With a horrid narrative and writing style, Tyler Perry’s “A Madea Family Funeral” brings nothing new to the table and exhibits Perry’s consistently poor work ethic as a filmmaker.
In the 11th and final film of the Madea film series, Madea and her brother Joe (both played by Perry) travel to Georgia for a small family reunion. However, an unexpected death and subsequent funeral reveal some dark family secrets that cause tension between family members.
Many have come to recognize the elements that make a Tyler Perry movie: poor attempts at drama, flat characters and weak comic relief.
This newest Madea film has it all.
Almost every Madea film I’ve seen has two narratives. The first is the plot which centers around the main predicament of the film, usually presented in a serious tone. The other narrative involves Madea, which serves as the comic relief of the film.
The problem that I’ve seen with the first narrative it is always a poor attempt at delivering poignant melodramas; “A Madea Family Funeral” is no exception.
In an attempt to deliver a melodramatic narrative that appeals to the audience, the story instead becomes stagnant, uninteresting and hilariously bad.
What makes the narrative feel so stagnant is that there is almost no clear character development. Every single character has no defining characteristics or distinct personalities, which makes it all the more difficult to relate to any character in the film.
The dialogue between characters felt unauthentic. It was almost as if the dialogue was phoned in at the last minute. Nothing about the interactions between the characters felt organic or authentic and the actors displayed no on-screen chemistry between the film.
I hate to admit it, but the only saving grace of the film is Madea and her small family.
Though many of the jokes said by Madea, Joe, Hattie (Patric Lovely) and Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis) were of poor taste and sometimes problematic, they’re on-screen presence never had a dull moment. The vulgarity, as well as the use of slapstick comedy between Madea and her crew, was always enough to leave the audience busting a gut with laughter, including me.
It’s clear that Perry puts more effort in the comedic aspect of his films than the serious, dramatic aspects.
If it weren’t for Madea carrying this film, “A Madea Family Funeral” would be nothing more than the horrid love child of a Hallmark and BET movie.
I would give this film one star, but there’s no denying that Madea is a comedic icon and her presence is enough to lighten up a dull and boring comedy-drama.
Rating: 2/5 stars
Angel Ortega can be reached at [email protected] and @AngelOrtegaNews on Twitter.
