Rating summary

Movie		0.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		1.0

Madea's Witness Protection Blu-ray Movie Review

It's the audience who's in need of protection.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 28, 2012

Be careful what you ask for. Over the course of many, many (many) reviews of Tyler Perry films, I have repeatedly stated that the actor-writer-director-producer-craft services provider (okay, that last one is probably pushing it) needs to divorce himself from—well, himself, and work with someone else, notably a strong director working from a non-Perry written script. So for those of you who suffered through the recent Alex Cross, please accept my heartfelt apologies and my stated confession that I’m sure it’s all my fault, as there’s no doubt Tyler Perry reads Blu-ray.com and took my recommendations into account so as to further his career. However, the fact that Alex Cross’ failure wasn’t blamed (entirely) on Perry perhaps lends some credence to my thesis that this undeniably talented multi- hyphenate needs to collaborate more, especially as a hired gun for other people. Exhibit number one in this argument: Madea’s Witness Protection, yet another trip down cross-dressing lane, as Perry becomes the annoying, overbearing and often downright offensive character who has pronunciation problems galore but always seems to know exactly what needs to happen to everyone with whom she comes into contact. Madea’s Witness Protection does show a certain “evolution” in Perry’s thinking, if not his actual style, for this is the rare Perry outing that doesn’t wallow in bathos and outright melodrama and instead tries (not always successfully) to focus on comedy.

Perry attempts at least to distribute the so-called “humor” of Madea’s Witness Protection among a cast that actually includes a number of people who don’t regularly populate his films. Eugene Levy (another guy who has had a spotty career writing for and even occasionally directing himself) is on hand as nebbish middle manager George Needleman, who discovers that the company he’s been working for is a Madoff-esque Ponzi scheme that has just been busted by the Feds. George, not exactly the stuff of heroic dreams, is the obvious fall guy, though even the dunderheads in the government realize that he’s not the brains behind the scheme. Assistant District Attorney Brian (Tyler Perry) has the wise idea to spirit away George and his family to the Atlanta home of his Aunt Madea (Tyler Perry). And that, ladies and germs, is the entire “comedic” set up of this pretty lamentable exercise, one which sees Perry not just scraping the bottom of the barrel but perhaps bursting right through it to the manure laced ground underneath.

Others in the cast include Denise Richards as George’s trophy (second) wife, Doris Roberts as his Alzheimer’s afflicted mother, and Tom Arnold George’s mendacious former boss. Also on hand are two seventies television icons whom Perry obviously cast for nostalgic reasons. John Amos (Good Times) is on hand as a Pastor whose son (Romeo Miller) is desperately trying to reclaim church funds lost in the Ponzi scheme, and Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons) shows up as Madea’s neighbor.

The dearth of real humor in this film is at least mildly surprising, as Perry, whatever his flaws, is usually able to coax at least a few laughs out of his most (intentionally) objectionable character. And one would think that with a relative absence of melodrama (despite a subplot featuring a church swindled out of money by Needleman’s firm) there would be more opportunity to mine the comedic waters. How sad, then, that Perry descends to the level of flatulence and (heaven forfend) prostitution to try to score a couple of giggles along the way. There are even some running "gags" (perhaps in both senses of that word) about Alzheimer’s that are not just questionable, they’re downright wrongheaded (no pun intended).

As my colleague Brian Orndorf mentioned in his review of the theatrical exhibition of Madea’s Witness Protection, Perry has treated this character as his own private ATM, restocking the coffers whenever he needs some extra scratch. And the fact is Madea’s Witness Protection was another huge smash for Perry, raking in well over 65 million dollars, the second highest total for any Madea outing. There’s obviously an audience for this type of film, but even longtime fans may finally be at the point where they’re wondering how much longer to tolerate Madea cluttering up the local Cineplex.

Madea's Witness Protection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As is usual for most Tyler Perry's films, the visual acuity of the presentation far outshines any actual content, and that's certainly the case once again with this Lionsgate Films presentation, delivered via an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Set once again in Perry's preferred locale of Atlanta, there are several nice establishing shots that present a glistening view of the "new south"'s major metropolis. The overall image here is very sharp and well detailed, with nicely saturated color and excellent fine object detail for the most part. There are a few passing shots, like the early scene of Madea in her Cadillac (see the first screenshot accompanying this review) that don't quite pop as well as the rest of the feature, but even those offer well above average detail.

Madea's Witness Protection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Madea's Witness Protection features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track that offers its best surround activity when Aaron Zigman's techno meets Danny Elfman score enters the sonic scene. Otherwise, immersion is pretty rote here, with occasional ambient environmental sounds tumbling through the surrounds, but the bulk of the film resolutely anchored front and center with regard to the dialogue. Fidelity is just fine and there's some wide dynamic range, not all of it courtesy of Madea's overbearing tendency to scream and yell at everyone.

Madea's Witness Protection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Tyler Perry: Multi Hats and Costumes (HD; 5:57) is a puff piece dedicated to Perry. Yes, we don't get enough of Perry in his films—we definitely need a supplement devoted to him as well.


• Thank Yur, Hellur: Impersonating Medea (HD; 3:15) has cast members opining about Medea.


• The Needlemans (HD; 4:57) is devoted to the "other" family in the film.


• Madea's Fun House (HD; 3:57) is a gag reel.


• Madea's Comedy Icons (HD; 6:13) is devoted to some of the well known guest stars in this film.

Madea's Witness Protection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's a reason that few if any Tyler Perry films are screened for critics prior to their release, and why their home video releases are similarly kept from scathing critics' commentary prior to street date. But it's an oddly ironic reason: Perry or someone at the studio obviously doesn't want bad word of mouth to spoil the lucre pouring in from the public, though it's obvious by this point that Perry's audience really couldn't care less what mere critics think about this or that project. It's a sad but inevitable fact that as long as audiences are willing to plunk down their hard earned cash, there will no doubt be more Madea movies. Somewhere along the line, though, people must ultimately become aware of just how tired and listless this series has become. It's almost enough to make you wish for an Alex Cross sequel, stat.