Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.5

Diary of a Mad Black Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry, and Tyler Perry star in a Tyler Perry Production, written by Tyler Perry. Who handled craft services?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 28, 2010

When did Tyler Perry take over show business? Was there an article in Variety? Suddenly it’s next to impossible to visit a local cineplex or turn to the movie ad page in your local newspaper without being bombarded by a Perry product. Within just the last few years, a glut of Perry films has been released, often to astounding box office (and almost just as frequently to critical disdain). This is a one man acting-writing-directing-producing machine who seems to have limitless energy in bringing his ideas to a mass market audience. Perry is a man with his fingers quite obviously on the pulse of his largely African American audience, and it should go without saying that I am not exactly in that demographic, so my response to his films may not exactly be the touchstone of critical analysis, especially for those who share Perry’s ethnicity. But I’ve already slogged through two Perry films now, Why Did I Get Married Too? and, now, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, and all I can say is Perry’s films so far have the same schizoid tendencies that he himself makes fun of with regard to his predilection to don lots of makeup, Eddie Murphy style, and become a host of different characters. While Married Too had a more or less coherent dramatic throughline, Diary of a Mad Black Woman is one of the oddest films in recent memory. Many of you probably saw the television trailer for the film, which featured Perry in his cross dressing getup as manic Grandma Medea, slicing and dicing her way through an elegantly plush couch with a chainsaw. Two things probably sprang to your mind when you saw that spot: 1) Medea was the mad black woman, and 2) Diary of a Mad Black Woman was going to be a rip-snorting, high energy farce. Nothing could be further than the truth. The mad black woman of the film’s title is actually Medea’s jilted granddaughter, Helen (Kimberly Elise), and while this film boomerangs back and forth with a wildly uneven tone, meaning, yes, there are elements of comedy here, it’s actually well nigh impossible to actually decipher what Perry’s real goal with this project was. For the first third or so of the film you would swear you’re watching a soap operatic deconstruction of the dysfunctional marriage between Helen and her super successful lawyer husband, Charles (Steve Harris), a Class A Cad of the worst order. But then a series of events brings Helen’s under Medea’s putative wing, and all hell breaks loose, tonally within the film and to the characters themselves, so that the audience doesn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or simply stop watching.

Perry talks in one of the many extras on this Blu-ray (most of which are devoted to Perry) about his Christian faith and how that faith largely guided Diary of a Mad Black Woman. This is a film which doesn’t just wear its heart on its sleeve, it features a copiously bleeding organ beating and pumping about to a variety of funk and gospel grooves. Of course I exaggerate, but there is nary a scintilla of nuance or subtlety throughout Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Harris’ character is so instantly unlikable, and is so viciously uncaring and demeaning that the actor seems to have wandered in from a nearby Grand Guignol horror film (one can only assume that’s Perry’s next project, evidently filming on a nearby Atlanta soundstage). Harris’ Charles doesn’t just cheat on his wife, he flaunts his infidelity, stopping only to occasionally beat Helen and then ultimately throw her out of a mansion that is a production designer’s wet dream, and that no attorney other than Johnnie Cochran would probably ever be caught dead in. Once Helen beats a retreat to her grandmother Medea’s home, she’s reintroduced to a slew of her “Jennie from the street” former friends, including a nice guy attorney named Brian (Perry yet again), Brian’s horny father Joe, who lives with Medea (guess who plays him), and Brian’s junkie soon to be ex-wife, Debrah (Tamara Taylor). In the sort of small world coincidences that take the place of artful screenwriting nowadays, the moving guy who “escorts” Helen out of her marital mansion is a young stud named Orlando (Shemar Moore), who just happens to be a good buddy of Brian’s and who shows up at a block party Medea throws. In Screenwriting 101 we get a “hate at first sight” interchange between Helen and Orlando, so of course anyone with half a brain knows where that particular plot point is going.

But despite the paint by numbers approach to a lot of Diary, this is a film that virtually defies expectation at every turn, and not necessarily in a good way. After setting up a distinctly melodramatic prelude between Helen and Charles, once Medea’s character enters the fray we’re more or less firmly in farce territory. And some of Perry’s one liners for his rambunctious senior citizen characters are funny, no doubt about it. Medea’s scene in a courtroom after she’s laid waste to Charles’ furniture has some laughs, but some of the best moments are in the crinkled hands of horn-dog Joe and those who come in contact (so to speak) with him. When Helen’s mother (Cicely Tyson) comes to visit, Joe confides in her, “I have Viagra.” “I have mace,” Tyson rejoins without missing a beat.

