Friday, March 1, 2019

Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Funeral



As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.  Such is the case of Tyler Perry’s beloved character Mabel “Madea” Simmons.  After 20 years, Perry has decided to hang up his size 12 heels and wig, letting the character go not so gently into that good night.  The only question is, will Perry bring the curtain down on a high or sour note?

I went into this film hoping for an elevated experience from the last Madea outing I watched: Boo! A Madea Halloween (I haven’t bothered to see the sequel).  Initially, as far as I’m concerned, A Madea Family Funeral was on track to follow in the same footsteps as Boo!. While there were people cracking up in the audience around me, I feel the film has a slow, uneven start with a few amusing/light chuckles as you wait for something to happen.  Thankfully, unlike Boo!, Funeral doesn’t take two thirds of the film to get cracking.  About fifteen minutes in starting with the traffic stop scene, Funeral starts to find its footing.  By the waiting room sequence, Perry and company are firing on all cylinders. 

The physical comedy, especially with Madea and her friends is solid comedic gold.  The verbal sparring/comedy is a bit more hit and miss, definitely favoring the hit side of things.  The extended family the film centers around fall on the generic side and aren’t overly developed but are serviceable within the story.  The lack of character development stunts the film emotionally until the end of the film when Madea sets the family straight with her no holds barred come to Jesus straight talk, and the hard hitting, surprising revelation by Jen Harper’s Vianne.  More than making up for the superficial emotional tone of the rest of the movie.  A Madea Family Funeral is at its best when focused on Bam, Hattie, and the four (yes four) characters inhabited by Perry: Brian, Joe, Heathrow (a newly seen, raunchy brother) and of course Madea.

While not as tightly scripted or strong storyline as earlier films featuring Madea, A Madea Family Funeral overall is widely entertaining, funny, and a pretty fitting last hurrah for Mabel Simmons.  A Madea Family Funeral ends(?) the franchise/character with less of a resounding bang, more of a hearty pop and thankfully not a fizzle.  This one’s a 7.  

Be sure to stay put for the first couple of minutes of credits as there are some choice outtakes.

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