Perry, the playwright behind the phenomenally successful stage productions featuring comical & colorful characters that we all either know or can relate to. His plays, character driven slices of black family life mixing comedy with drama, have generated a buzz spanning from coast to coast, created people to go out in swarms to see his work on stage and flocking to video stores to rent his plays to view at home.
One of his plays, “Diary of A Mad Black Woman” has now made it to the big screen. In this film, Kimberly Elise plays “Helen”, a woman devoted solely to her husband for 18 years who suddenly finds herself dismissed of her wife role, out of money & kicked out of their shared home by her philandering, heartless, selfish & abusive lawyer husband, “Charles” played by Steve Harris. Helen finds a shoulder to cry on in her no-nonsense, tell-it like it is grandmother “Madea”, played by Tyler Perry. With Madea’s words of wisdom & willingness to fight for her family, Helen learns from the gun-toting and hilarious Madea that she shall overcome.
Helen eventually meets a man, “Orlando” played by Shamar Moore, that shows her that all men are not dogs and can be trusted. Through friendship that grows into love, Helen takes control of her life and her feelings of worthlessness and finally learns to accept love. It is through writing down her feelings in her diary that she can see where she came from & where she is successfully headed.
The mind behind the whole thing, Tyler Perry, not only plays Madea in the film but also Madea’s wise-cracking, feisty brother “Joe” as well as Helen’s cousin “Brian”, which had Perry as a straight laced lawyer & single father of two who is dealing with issues of a drug-addicted wife “Debrah” who won’t seek help. Tyler Perry also loaned out his house for the production to act as Helen & Charles’ massive Atlanta mansion. Rounding out the cast are Tamara Taylor (“Debrah”), Lisa Marcos (“Brenda”/Charles’ other woman) & the legendary Cicely Tyson (“Myrtle”), Helen’s mother who is living in a home for the elderly.
Directed by Darren Grant, a highly regarded music video director with an impressive list of credits that includes Brian McKnight, Jaheim, Aaliyah & Destiny's Child, makes his feature film directorial debut with “Diary of a Mad Black Woman”. Grant does a wonderful job of making a project such as this -- where one minute you are crying, feelings Helen’s pain to the next being able to laugh at an action or antic on the screen by Madea. This film also delivers a message of Karma or “What comes around, goes around” but without coming across as “preachy”. The audience can easily ride the wave of emotions of ALL the characters. While all the characters in “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” are black, this story crosses racial lines and is a universal one that all can really relate to.
This film is acceptable for families to go see together. After seeing this movie, one can’t help but become a Tyler Perry fan…that is if you weren’t one already.
Release Date: February 25th, 2005 (wide)
All Photos © Copyright Lions Gate Films
