Like most of Perry's movies, this one oscillates wildly and shamelessly between raunch and pathos, leaving plenty of room for the performers to work. The lively ensemble includes a scene-stealing Cassi Davis as pothead Aunt Bam.
Madea's Big Happy Family
Peace. Love. Harmony. Or else.
2011 · 1h 46m · PG-13
Comedy, Drama
Directed by
Tyler Perry
Overview
When Shirley, Madea's niece, receives distressing news about her health, the only thing she wants is her family gathered around her. However, Shirley's three adult children are too preoccupied with their own troubled lives to pay attention to their mother. It is up to Madea, with the help of rowdy Aunt Bam, to bring the clan together and help Shirley deal with her crisis.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Epitomizing the shrill franchise's schizophrenic tonal shifts, Madea metes out Christian life lessons with one hand -- and righteously bitch-slaps with the other.
The title is meant to be ironic. Too bad irony is in such short supply in Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family. Sadly, subtlety is also missing.
If Perry gets on your wavelength, you can forgive him too. He's only the host at a home-cooked banquet of wild emotions.
"Madea's Big Happy Family'' nonsensically knots the spiritual and the salacious, asking gossipy questions then giving pulpit answers so that the movie is wonderfully, woefully absurd.
More films
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Comedy · Drama · Family · PG-13
Loving but irresponsible dad Daniel Hillard, estranged from his exasperated spouse, is crushed by a court order allowing only weekly visits with his kids. When Daniel learns his ex needs a housekeeper, he gets the job -- disguised as a British nanny. Soon he becomes not only his children's best pal but the kind of parent he should have...
- Runtime
- 2h 5m
- Director
- Chris Columbus
- Cast
- Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan
Big Momma's House (2000)
Comedy · Crime · PG-13
When a street-smart FBI agent is sent to Georgia to protect a beautiful single mother and her son from an escaped convict, he is forced to impersonate a crass Southern granny known as Big Momma in order to remain incognito.
- Runtime
- 1h 38m
- Director
- Raja Gosnell
- Cast
- Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Paul Giamatti
Madea Goes to Jail (2009)
Comedy · Crime · Drama · PG-13
After a high-speed car chase, Madea winds up behind bars because her quick temper gets the best of her. Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorney Josh Hardaway lands a case that's too personal to handle: that of a young prostitute and former drug addict named Candace, also a childhood friend. When Candace winds up in jail, Madea takes the...
- Runtime
- 1h 42m
- Director
- Tyler Perry
- Cast
- Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Ion Overman
I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009)
Comedy · Drama · PG-13
When Madea catches teenage Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home, she decides to take matters into her own hands and delivers the young delinquents to the only relative they have: their aunt April. A heavy-drinking nightclub singer who lives off of her married boyfriend, April wants nothing to do with the kids.
- Runtime
- 1h 53m
- Director
- Tyler Perry
- Cast
- Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodríguez, Mary J. Blige
Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns - The Play (2005)
Comedy · NOT RATED
A funeral can be a time for laughter (and lessons) when the kooky Brown family gathers to bury Brown's 107-year-old father. It's a foot-stomping sound-stirring send-off and a great reminder--"Ain't nothin' like family, ain't nothin' like love!"
- Runtime
- 2h 19m
- Director
- Tyler Perry
- Cast
- David Mann, Tamela Mann, Terrell Phillips
The Tunnel (2001)
Drama · Thriller · N/A
Inspired by true events, Olympic swimmer Harry Melchior defects from East Germany in the 1960s and hatches a daring plot to help his sister and others flee East Berlin through a 145-yard underground tunnel.
- Runtime
- 2h 30m
- Director
- Roland Suso Richter
- Cast
- Heino Ferch, Nicolette Krebitz, Sebastian Koch
Dresden (2006)
Drama · History · War · N/A
At a Dresden hospital in 1945, nurse Anna Mauth (Felicitas Woll) cares for badly injured British pilot Robert Newman (John Light), whom Anna believes to be a German deserter. As Allied forces close in, Anna grows close to Robert despite her engagement to Dr. Alexander Wenninger (Benjamin Sadler). The gripping historical romance won a 2...
- Runtime
- 3h
- Director
- Roland Suso Richter
- Cast
- Felicitas Woll, John Light, Benjamin Sadler
Mogadischu (2008)
History · TV Movie · Thriller
The incredible true story of Lufthansa Flight 181, which was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in October of 1977, and the noble efforts of stewardess Gabriele Dillmann (Nadja Uhl) to ensure the safety of the terrified passengers throughout the harrowing ordeal. When terrorists sympathetic to the cause of th...
- Runtime
- 1h 48m
After the Truth (1999)
Crime · Drama · Thriller · N/A
Famous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele — the 'Death Angel of Auschwitz', who killed more than 300.000 people — emerges from his hideout in Argentina to Germany as a 87-year-old man, and must stand for his crimes in court. The young solicitor Peter Rohm is assigned to defend him, but Rohm himself — an expert on Mengele and his crimes — feels ...
- Runtime
- 2h 8m
- Director
- Roland Suso Richter
- Cast
- Götz George, Kai Wiesinger, Karoline Eichhorn









Comments
Talk about the film with other members