Helen goes on her own little personal odyssey of self discovery, hitting all the Hallmark feel good moments, giving Charles everything in the divorce, and then standing by him when he’s unexpectedly injured in a calamity that erupts out of left field. Finally (“finally!!” I hear virtually every woman watching this film screaming) Helen develops some backbone and gives Charles a taste of his own medicine shortly before the film swims off in a maudlin display of bathos. Helen realizes she’s meant to be with Orlando. Debrah manages to kick her habit and deliver an American Idol ready solo with the gospel choir at the local church. Medea manages not to shoot her handgun in response to everything. Good times.

There’s no doubt that Perry is speaking directly to a potent segment of the marketplace, as Diary’s box office haul proves. But is there intrinsic worth in this film, or any of the many others which are now making their debut on Blu-ray and which I’ll be reviewing soon? It’s hard to tell. This outing at least was directed by someone other than Perry, so there was at least the possibility of an objective voice in the wilderness at least maybe—maybe—pointing out this film’s logical inconsistencies and wild fluctuations of tone. One gets the feeling Perry is surrounded by fawning acolytes, and that’s a dangerous position to be in for a titan. It would be interesting to see what Perry might accomplish with a strong-willed mentor on the order of Scorsese or Spielberg, or even Spike Lee. What Diary of a Mad Black Woman proves most effectively is that without proper checks and balances, even a magnificently talented individual—and there’s little doubt Perry is that—can drown in his own good intentions, not to mention pounds of latex makeup.

Diary of a Mad Black Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Diary of a Mad Black Woman makes its Blu-ray debut with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a decent enough looking transfer that never really rises to anything spectacular, mostly because there's really nothing very spectacular to see within the film itself. The establishing shots of Atlanta, and especially of Charles' and Helen's unbelievable mansion, look fantastic, with richly saturated color and some elegant fine detail in the furnishings, décor and Helen's ultra-fashionable wardrobe. The bulk of the film, though, is midrange and close-up shots, which have a reasonable amount of fine detail without really being overly impressive. This film hovers between being relatively soft, especially with regard to some interior shots, and then bursting into some much better sharpness in better lit, usually exterior, footage. The Blu-ray's superior resolution does point out Perry's make-up, especially with regard to the Joe character, where the latex is clearly visible.

Diary of a Mad Black Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Diary of a Mad Black Woman has a nice, if again a little less than spectacular, lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. Immersion and surround activity comes in dribs and drabs. An opening party scene has a great mix of background noise and wonderful cocktail music spilling into the surrounds while Elise's voiceover remains front and center (something that defines the soundfield of this film as a whole). A later block party at Medea's home similarly has some nice side and rear channel activity, punched up by some music. But this is largely a dialogue driven affair, with good to excellent fidelity but nothing—aside from the not infrequent shots from Medea's handgun—to really tax your home theater system. Those gunshots do erupt with some forceful LFE, so be ready. The final gospel sequence is great, and the DTS track supports the superlative vocals easily.

Diary of a Mad Black Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Get ready for Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry, and, lest we forget, Tyler Perry in the many supplements on this Blu-ray.

• Two Commentaries, one featuring Perry, the other featuring director Darren Grant and Kimberly Elise.
• The ATL (SD; 9:49) a look at the burgeoning Atlanta film industry.
• The Real Mad Black Woman (SD; 16:41), featuring 12 real life ladies you don't want to cross.
• Music Montages (SD; 13:50), a set of music videos featuring songs from the film.
• Deleted Scenes (SD; 20:27), 10 OK scenes, the most interesting of which for me was the addition of some beats for Brian and his kids.
• Outtakes (SD; 3:25) four little moments, including part of the Medea courtroom sequence, which was evidently done before a green screen, something which isn't that noticeable in the finished film.
• Making of 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' (SD; 20:36), yet another EPK-fest filled with behind the scenes footage and interviews.
• Who Is Tyler Perry? (SD; 12:31), a self-serving little featurette with Perry and his castmates talking about—Perry.
• Reflections on 'Diary' (SD; 2:53), with Perry talking about his Christian faith and how it colored this project.
• Tyler Perry Spotlight (SD; 11:41), but wait, you also get—Tyler Perry talking about Tyler Perry.
• You Can Do It. . .It's Electric (SD; 2:52), which teaches you the dance steps done at Medea's block party.
• Photo Gallery
  
  

  Diary of a Mad Black Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 
  

  

  A certain segment of the populace evidently loves Perry, and especially his character Medea. I'm evidently not part of that segment. Perry's fans will no doubt want this film in their collections, others are advised to rent it first to see if Perry's odd combination of comedy and melodrama are their cup of tea.