A Madea Christmas

Let me preface this by saying I absolutely love the Madea series of films, and most of Tyler Perry's work, but this film nearly put me to sleep. Like most of Perry's films, there are great jokes (though not enough of them) and moral lessons, but where this film falls through is its numerous intertwined plot lines, all of which become muddled as the story takes its turns. What also weakens this film is the odd lack of screen time for the title character, as Madea is obviously the star of the show. And, unfortunately, Cicely Tyson isn't around this time to add life to a very stale film. Though there are some fun cast members (Kathy Najimy was a nice surprise) it's not enough to make this entertaining. Wait for it on cable, folks.

. . . and going undercover to expose crime and racism in the American South. Though the switch from comedy to docudrama in TYLER PERRY'S A MADEA CHR!STMAS may go against Mr. Perry's forte, he is to be commended for this public service contribution to the citizenry of the U.S. In CHR!STMAS, we see how there are still as many Ku Kluxers as bed sheets in the South. We see a Black family (Eileen and Lacey) struggle to overcome decades of heartbreak after racist Dad has "moved on up" to a White woman. We see how a White man pretends to be a farmer (though he can't tell a bull apart from a milk cow) working on a new "corn syrup" formula, when it is obvious the main reason he married school teacher Lacey was to provide himself with "cover" for his Meth Lab operations. We also are warned that Ford pick-up trucks are liable to crash and burn for no reason at all, and we are shown the necessity for "brushing" away any evergreens planted too close to homes in wildfire country. Perry further exposes the conspiracy to steal Christ out of Christmas, and suggests that the American crime rate can be lowered by a return to crucifixion. The Madea writer\producer\director also lobbies for minimum wage workers to use any means necessary to obtain a "living salary" from their employers, even if it means raiding the till. The main "takeaways" from CHR!STMSAS: be suspicious of EVERYONE, and never sacrifice a "teaching moment" on the altar of humor.

Once again Madea does many crazy mean things in this movie, such as steal from the job that she was fired from and hang a small child to a cross in the classroom for stealing. Anna Maria Horsford has been type-casted as a silly, whiny, obnoxious woman in every thing that she plays in! Tika Sumpter plays a teacher in a very small school. Larry The Cable Guy plays the redneck father. This movie mixes comedy with serious messages. Interracial marriage. Corruption. Keeping family secrets. An abusive father. Bullying. How can a teacher get fired in a school just because a parent says so without going before the school board? And who signs a contract without reading it?