Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas - D-

Rated PG-13, 105 minutes

Perry's unfunny "Madea Christmas" lacks joy

Kathy Najimy, Larry the Cable Guy and Tyler Perry as Madea

It's not a good sign when you have Larry the Cable Guy and Madea in the same movie, both mugging for the camera incessantly while throwing one-liners. Tyler Perry's Madea is back in "A Madea Christmas," lacking joy, humor or any semblance of a good script.
Madea gets coaxed into helping her niece Eileen (Anna Marie Horsford) pay her daughter (Tika Sumpter) a surprise visit in the country for Christmas, but the biggest surprise is what they'll find when they arrive. New secrets are revealed and old relationships are tested while Madea dishes her own brand of Christmas Spirit to all. Directed, produced, written by and starring uber-force Perry, it provides his usual broad sense of over-the-top humor while spouting some good messages of family, love and friendship along the way. It's nothing new and still not very good (technically speaking, Perry is a sloppy, lazy film director and it shows in the finished product), and Perry's Madea, as usual, stomps off with the movie, but it will still appeal to his audiences. "A Madea Christmas" is really a string of episodes strung together, none of which you'll remember, though the utterly charming Madea gets in a few fun moments (his telling of an "R&B Nativity" to a group of kids midway is mildly amusing). Kathy Najimy, Horsford, along with Chad Michael Murray, Alicia Witt, and even Lisa Whelchel get in the act too, but overall "A Madea Christmas" is one of his least satisfying efforts, which is saying something (or maybe not) considering the quality of his Madea films. Joy to the world this isn't, though the film's soundtrack may be worth checking out instead of the movie.

Wes's Grade: D-