences love. Each new shoddily made instalment rakes in stacks at the box office, and it’s easy to predict that it will stay firmly in the South African box office top 10 for the next few weeks.
It’s low-hanging fruit to slate the Madea movies – critics do it year after year, and it hasn’t changed audiences’ love for Perry’s films. Sure, you could point out the ludicrous plot and bad production values, and the overwrought, lowbrow humour, but that would be missing the reason people watch Madea – to escape their own often problematic lives.
There are those of us who want complex characters, thoughtful plots and cinema with meaning, and then there are those of us who want to forget a hard week at work and other responsibilities.
In this Madea instalment, a family reunion turns into a family funeral and, as always, the raucous Madea is at the helm to make it all happen.
I agree with the other critics – this film is just awful. Even if we measure it by the yardstick of other Madea movies, it’s pretty bad. But if this movie lets you escape a bad day or gives you laughter in a time of need, who am I to say you shouldn’t go and watch it?
