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Madea's Family Reunion
User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 40
  3. Negative: 9 out of 40

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  1. AnnaW.
    Mar 2, 2006
    8
    Tyker Perry addressed issues that are prevalant to African American families. He let his characters mature. Spoon fed his audience wisdom.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. RachelH.
    Feb 25, 2006
    9
    The return of African-American Film Without token white characters! Hallelejah! Finally a film about us..by us!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. FredW.
    Feb 26, 2006
    2
    Lame. it's so dumb that you feel like someone is sucking your brain out of your ear. it's not entertaining either. i don't care if something is dumb if it makes me laugh. Coming to America is dumb but i love it.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. LauraM.
    Mar 8, 2006
    5
    I laughed a lot, had some good points made on moral issues. Hated the scene where the abused fiancee threw grits on to be husband, could be a bit more creative and not so predictable. The wedding scene did not inspired me to say the least.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. MarkB.
    Apr 10, 2006
    8
    Lions Gate (excuse me, Lionsgate) has got to be the smartest, most market-savvy studio currently operating in Hollywood! Never mind that their relentless, under-the-radar stealth campaign for Crash impressed the Motion Picture Academy more than the somewhat strident and arrogant "this is a cultural phenomenon, and therefore your ONLY viable choice, dammit" psuedo-strategy employed by Focus Features for Brokeback Mountain. (I would've been happy with EITHER movie taking home the big prize.) These guys also knew that the time was right in fall 2004 for a truly "hard-R" horror movie (Saw, which started not only its own franchise but a profitable if regrettable new trend); they grabbed onto a seeming hot potato of a documentary that they realized had great appeal to 49% of the voting public (Fahrenheit 9/11); and with just two Number One movies they transformed a playwright/actor that much of the moviegoing public had never even heard of 18 months ago into one of the few writers whose name alone, like Stephen King's SOMETIMES is, into a real box office draw. As he did with last year's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Tyler Perry once again gives us a rambunctious, hugely entertaining (and, if you're not a fan, highly schizophrenic) tossed salad of soap opera melodramatics, social commentary, swoony romance, Sunday sermon, African-American wake-up call, and low comedy, with Perry himself providing much of the latter in front of the camera as ne'er-do-well Joe (a distant spiritual cousin to Fred Sanford) and no-nonsense matriarch Madea. Some viewers find Perry's clashing tones jarring and unwatchable; I find his sheer unpredictability bracing and exhiliarating. Where else can you see a movie that gives you in one big package a searing family drama involving rape and incest, a deliciously down-and-dirty conversation between the two villains (played by Lynn Whitfield and Blair Underwood like neither has had so much fun in front of a camera ever at any time) that without the Freudian undertones could've come out of a 1947 Joan Crawford movie, a serious address to the Black community delivered by Maya Angelou and Cicely Tyson, and a bunch of fart jokes? To paraphrase Sally Field, this is the cinematic equivalent of the box of chocolates Forrest Gump was talking about! (My only reservation in this category--and maybe this is a cultural thing--is that I felt uncomfortable watching Perry rightly denounce spousal abuse one moment and then present the whipping of a child to within an inch of her life as the best way to get her to clean up her act the next.) Perry's first outing as a movie director is a surprisingly assured and successful one: he reveals a shocking truth about a major character skillfully and to maximum effect, and I enjoyed his not-exactly-subtle but not-quite-heavyhanded use of colors to suggest and sustain mood: fiery, dangerous reds in scenes involving a deceitful, manipulative mother; warm browns and other earth tones in Madea's household; ethereal whites and blues in a wedding sequence. Perry's work is expanding beyond the African-American audiences that previously made up nearly his entire fan base not only owing to his skill as a very effective, entertaining storyteller, but also because Madea herself is one of those universally recognizable characters that everyone either knows or would sure like to. Be honest: wouldn't YOU love to have someone in your extended family who always tells you the truth, provides a place of comfort and refuge whenever you need it, and either beats the living bejeebers out of your enemies or teaches YOU how to do it?… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. BrendanT.
    Jul 20, 2006
    7
    I'd have given it a 9 if not for the fact I watched the DVD version of Madea Goes to Jail prior to watching the DVD verison of this movie. For those who saw 'Madea Goes to Jail' and haven't seen 'Reuinion' the movie, let's just say Mr. Perry decided to recyle alot of lines from it. Also, unlike 'Diary' the movie does not have the same story as its on-stage counterpart. Having seen all of his Madea movies this one was prettymuch 'Reunion' 'Jail' and 'I Can Do Bad All By Myself' rolled in one. For those who haven't seen his other work you might want to skip the next two paragraphs, as they contain MAJOR Spoilers. [***SPOILERS***] Unlike the on-stage version there is an actual reunion but it's not at Madea's house. As in the original the planned marriage never takes place but another couple gets married instead. From 'I can do by all by Myself' Tyler recycled the scenario in which one family member reveals she was raped as a child with her mother's consent. Tyler even went so far as to spoil some of the plot to 'Madea Goes to Jail' by introducing a little girl who must live with her by order of a judge. It's volintary in 'Jail' but what she does and says in 'Reunion' the movie is not much different. Those aside, I can say this is movie calls on Black America to unify itself and stop killing and hurting each other. This was made obvious during the actual reunion but it the message was loud and clear throughout. Like 'Diary' the movie Madea plays comic relief and appears in less than half of the movie. Once again, Tyler plays the role of 3 on-screen characters (Madea, Joe and Brian) and during scenes in which two of them are talking to each other in the same frame, he uses a double to play Madea or Joe. Brian plays Madea's lawyer and Joe can be considered the movie version of Mr. Brown from the on-stage productions. The adding of new characters still does not take away from the fact that Madea's on-stage daughter Cora was absent from the film. I say that because she is a major character in the on-stage version and with her absent from the movie it slowed the momentum quite a bit. Overall, if you've never seen the plays you'll love this movie but if like me you've been following Tyler Perry from his early days you might be disappointed with the recycled material.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. JeanCarlosN.
