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TYLER PERRY'S MADEA'S BIG HAPPY FAMILYMovie Reviews
Comedy drama about a woman, the titular character, who is called to action when her niece unsuccessfully attempts to gather her three grown children to share some distressing news about her health. Cast:Isaiah Mustafa, Loretta Devine, Bow WowDirector:Tyler PerryRelease Date:April 22, 2011DVD Release:August 30, 2011From:LionsgateRating:PG-13Length:2 hr. 33 min.
AUGUST 30, 2011
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family, Moderate Reviews
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family played to moderate reviews. • Wesley Morris called the film in the Boston Globe, "...wonderfully, woefully absurd..." • And Richard Corliss wrote in Time, "...exasperating... full of insult humor, a gospel choir and plot elements borrowed from 'Chinatown,' 'Precious,' 'Imitation of Life' and Cheech and Chong's 'Up in Smoke'..." More Reviews Below...
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family Positive Reviews (19 Reviews, reviews below)
Richard Corliss, Time: MODERATE "...exasperating... full of insult humor, a gospel choir and plot elements borrowed from 'Chinatown,' 'Precious,' 'Imitation of Life' and Cheech and Chong's 'Up in Smoke'..."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 676 words, 04/24/11
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "Tyler Perry at full melodramatic throttle... Big jokes, big emotions, big plot revelations, big character outlines.... The revelations are jaw-dropping and, in their way, intense."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 560 words, 04/22/11
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Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "...too much about this movie is cheap and easy... it's hard to know why Perry even bothered to write a story about these women, since he despises them all so much."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 468 words, 04/22/11
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Perry possesses a superb ear... though the unconverted might grumble that the movie's many riffs and rants feel recycled from previous offerings."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 04/25/11
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: POOR(cg) "...feautres gross-out humour, black-on-black racism, thinly veiled misogyny, cussing, slapping, caterwauling and more caterwauling, and melodrama..."(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 449 words, 04/25/11
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "Too lazy (and, it seems, cynical) to give his audiences any more than he thinks they want, Perry appears to have given up on making a coherent movie altogether."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 195 words, 04/26/11
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...an entertaining combination of broad laughs and sentiment.... Perry isn't the subtlest of directors, but he knows how to mix up tears and laughs."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 229 words, 04/28/11
KEY CITIES (2 Reviews)
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...stuffed to the gills with Perry's mix of the sacred and the silly and a serious dose of self-help... Perry and his ensemble are funnier than they've been in ages."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 603 words, 04/22/11
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "...more than just an industrial-strength soap opera. It's the entire daytime-television industrial complex.... wonderfully, woefully absurd..."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 764 words, 04/25/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (8 Reviews)
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "Too lazy (and, it seems, cynical) to give his audiences any more than he thinks they want, Perry appears to have given up on making a coherent movie altogether."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 195 words, 04/26/11
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: POOR(cg) "After a while it's hard to know what's more irritating, the false morality of the movie's drama or the comic relief sideshow provided by a quartet of elderly characters..."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 604 words, 04/21/11
Tom Meek, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE(cg) "As a director, Perry relies on stereotype, but though he's didactic, he does have a heart. And his is one of the few comedy franchises that reliably delivers laughs."(See all of Tom Meek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 131 words, 04/28/11
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: WEAK(cg) "...everything is pitched to jarring emotional extremes of good and evil, joy and pain, chitlin'-circuit broad comedy, and melodramatic speeches."(See all of Nathan Rabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 369 words, 04/22/11
Michelle Orange, Movieline: FAIR(cg) "As an insult comic, Madea has gone the way of her low-hanging bosom. There's little pleasure in watching her go off, and Perry's direction is reliably drab... tired."(See all of Michelle Orange's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 640 words, 04/22/11
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...an entertaining combination of broad laughs and sentiment.... Perry isn't the subtlest of directors, but he knows how to mix up tears and laughs."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 229 words, 04/28/11
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Perry possesses a superb ear... though the unconverted might grumble that the movie's many riffs and rants feel recycled from previous offerings."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 04/25/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Joe Leydon, Daily Variety: MODERATE "...finds the prolific multihyphenate offering another lumpy mix of broadly played ethnic comedy, deadly serious soap operatics, and aggressively rousing religious uplift."(See all of Joe Leydon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 670 words, 04/22/11
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...best appreciated as a showcase for the hugely popular titular character, with Perry tearing into the role with hugely entertaining comic gusto."(See all of Frank Scheck's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 496 words, 04/22/11
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Perry possesses a superb ear... though the unconverted might grumble that the movie's many riffs and rants feel recycled from previous offerings."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 04/25/11
18.1 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family's reviews are separated by an average 18.1 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family (19 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family's reviews cover 35.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 8,850 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 466 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family Coverage, Volume & Length (19 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 39.8 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family's reviews on average broke 39.8 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family (19 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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