Diary of a Mad Black Woman, is the film version of Tyler Perry’s stage play of the same name. Tyler is an unconventional playwright, whose works are very familiar to urban audiences, who may not make the trek to Broadway, but are more than willing to travel to urban showcases for a taste of the stage. He’s no August Wilson, but his plays, which include, I Can Do Bad All by Myself, Madea’s Family Reunion, Madea’s Class Reunion, and Meet The Browns, have earned an estimated 95 million in revenues. These revenues also include the sale of DVD and VHS tapes of his plays.
Drama critics be damned, Mr. Perry has proven himself to be a masterful story teller, and has tapped into a successful formula, which never fails to appeal to those attending his plays. This, his first film, is no different. It is melodrama and slapstick, both vulgar and irreverent, often preachy, but despite and perhaps because of it’s flaws, entertaining from beginning to end. I can’t remember the last time I watched a film that made me laugh so hard, or cry so openly.
Mr. Perry knows how to make you care about his characters, mostly because he infuses them with qualities to which all of us urban (hood) dwellers can relate. Who hasn’t had a lecherous old uncle or cousin, who could be relied upon to say or do the most inappropriate things at the wrong time? And who doesn’t have a grandmother or aunt who is so outspoken you cringe when she is around your friends, but are so fascinated by the things she utters from her uncensored mouth that you find yourself amused and egging her on?
Diary of a Mad Black Woman is original and yet not. It borrows unabashedly from some well know films - Most noticeably from The Klumps, Waiting to Exhale, The color Purple and An Officer and a Gentleman. If you have seen any of these films you will spot the places in the film where they are being imitated, but it won’t matter - Mr. Perry seems to be paying homage and poking fun at the same time. For all the cliches; the bouncing back and forth between slapstick, pathos, romance and spiritual preaching, he succeeds in holding his audience captive, and fulfilling the ultimate promise - To entertain. Is it a great film? No, but it is one worth seeing, and despite what the film critics say, I predict it is going to make a ton of money.
Plot Details:
After 18 years of marriage, Helen McCarter, played by Kimberly Elise, discovers her husband, Charles, as played by Steve Harris, has not only been carrying on an affair, but has fathered two children with his mistress. Charles is a very successful attorney heading his own law firm, and during the course of their marriage, he encouraged Helen to cut herself off from all family and friends. So, on the night of their anniversary, when he finally tells her the truth, he kicks her out of their mansion, with nowhere to go, and no one to whom she can turn.
Helen swallows her pride and ends up on the doorstep of her irreverent grandmother, Madea, played in drag by Tyler Perry. This character has become so familiar to Mr. Perry’s audience, of which I am a member, that you suspend belief for the time he chews up the scenes he inhabits - Madea is a hoot! While Madea is encouraging Helen to exact revenge, Helen’s mother, played by Cicely Tyson tries to encourage her to follow the spiritual and Godly path - To forgive and find the strength inside to survive.
Helen encouraged by Madea takes her first job, as a waitress, and meets Orlando, as played by Shemar Moore. In Orlando, she finds love, and learns to trust again. Charles on the other hand, has been shot by an angry client convicted of murder, and ends up temporarily paralyzed. His mistress deserts him, emptying his bank accounts, and Helen moves back in - This is where the Waiting to Exhale moment occurs - Helen, who in the past allowed herself to be verbally abused by Charles, turns the tables. Her hateful behavior toward him makes him realize how much he has hurt her, and he sees the light. Helen, who broke it off with Orlando, who’d asked her to marry him, realizes that she doesn’t want to salvage her marriage afterall - She loves Orlando, and wants to be with him. This is where the Officer and a Gentleman moment occurs.
Kimberly Elise, as Helen is touching and believable, not to mention beautiful. While they’ve done their best to ‘scruff’ up Shemar Moore, the camera loves him, and he still comes off as one of the sexiest Black hunks since Billy Dee Williams in Lady Sings The Blues. His portrayal of Orlando as one of the “good” brothers is believable and heart felt. However, Steve Harris’ character is so evil and one-dimensional throughout most of the film, that his attempts to be vulnerable and sympathetic at the end don’t stop you from loathing him.
Then of course, there is Tyler Perry who plays three roles here: Madea (as in mother dear) of course, he demolishes anyone that shares her scenes, Brian, Helen’s cousin, who has an alternate storyline of his own, that of a father raising two children, deserted by their crack-addicted mother who is living on the streets. His wife’s return to salvation will remind viewers of Shug Avery’s return to the church in The Color Purple. Then there is Uncle Joe who is a pot-smoking, lecherous and cantankerous old codger. There are some familiar faces in the crowd, namely Tamela Mann, who sings those showstopper gospel tunes in nearly every play Tyler has produced. See Diary, not simply to support one of our up and coming Black writer/producer/actors - See it if you’re tired of being taken for granted as a member of the movie going audience, and you just simply want to be entertained.
Cast
Kimberly Elise - Helen
Steve Harris - Charles
Shemar Moore - Orlando
Tamara Taylor - Debrah
Lisa Marcos - Brenda
Tiffany Evans - Tiffany
Cicely Tyson - Myrtle
Tyler Perry - Madea, Brian, Joe
Written and produced by
Tyler Perry