“Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming” Brings Trademark Antics to Netflix Platform

From Tyler Perry Studios – available on Netflix.

We’re all in on the joke, right, that he’s not making these movies for critics? The prolific writer, director and actor at the heart of Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming (C-) brings the streaming Netflix service a madcap dose of his patented brand of crass humor mixed with dollops of melodrama. The irreverent “Madea” character is back for her twelfth feature film appearance, and this time the sassy matriarch is holding sway over a family gathering as her great-grandson who is harboring a secret (Brandon Black) prepares to graduate from college. Director Perry doesn’t seem to mind saying “that’s a wrap” to his very first take of a scene, regardless of his own line readings as actor, nor does he give a good “hallelujer!” if the screenplay’s tone veers wildly from soapy sentiment to cartoonish caricature to full-throttle Red Lobster commercial midway into the narrative. A crossover with another drag comedian, Brendan O’Carroll as “Agnes Brown” doesn’t quite give the parallel mothers story any additional gravitas. Gabrielle Dennis and Isha Blaaker are standouts of the serious parts of the story, and Perry upstages himself with the uproarious antics of his wildly inappropriate “Uncle Joe” character as well as flashbacks of “Young Madea” in an inexplicable feud with Rosa Parks (yes, that Rosa Parks!). Still, this is comfort food for the soul with some wild-eyed characters skimming the surface of social commentary amidst some pratfalls and pathos.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.