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Movies / Upcoming / Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Diary of a Mad Black Woman

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Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)

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Reviews Counted: 106

Fresh: 17

Rotten:89

Average Rating: 3.9/10

Consensus: Tyler Perry's successful play can't make the move to the screen; this mix of slapstick, melodrama and spirituality lacks a consistent tone.

Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $50,382,128

Synopsis: Filled with a mix of comedy and drama, the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman is based on the immensely popular play of the same name written by Tyler Perry. The story focuses on Helen McCarter... Filled with a mix of comedy and drama, the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman is based on the immensely popular play of the same name written by Tyler Perry. The story focuses on Helen McCarter (Kimberly Elise), who has seemingly had the perfect life with husband Charles McCarter (Steve Harris). Over the years, Helen has been a faithful and loving wife, while Charles built a successful and lucrative career as a prominent Atlanta attorney. They wear the latest fashions, drive the nicest cars, have all the possessions they need, and they live on an expansive estate complete with an extravagant mansion, swimming pool, tennis court and all the trappings of wealth – a little piece of paradise away from the city. However, on the eve of their 18th wedding anniversary, Helen’s paradise begins to crumble as Charles announces that he wants a divorce. He abruptly and literally tosses Helen out of the mansion to make room for the other woman. With all of her possessions packed in a moving van, Helen starts on her journey to put the pieces of her life back together. Through the assistance of her friends, family, faith, and a twist of fate, Helen finds the strength and empowerment she needs to get control of her circumstances. She also finds that the tragic events of her life soon become comic, especially with the guidance and help-- mostly unsolicited, by the way--of her pot-smoking, gun-toting, and much beloved, grandmother figure Madea (Tyler Perry). Director Darren Grant brings Tyler Perry’s vision to the screen by intricately weaving together a mix of drama and comedy to tell the universal experience of broken hearts, redemption, forgiveness, recovery, new found love, inner strength and the importance of family and faith as revealed through a cast of colorful and sometimes familiar characters. [More]

Starring: Kimberly Elise, Tyler Perry, Steve Harris, Cicely Tyson

Starring: Kimberly Elise, Tyler Perry, Steve Harris, Cicely Tyson, Tamara Taylor, Shemar Moore

Director: Darren Grant

Director: Darren Grant
Screenwriter: Tyler Perry
Producer: Tyler Perry, Reuben Cannon
Composer: Camara Kambon
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Reviews for Diary of a Mad Black Woman

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/18/08
Joe Leydon
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/16/07
Nigel Floyd
Time Out New York

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
08/14/07
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

In an extremely strange genre combo, inner city gross out comedy meets evangelical passion play in Diary Of A Mad Black Woman.

Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
03/30/07
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press

What ruins this revenge flick is Madea's boorish, bull in the china store act reminiscent of the sassy black woman stereotype popularized by Sanford and Son's Aunt Esther. Loud and ignorant, Medea tends to trivialize every scene.

Full Review Source: Princeton Town Topics | comment Comment
02/17/07
Kam Williams
Princeton Town Topics

A satisfying end, but it takes a lot of work -- and a lot of suspended disbelief -- to get there.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
11/01/06
LaTonya Taylor
Christianity Today
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
N/R

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Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

This bizarre movie is many things--a celebration of Christian values, a drag act, a drug plunge, a soap opera, a sitcom revenge fantasy.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/18/05
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

As a comedy this movie works. As a love story, the movie contains no sparks. The dialogue is stilted and unnatural, which belittles the drama.

Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
09/30/05
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/05/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

This is a film that’s gone way beyond the realm of bad, past disaster. This one’s in the area of all-time grand mistakes.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
06/28/05
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

This movie really touched upon an aspect of black life that we can all identify with. More realistic then all of these ghettofied movies that have been presented as representation of black life previously.

Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | comment 1 Comment
04/27/05
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel
3BlackChicks Review

...a passion play with a guy in drag (who could ask for anything more?)...

Full Review Source: Weekly Planet (Tampa, FL) | comment Comment
04/20/05
Lance Goldenberg
Weekly Planet (Tampa, FL)

What works in the theater doesn't always work in the movies. Part of the problem, as mentioned, is with the broadness of the material. But it doesn't help that the script relies way too much on syrupy voiceovers.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
04/09/05
J. Robert Parks
Looking Closer

Blandly directed and dramatically shameless.

Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
03/29/05
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Perry's writing is dramaturgy of the most primitive kind, with melodramatic situations, tons of woozy sentiment, and humor which might be described as 'lowbrow,' were that not probably too elevated a term for it.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/24/05
David Noh
Film Journal International

the film's dramatic components are just as outrageous as its comedic moments

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
03/20/05
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

It's never less than watchable, a bizarre hybrid that somehow works as a whole, even though its various components don't mesh.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
03/18/05
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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