Tyler Perry is the most well-paid individual in Hollywood. He writes his own material, owns his own production company, directs his films, and stars in them, often as multiple characters. So it should be no surprise that his net worth is around #350 million.
Perry’s success originates largely in the character of Madea, a tough-love grandma played by an in-drag Perry. She was introduced first in a number of wildly successful plays (also written and directed by Perry), before making her big-screen debut in 2005’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
Madea went on to appear in Madea’s Family Reunion (2006), Meet the Browns (2008), Madea Goes to Jail (2009), I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009), and Madea’s Big Happy Family (2011), all of which made considerable profit, having been produced for a comparatively small amount ($5-10 million).
This brings us to Madea’s Witness Protection, Perry’s attempt to bring his gun-toting granny to the mainstream by releasing the film during the summer and bringing in more well-known, white actors.
Eugene Levy (the American Pie series) stars as George Needleman, an innocent investment banker who has been set up as the fall-guy in his company’s mob-backed Ponzi scheme. He and his family, including his mother, played by Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond), are placed into witness protection and relocated to Madea’s house.
Perry’s success originates largely in the character of Madea, a tough-love grandma played by an in-drag Perry. She was introduced first in a number of wildly successful plays (also written and directed by Perry), before making her big-screen debut in 2005’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
Madea went on to appear in Madea’s Family Reunion (2006), Meet the Browns (2008), Madea Goes to Jail (2009), I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009), and Madea’s Big Happy Family (2011), all of which made considerable profit, having been produced for a comparatively small amount ($5-10 million).
This brings us to Madea’s Witness Protection, Perry’s attempt to bring his gun-toting granny to the mainstream by releasing the film during the summer and bringing in more well-known, white actors.
Eugene Levy (the American Pie series) stars as George Needleman, an innocent investment banker who has been set up as the fall-guy in his company’s mob-backed Ponzi scheme. He and his family, including his mother, played by Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond), are placed into witness protection and relocated to Madea’s house.
The actors in the family do fine, as does Perry with his three different characters, although Levy’s character constantly spoke in this gasping, whining voice which started to get down-right annoying.
Unfortunately, the new actors don’t do much to make the material feel any fresher, now that it’s our seventh time seeing essentially the same Madea-giving-people-attitude jokes on display yet again. And a trip to New York City, in which Madea could have interacted with equally strong-willed New Yorkers, is wasted; a short segment before a return to more familiar surroundings and more familiar jokes. It’s not a good thing when the funniest parts of the movie are the bloopers during the credits.
Much of this problem is how major a character Madea has become in these films. The very best movies in this franchise are the ones in which Madea is more of a side character, coming in at different times to set other characters straight with her in-your-face, over-the-top style. But when’s she is on-screen constantly, it really just becomes exhausting as she incessantly goes on-and-on-and-on about everything.
Madea is also a 99% comedy character, so having her as the primary protagonist turns what is usually a drama/comedy into just a comedy and really takes away a lot of the emotional impact that Perry often surprises us with. Witness Protection barely has any of the emotion of the previous film, Big Happy Family, in which I almost cried at one point (I’m serious, it got intense).
I like the Madea movies and I’m sure that Perry will continue to find success with his films. But as it stands, Madea’s Witness Protection is a bump in the road of his filmography. That being said, with the hope that Witness Protection is only a stepping stone to a future Madea movie that is yet again hilarious and heart-felt…
The Final Word: Wait to rent it.
Unfortunately, the new actors don’t do much to make the material feel any fresher, now that it’s our seventh time seeing essentially the same Madea-giving-people-attitude jokes on display yet again. And a trip to New York City, in which Madea could have interacted with equally strong-willed New Yorkers, is wasted; a short segment before a return to more familiar surroundings and more familiar jokes. It’s not a good thing when the funniest parts of the movie are the bloopers during the credits.
Much of this problem is how major a character Madea has become in these films. The very best movies in this franchise are the ones in which Madea is more of a side character, coming in at different times to set other characters straight with her in-your-face, over-the-top style. But when’s she is on-screen constantly, it really just becomes exhausting as she incessantly goes on-and-on-and-on about everything.
Madea is also a 99% comedy character, so having her as the primary protagonist turns what is usually a drama/comedy into just a comedy and really takes away a lot of the emotional impact that Perry often surprises us with. Witness Protection barely has any of the emotion of the previous film, Big Happy Family, in which I almost cried at one point (I’m serious, it got intense).
I like the Madea movies and I’m sure that Perry will continue to find success with his films. But as it stands, Madea’s Witness Protection is a bump in the road of his filmography. That being said, with the hope that Witness Protection is only a stepping stone to a future Madea movie that is yet again hilarious and heart-felt…
The Final Word: Wait to rent it.
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