    Feb 23, 2006
    7
    Great Movie,but unrealistic acting in terms of the old ladies talking and acting like "gangsters."
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. [Anonymous]
    Feb 23, 2006
    2
    I didn't think there was was a way to make this movie worse than the orignal, but alas, I was wrong.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. JoeyM.
    Feb 24, 2006
    3
    As a contemporary deconscruction of the classical Greek tragedy, 'Medea,' it falls short, missing nearly every story point and, in fact, every thematic element of the original.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. Marcelo
    Feb 25, 2006
    9
    Funniest movie I've seen in a long while. Great balance of humor and real world issues.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. TracyV.
    Feb 25, 2006
    10
    This film was awesome. It keeps you laughing. To all the critics that down this movie they are just hating on one talented black man.Tyler Perry keep up the good work.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  12. JadaG.
    Mar 5, 2006
    10
    I was surprised. Absolutely fantastic.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  13. ErvinW.
    Feb 24, 2006
    10
    This movie is off the chain. and you should go and see it.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  14. CarolU
    Feb 24, 2006
    10
    This movie Wonderful! This is a must see movie, you will be laughing the entire movie.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  15. LynnB.
    Feb 25, 2006
    7
    This film falls somewhat short of Diary..., however, Madea is always entertaining and I would have preferred to see more of Madea. Blair Underwood did a great job playing the villian as did the Lynn Whitfield. Cicely Tyson was awesome.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  16. KevinM.
    Feb 25, 2006
    3
    A cornucopia of cloudy themes, overstated stereotypes/clichés', morally questionable retaliations, unrealistic sequences (e.g., having a million-dollar wedding without a license or an official pronouncement of marriage), the most blatant sexual harassment of a teenaged girl, etceteras. Other than that, a light comedic event, I suppose! Oh, don't the police/EMT normally come when someone is scalded in the face with hot grits and repeatedly pummeled by a cast-iron frying pan? ... normally the assaulter (under whatever circumstances) does not get to head off to a wedding! Okay, I can't stop there -- if your mother prostituted you out when you were a kid (and you were clearly of an age to remember it) and then basically "robbed" your sister blind (not to mention telling her to take her "beat downs" like there ain't nothing to it), would you call the authorities or gently give her a peck on the cheek when she tells you that you and your man, "make a beautiful couple" after your tremendously lavished (yet free) wedding?!!!… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  17. Diana
    Feb 25, 2006
    10
    I loved the movie......good old-fashioned, but much needed truths and lots of fun. Can't wait to see it again.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  18. OnekaB.
    Feb 26, 2006
    10
    I love that movie it was very very funny and i love the idea of the movie.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  19. DianeL.
    Feb 28, 2006
    2
    I'm going to give this movie a "2" rather than a "0" only because I laughed through the whole thing, but not at what is supposed to be funny. This was so poor in comparision to "Diary" but it had the potential to be a decent movie. However, the editor needs to never work again because scenes were all out of order and out of tone with one another. Also -- ANYONE who finds that wedding "beautiful" has no taste. Period.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  20. DeidreL.
    Mar 28, 2006
    10
    I loved this movie, Medea was funny. The movie had a great overall message to it. I would definitely go and see it again.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  21. ShelleyN.
    Jul 19, 2006
    10
    It was awsome. I love Madea she is so funny. The movie made a lot of good points.
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
45 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 18
  3. Negative: 4 out of 18
  1. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Jennie Punter
    12
    What ends up on screen is confused storytelling that tries to solve too many social and family problems, sends mixed messages and, even worse, makes you laugh during parts when it's trying to be dead serious.
    Read full review
  2. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Chuck Wilson
    70
    Madea's a riot, but what makes this richer, more textured follow-up to "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" so fascinating is the way Perry - a first-time director adapting his own hit play - shifts on a dime from a silly fart joke scene to one of intense, Sirkian melodrama.
    Read full review
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    50
    Perry makes sure villains get their comeuppance, while heroines get big, frilly weddings - with God, and an imperious Maya Angelou - presiding over it all.
    Read full review
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