Movie Review: Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas

Have you ever had a secret that you couldn't figure out how to tell the family? In December 2013, Lacey had one of those secrets and she's just waiting for the right time to tell it is all...

Directing this 100 minute comedy/drama is Tyler Perry.

Filling the screen with Christmas joy is: Tyler Perry as Madea, Anna Maria Horsford as Eileen, Tika Sumpter as Lacey, Eric Lively as Conner, Larry the Cable Guy as Buddy, Kathy Najimy as Kim, JR Lemon as Oliver, Chad Michael Murry as Tanner Noah Urrea as Bailey and Lisa Whelchel as Nancy Porter.

Since Lacey won't be home for Christmas this year, Eileen, her mom, decides to surprise her with a visit. After Eileen talks her aunt Madea into a little road trip the ladies are off and traveling. Soon the ladies arrive
and get settled in, which causes a bit of a wrinkle in Lacey's life. Eileen doesn't really care much for Lacey's farm life and even less for Conner, Lacey's farmhand. So, when Conner's parents show up to spend Christmas with him, things start to get a little tense. Between the stress at home and the problems at work, Lacey just doesn't know what to do with everybody. All this just makes the secret Lacey's carrying that much heavier.

So, the man of many hats is at it again, with his seventh film of the Madea franchise. In this one he not only starred in but also directed, wrote and produced. As for the franchise, if you're a fan you'll like this one as well. If you're getting a little burned out on the Madea titles (as I am), you may not find it as entertaining. It's not that Perry isn't a good writer, it's just nothing really changes in each film. Madea will crack jokes on people, threaten some more people, attempt or actually assault an individual and solve the problems of the world... or just those pertaining to the film. In each... and every... film, so yeah I'm getting burned out by the lack of change up. To this day (in my opinion) Diary of a Mad Black Woman is his best work. Everything else in the franchise has been good enough to entertain the masses, but falls short in comparison. In this one we have a good storyline and the playthrough was good also. Upside, it was cool to see Lisa Whelchel (Blair from The Facts of Life). The last time I saw her was on Survivor, which was kinda weird. So as not to ramble on anymore... The cast does a really good job, and Larry the Cable Guy always has a few laughs for his audience. Yeah, the script is funny, but the overall movie was kinda boring. Again, nothing ever really changes so you come to expect what's around the corner. While this is supposed to be a comedy/drama, it's more comedy, the drama part never really gets all that deep. Overall, it's good enough to watch when you've got to pass the time. Or throw it on in the background while you have company over, look over every now and then, everybody laugh and go back to what you were doing.

It's rated PG-13.

3 stars.


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