Diary of a Mad Black Woman is directed by Darren Grant, who is unable to wrangle all of Perry's attempts to entertain -- or pander to -- his audience into anything resembling a satisfying movie.
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)
Tomatometer
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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: Television
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
Reviews for Diary of a Mad Black Woman
The film itself is a touch insane, veering from comedy to cornball melodrama (and torture!) with such startling alacrity that viewers might laugh and not know if they're supposed to.
The trash-talkin' Madea stuff is raunchy and fun (if you're not over that gag by now), but it's totally out of place within the high melodrama that bookends it.
This isn't a situation in which the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. It's more like they're not even part of the same body.
Some of these problems stem from the film's leap from a theatrical production's play-to-the-rafters bigness to the screen's demands for something more finessed. There's not a lot of nuance here.
The primary irritant here is Perry, whose performance is the cinematic equivalent of listening to fingernails scrape a chalkboard for two hours.
Rather sloppily blends melodrama and spiritual uplift with crass comedy, sometimes in the same scene.
Nobody in the movie seems to know quite what sentiment he or she should be channeling at any given moment.
Blows to the head are delivered with more subtlety than the message of Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
I've been reviewing movies for a long time, and I can't think of one that more dramatically shoots itself in the foot.
Dear Diary, I want to see a better movie than this one, signed an annoyed film critic woman.
Some may question the combination of marital drama and madness with earthy slapstick humor but it, surprisingly, works – at times.
"Waiting to Exhale" crossed with "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps"...laughable, but oddly likeable
I'm not sure if Diary of a Mad Black Woman is heartfelt or cynical, but if anyone can write a movie that's both, it's probably Tyler Perry.
Displays a blind ineptitude on the level of some of the worst films I've ever seen.... This movie is an absolute train wreck.
Grant’s broad narrative never quite reaches the subversive tone it’s aiming for so awkwardly. Much is thrown into Diary with the flimsy afterthought of a tossed salad
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