Tyler Perry's alter ego Madea is kicking up her heels in celebration of the Christmas season in Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas. This time out her co-star is the inimitable Larry the Cable Guy and between the two of them they stir up some laughs. Still this isn't the funniest "Madea" movie Perry has made but it is fun for the family and its heart is in the right place.
The film concerns Madea's sister Eileen (Anna Maria Horsford) and her daughter Lacey (Tika Sumpter). Tika lives in Alabama and hasn't seen her mother in some time. Eileen decides she and Madea (Tyler Perry) should surprise her with a visit since it is Christmas. When they arrive they are introduced to her farm hand Connor (Eric Lively).
The next surprise is when Conner's parents arrive for a Christmas visit. Buddy and Kim (Larry the Cable Guy and Kathy Najimy) are very proud of their son and are unaware that Eileen and Madea are going to be at Conner's house. They decide to make the best of it and move in with their bags. This makes Eileen furious and Madea curious. She feels there is more to Lacey and Conner's relationship than meets the eye.
Perry has assembled a large cast for this film. In addition to Perry himself, Horsford, Larry the Cable Guy, Sumpter, Najimy and Lively, the audience also gets performances by Chad Michael Murray, Alicia Witt, Lisa Welchel and Noah Urrea. Each has an integral role in the total story.
As with every Madea movie, the focus of the film is on her. She has her outrageous moments but her heart is always in the right place and that is the case in this film. She has monologues and diatribes that are certainly not politically correct but this character has earned the right to talk that way. Since Perry wrote, directed and stars in this movie he can do it all and say it all.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and raucous talk.
Perry gives Madea free reign in this movie and steps on more than a few toes. His villains are the ones who want to keep Christ out of Christmas. This may offend a few people but when you are as popular and successful as Perry/Medea you can be unpolitically correct and get away with it -- as long as the crowds keep coming to your movies.
I scored Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas a yuletide 6 out of 10.
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