I thought that this play was very meaningful. I recommend that everyone see this play, whether they are church goers or not. Madea is absolutely hilarious! You have to have a sense of humor when it comes to this movie. Tyler Perry did a great job with the script and I personally think he picked out the best actors and actresses for this play. This play touched me spiritually. This play has many different stories going on at the same time. At times it can be very fast-paced and slow at other times. The stage was very realistic, especially for a play. Adults can relate to many of the things going on in this play. I don't recommend this movie for kids simply because they mainly talk about adult situations.
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jaquihdez26 July 2005
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wavecat135 January 2020No one could call this great art, but Tyler Perry's play is wacky, lively, and fun. There are musical numbers mixed in and they pop up unexpectedly, with the actors doing some very fine singing. Perry himself is in drag in the lead role as Madea, an unpredictable, acerbic, big black woman who goes around (sometimes armed with a pistol) zinging and goosing (metaphorically that is) the other characters, who are mostly pretty standard African American types. We have the churchy folks, the virile young bucks, a wild young lady, a conservative young lady, and so on. Apparently there has been a whole series of these Madea flicks and they are very popular with African American audiences, but I bet they are mostly more of the same. To add to the confusion, there are 2 versions of this out there - I think one is a filmed version of the original stage play (which is what I saw) and the other is made for the movies.
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pjh070420 March 2006I rated this movie on two levels. The first, as a genre movie. That's the 8. This is the most relevant, in my opinion, "black" movie that I've seen in years. It's a "dramedy," as some people like to label them.
Perry tackled serious issues in "Diary of a Mad Black Women" which first introduced Madea. I enjoyed that film as well, but didn't find it nearly as level, consistent, and "true" as Family Reunion. Diary was also melodramatic in comparison, which is ironic considering that Family Reunion more consistently tackles heavy situations. Madea seems to have found her groove this time around. The ensemble cast also seem better attuned to one another and more certain of where the plot is heading.
Parents need to know that the situations in Madea's Family Reunion are more numerous and more adult than in Diary of a Mad Black Woman. However, there was nothing that I could not have discussed with my eleven year old and I overheard one woman telling a young boy "Don't ever hit a woman" following a scene in which a young woman gets slapped hard by her fiancée.
This one definitely carries a message. Kudos to the writer, director, and actors for having the guts to be a part of this project. It's not "up" on gangsta culture at all and calls for a recognition of the sacrifices of those who went before. Who could argue with four generations of women?
If I were rating this on a scale of movies in general, then I'd have given it a 6 or 7 due to some of the vulgarity, mostly stemming from the half-senile brother of Madea (who had lost almost all of any of his dubious charm from the first movie) and the lecherous men at the family reunion. Surely there are more endearing, uplifting black patriarchs that Perry can pull from than this crew. He nails the best and the worst of the women perfectly.
As the only white person attending the night I saw this movie,I was interested in the reactions of the other moviegoers who were all African American. Or I tried to be. I enjoyed the movie so much that I usually forgot to notice.
The women laughed. A lot. The men laughed a lot as well , but since Madea rules this movie, then it didn't surprise me that we women in particular found her solutions to truant foster kids, crotchety old men, and abused women enjoyable. During the family reunion when a table of old geysers are leering after the nubile daughters of their kin, one female audience member loudly said "That's nasty." I thought the same thing. However, it's probably also true and Perry seems intent on keeping his characters true, warts and all.
All in all, my hat's off to him. This is a film that every teenager in America should see in English, Drama, and/or Writing class. The applications are endless and the discussions would, no doubt, be interesting. Send us more, Mr. Perry....and Madea.
Oh yeah, Cicely Tyson is still as regal and as down-to-earth as ever. God, it was good to see her. -
lysamher16 July 2012its funny how the ratings for all the madeas movies are sooo low but the movies are sooo funny.. i will tell you. madea is not for everyone.. its either u love madea or u hate madea.. if you enjoy his movies, you will enjoy all of them. honestly, i am Asian and i believe a lot of the people who gave all the madea movies one star are probably all or majority of them are white. excuse me not just white but racist white folks that probably got offended. if you look at the reviews, a lot of them have 8, 9 or 10 stars but its the 1'z that bring the rating below what it should be. i think the majority of the madeas movies would range from at least 6 to 8 stars if it weren't for those that rated it a 1 because they were offended.
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bblack1-699-96857731 May 2013Isaac Carree is not in this play. I don't know why his name is listed above; he's not a cast member. I should have mentioned this in the other review, too, but Tamela Mann's character in the "Diary" play is not Cora. Anyway, here we go: "Madea's Family Reunion: The Play" is the first work by Tyler Perry my family and I ever saw. This was the first time we were introduced to the writing, entertainment, and ministry of Tyler Perry, and the first time we met such characters as Madea, Brown, and Cora. It's funny, it's dramatic, it's musical, and it's good...So, why don't I like this one as much? To say this piece is bad would be wrong; it's a very good play, as I said earlier. It has the same things a Tyler Perry's other productions have: good and relatable stories and characters, dramatic scenes balanced out with very funny moments, nice music, etc. I don't think it's a bad production; I just think that for me, personally, it's kind of forgettable. After my family and I ordered some of Tyler Perry's earlier plays from his company, I would always prefer all of the other DVDs ("I Can Do Bad," "Class Reunion," and "Meet the Browns") over this one. To be honest, I have no idea why. Maybe the other plays tell their stories better, maybe there's more focus to their plot and characters. Maybe the other ones have more comedy than this one. I don't know what it is, I can't explain it.
But, again, that's not to say that this is at all bad. In fact, I'll say I want to watch it again to entertain myself. It's still a very good piece with the classic Tyler Perry style of entertainment. I'm just more entertained by his other plays than this one; but, again, that's a personal preference. Watch it, and judge for yourself. BOOYIKA! -
jmarinoff10121 October 2005If we had more original plays like this, written from the heart, spreading the Gospel we wouldn't have such an immoral world that's full of destruction. We would have people who receive the love of God and understand what life is all about. There would be less gangs and more healthy relationships.
Not only were the actors in this play brilliant, the singers blew me away and the music was exciting and moving
Thank you Mr. Perry for inviting God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost to participate in your play and share love, hope and understanding with the world. God Bless you