SALON

Friday, Feb 25, 2005 9:00 PM UTC

“Diary of a Mad Black Woman”

Will Tyler Perry's religion-infused comedy spawn a completely new genre: Churchotainment?

By

Topics: Tyler Perry, Movies,

“Diary of a Mad Black Woman” is a movie whose existence, and whose significance in our social and political culture, you can’t ignore. It’s also the sort of movie that’s so bad, you just wish it would go away.

“Diary” was written by Tyler Perry, the enormously successful playwright — you could almost call him a playwright-entrepreneur — who attracts a large African-American audience with his plays about relationships and emotional growth layered with broad religious overtones. In “Diary,” Kimberly Elise plays Helen, who for 19 years has been a good, dutiful wife to rich, successful lawyer Charles (Steve Harris). But he treats her cruelly, and even throws her out of the home they share so he can install his mistress and two illegitimate kids.

Helen flees to the house of her grandmother, Madea (Perry himself, in “Nutty Professor”-style drag), a gun-totin’, tough-talkin’ granny nobody dares to mess with. Helen rebuilds her life, exacts revenge on her husband and, ultimately, learns the importance of forgiveness. There’s also a lively church scene in which the lame walk, and an ex-junkie shows up, cleaned up and wearing a pretty dress, to sing the praises of the Almighty in the aisles.

This is the first movie made from original Perry material, and it’s clearly meant to be a crowd-pleasing, uplifting dramatic entertainment. Perry doesn’t have any delusions of artistry, and potentially, at least, that’s refreshing. But any points he earns for lack of pretense are immediately gobbled up by his lack of subtlety.

Everything in “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” is exaggerated for the audience’s pleasure, resulting only in its exhaustion. “Get the hell outta my car,” Charles barks at Helen, dropping her off at their lavish home after the two have attended a swanky dinner in his honor, during which he’s been the very picture of an angelic husband. Later, when he kicks her out of the house, clothes and all (having already moved the brand-new wardrobe of his mistress into his wife’s huge walk-in closets), he snarls, “Now be a lady and leave quietly.” These are all cues for the audience — and there’s no doubt “Diary” is aimed chiefly at women — to boo and hiss and acknowledge that, damn, this is one really bad guy. We need only one or two of these cues, but Perry lays them on thick.

Then the sermonizing begins. When Helen, who has been cut off from her family for years, on Charles’ orders, runs into her shivering, twitching junkie cousin, she asks Madea, “What happened to her?” The answer, intoned with great gravity: “Life.” And it takes Helen forever to recognize that she’s not to blame for the failure of her marriage. Long past the point where guilt would be an issue (and past the point where the audience expects it to be an issue), she’s still reciting embroidered samplerisms like “I always thought that if I did the best I could, God would bless my marriage.”

This is director Darren Grant’s first feature, and it has a naive, amateurish feel — that kind of first-picture awkwardness can sometimes be charming and energizing, but here it just feels hokey. (It’s worth noting, though, that cinematographer David Claessen gives the picture a polished, professional look, and he captures Elise’s effervescence beautifully.) “Diary” is intentionally broad — by design, it’s supposed to incite the audience to yell and whoop at the screen — but it mushrooms into pure ridiculousness and still expects us to treat it seriously. Hardest to take is the way some very fine actors, among them Elise (“Beloved,” “The Manchurian Candidate”), Harris (best known for “The Practice”) and the great, little-seen Cicely Tyson (whose performance in “Sounder,” more than 30 years ago, is the kind you never forget in a lifetime) are forced to plow through the movie’s viscous religiosity, as opposed to just playing ordinary people in tough circumstances — which is plenty for any actor to handle right there.

But as lousy as it is, “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” is weirdly fascinating. From a political standpoint, most secular white liberals don’t like to think much about what religion means in black communities (or in white ones, for that matter). After last November, in particular, religion, or at least those nebulous wraiths known as “religious beliefs,” became the great bugaboo of most of us on the left: We like our church and state very cleanly divided, for obvious reasons.

But churches aren’t strictly religious organs — they’re communities, too, and although “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” overdoes its “Jesus is the answer” message, it does capture a sense of the cultural and moral conservatism (if not political conservatism) that these communities cling to. That conservatism is a fact of life in our country, and while some of us may not like it, denying its existence gets us nowhere.

“Diary of a Mad Black Woman” shows that conservatism in full force. But if Perry knows what his audience wants, and gives it to them in buckets, he at least has a sense of humor about it. In the guise of his character Madea (her name, incidentally, is an endearment truncated from “My dear” — not a play on “Medea”), he delivers some sly zingers about the dangers of blind reliance on Scripture. At one point Madea (who has pendulous breasts and gray grandma hair and is very fond of the handgun she keeps in her handbag, which she brandishes gleefully with little prompting) launches into a tirade about how she tried to read the Bible once and had to put it down, because “Jesus talks too much.”

As Madea, Perry is often hilarious (particularly in a scene where she and Helen wreak revenge on Charles by sawing every piece of furniture in his living room in half — it may be broad, but it works). But Perry’s sense of humor doesn’t surface as often as it needs to. When Helen meets a nice new guy (Shemar Moore) and finds herself sexually attracted to him, she writes in her diary how lucky she is to have found a man who’s “strong, beautiful, sensitive and Christian” — this, after noting “Dear Diary, This man is FINE.” We can’t just take pleasure in the fact that Helen has found a nice guy who turns her on — his attributes need to be spelled out for us in a dry laundry list.

