Diary of a Mad Black Woman

by Bill Henry on Feb.23, 2005, under Bill Henry's Movie Reviews

Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Directed by Darren Grant
Feeling the rage nationwide 2/25/2005
1 *
Once upon a time there was a little boy who knew from an early age that a mistake had been made. He knew that he was a little boy because everyone told him so. But he was just as sure that he was supposed to be a little girl. When he put on girl clothes he felt pretty even though a blind man could see that while passable as a little boy he was one butt ugly little girl. A more courageous little boy would have done as he wanted with no concern for the thoughts and scorn of others, but young Tyler lived in a small, insular community where little boys could only act in a certain way and anyone that deviated from that one path would be ostracized from the group and Tyler would become even more marginalized. But the inventive lad thought that if he went into show business, he could put on pretty girl clothes and could pass off the whole thing as being part of an act. He would write plays and ensure that at least one girl part would go to him or else he would not allow his plays to be performed. Unfortunately, though Tyler was a clever little boy, he was not a very talented one. But none of that mattered because Tyler could still dress up in girl clothes and that was the important thing.
Presuming that the title Diary of a Mad Black Woman means enraged rather than insane, I can empathize. Diary of a Mad Black Woman is a vapidly transparent morality tale adapted from the stage play by Tyler Perry. The movie is also a cry for help. Its transvestite playwright Tyler Perry has created a writing career just so that he has an excuse to prance about in womenâ€™s clothing. In doing so he fuels a segment of the theatre-going world known derisively as a â€œmomma on the couchâ€ play. Aimed at African American audiences, these traveling troupes play limited runs in urban areas with all advertising and marketing aimed at serving only this segment of the community. And, if only to judge from Diary of a Mad Black Woman, these modern-day minstrel shows pander to audiences offering a pile of scraps unfit for intelligent consumption. To toss this out as theatre would be the same as offering up Big Macs as haute cuisine.
A successful Atlanta lawyer (Steve Harris) has been carrying on a longtime affair and chooses his 18th wedding anniversary to kick wife Helen (Kimberly Elise) out of their mansion (he generously rents a truck so that she can move her clothes). With nowhere else to turn, she goes to the home of aunt and family matriarch, Madea (Perry), a ghetto fabulous embarrassment that seems drawn from some Klan recruitment tract. While living with Madea, Helen tries to get her life back on track while reconnecting with her extended family, an obvious collection of urban life stereotypes. The rest of the plot spins out in predictable fashion all leading to the reform, revenge, and regeneration themes all designed to play to the back rows of even the dimmest audiences.
Most of the humor ranges from a bad UPN sitcom (pardon the redundancy) to that of some refugee from the chitlin circuit. If a white person had written this tripe, it would be loudly and righteously denounced as racist doggerel. Whether Perry simply has contempt for his audienceâ€™s intelligence or he just wanted to be a playwright in the worst say and succeeded is immaterial.
The biggest problem is that Perry is such a laughably ludicrous figure of a woman and that his overacting would be seen as excessive even in a drag show (he makes John Cleese playing Margaret Thatcher look like Liz Hurley by comparison). The movie is essentially a melodrama with Madea along for comic relief (though your greatest relief will occur when the projector shuts off). The trouble is that Perry in drag is so grotesque that the movie thuds to a halt with her every appearance. The least believable part of the movie is nothing with Madea though; we see Steve Harris lose a court case. After watching Mr. Harris pull not guilties out of thin air for eight years on The Practice, Tyler Perry is hardly capable of hanging an L on Mr. Harris completely fictional perfect record in court.
So, to audiences that might be conned into thinking that they might get some passable entertainment out of Diary of a Mad Black Woman, you have been warned. A desire for inclusiveness should not come at the price of your brains and dignity.
And finally to Tyler Perry, throw off the chains of presumed societal condemnation and put on some silky ladiesâ€™ undies (if you do not have them on already). Your plays are a cry for help, but you can drop the masquerade. Show the world what a strong black woman you can be by donning the dress you so obviously desire. You need not bother with this writing sham. Demand the world respect and accept you as the girl you are. And I am not just saying this so that you will stop inflicting your talents on innocent movie audiencesâ€¦ well, maybe just a bit.
–Bill Henry