If “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” turns out to be a hit with its intended audience, it may spawn a completely new genre. We already have infotainment. “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” may be the beginning of churchotainment, a genre that invites us to laugh, to cry, to feel and, ultimately, to accept God into our hearts. Still, if He does exist, He surely deserves a much better movie than this one. “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” is potent enough to make the lame walk and the blind see, if only in the mad rush for the Exit sign.

Stephanie Zacharek

Stephanie Zacharek is a senior writer for Salon Arts & Entertainment. More Stephanie Zacharek.

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

7 motorist-friendly camping sites

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Sponsored Post

  • White River National Forest via Lower Crystal Lake, Colorado
    For those OK with the mainstream, White River Forest welcomes more than 10 million visitors a year, making it the most-visited recreation forest in the nation. But don’t hate it for being beautiful; it’s got substance, too. The forest boasts 8 wilderness areas, 2,500 miles of trail, 1,900 miles of winding service system roads, and 12 ski resorts (should your snow shredders fit the trunk space). If ice isn’t your thing: take the tire-friendly Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway — 82 miles connecting the towns of Meeker and Yampa, half of which is unpaved for you road rebels.
    fs.usda.gov/whiteriveryou


    Image credit: Getty

  • Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest via Noontootla Creek, Georgia
    Boasting 10 wildernesses, 430 miles of trail and 1,367 miles of trout-filled stream, this Georgia forest is hailed as a camper’s paradise. Try driving the Ridge and Valley Scenic Byway, which saw Civil War battles fought. If the tall peaks make your engine tremble, opt for the relatively flat Oconee National Forest, which offers smaller hills and an easy trail to the ghost town of Scull Shoals. Scaredy-cats can opt for John’s Mountain Overlook, which leads to twin waterfalls for the sensitive sightseer in you.
    fs.usda.gov/conf


    Image credit: flickr/chattoconeenf

  • Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area via Green Road, Michigan
    The only national forest in Lower Michigan, the Huron-Mainstee spans nearly 1 million acres of public land. Outside the requisite lush habitat for fish and wildlife on display, the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area is among the biggest hooks for visitors: offering beach camping with shores pounded by big, cerulean surf. Splash in some rum and you just might think you were in the Caribbean.
    fs.usda.gov/hmnf


    Image credit: umich.edu

  • Canaan Mountain via Backcountry Canaan Loop Road, West Virginia
    A favorite hailed by outdoorsman and author Johnny Molloy as some of the best high-country car camping sites anywhere in the country, you don’t have to go far to get away. Travel 20 miles west of Dolly Sods (among the busiest in the East) to find the Canaan Backcountry (for more quiet and peace). Those willing to leave the car for a bit and foot it would be remiss to neglect day-hiking the White Rim Rocks, Table Rock Overlook, or the rim at Blackwater River Gorge.
    fs.usda.gov/mnf


    Image credit: Getty

  • Mt. Rogers NRA via Hurricane Creek Road, North Carolina
    Most know it as the highest country they’ll see from North Carolina to New Hampshire. What they may not know? Car campers can get the same grand experience for less hassle. Drop the 50-pound backpacks and take the highway to the high country by stopping anywhere on the twisting (hence the name) Hurricane Road for access to a 15-mile loop that boasts the best of the grassy balds. It’s the road less travelled, and the high one, at that.
    fs.usda.gov/gwj


    Image credit: wikipedia.org

  • Long Key State Park via the Overseas Highway, Florida
    Hiking can get old; sometimes you’d rather paddle. For a weekend getaway of the coastal variety and quieter version of the Florida Keys that’s no less luxe, stick your head in the sand (and ocean, if snorkeling’s your thing) at any of Long Key’s 60 sites. Canoes and kayaks are aplenty, as are the hot showers and electric power source amenities. Think of it as the getaway from the typical getaway.
    floridastateparks.org/longkey/default.cfm


    Image credit: floridastateparks.org

  • Grand Canyon National Park via Crazy Jug Point, Arizona
    You didn’t think we’d neglect one of the world’s most famous national parks, did you? Nor would we dare lead you astray with one of the busiest parts of the park. With the Colorado River still within view of this cliff-edge site, Crazy Jug is a carside camper’s refuge from the troops of tourists. Find easy access to the Bill Hall Trail less than a mile from camp, and descend to get a peek at the volcanic Mt. Trumbull. (Fear not: It’s about as active as your typical lazy Sunday in front of the tube, if not more peaceful.)
    fs.usda.gov/kaibab


    Image credit: flickr/Irish Typepad

  • As the go-to (weekend) getaway car for fiscally conscious field trips with friends, the 2013 MINI Convertible is your campground racer of choice, allowing you and up to three of your co-pilots to take in all the beauty of nature high and low. And with a fuel efficiency that won’t leave you in the latter, you won’t have to worry about being left stranded (or awkwardly asking to go halfsies on gas expenses).


    Image credit: miniusa.com

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
267 points268 points | 11 comments
vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
134 points135 points | 21 comments
vote
Machiavelli doesn’t belong to the 1 percent | "The Prince" is oft-quoted on Wall Street, but its author was a hero of the working class who despised elites
85 points86 points | 33 comments
vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
34 points35 points | 6 comments
vote
James Clapper is still lying to America: A smoking gun shows Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is a big liar -- and it's not the first time
29 points30 points | comment

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Joker": Laughing at life's deepest sorrows