User Reviews

The McCarters are one of the many marriages of convenience that form the thread of high society. Helen McCarter, in a voice over, even says so herself: husband Charles is a man in love with appearances. It's confirmed right after his award has been given to him and has dropped her in their enormous Atlanta mansion: he orders her to get out of the car and she does.

So how couldn't she see his abandonment coming? How could she not know that seeing all her items boxed outside was a sign that something terrible was about to happen? How could she confuse the new clothes in her closet rack as being hers, and go one step further to lovingly wait for Charles to get back and spend a quiet romantic night? I found it shocking, but not surprising, when he comes home with his mistress and in a violent scene, throws her out of the house and into an uncertain future.

If Tyler Perry had built upon this premise and had Helen find herself and her feminist voice without resorting to the gimmicks he gives us here, DIARY would have been a complex character study. Once this prologue is over, the movie shifts into a completely different gear and in having Helen being driven to her Aunt Madea's house. Anyone who is acquainted with the outrageous Madea will know that for a movie relating to issues such as spousal abuse, she is NOT a character who could bring anything to the story. I can understand that a drama like this needs some outlet for humor to avoid maudlin, but Madea? The moment she storms onto the screen DIARY screeches to a halt. Sure, Madea teaches Helen to get in touch with her anger -- after all, she's the wife and was so for 18 years (implausible seeing how young both Kimberly Elise and Steve Harris look), and is entitled to half of Charles' assets. She even takes a chainsaw into play and saws Charles' belongings, each and every one, stressing her point. Not before doing a bad parody of Faye Dunaway in the wire hanger scene from MOMMIE DEAREST as she rips the gowns Charles has bought his new paramour, and I wondered why? I answered myself that maybe Perry loves MOMMIE DEAREST that much and felt that it suited Madea. Oh, it did -- just not for this movie.

And this isn't the only bad decision turn DIARY makes. There's the inclusion of Madea's foul-mouthed brother Joe. There's Brian, Helen's cousin, also unhappily married to Debrah, a drug addict trying to Do The Right Thing. And there's the shady dealings of (a not so law-abiding) Charles who filmed in deep shadows resembles an episode of LAW AND ORDER and makes the movie change drastic tones again because it seems out of place in Helen's plight. And speaking of Helen, her story takes not one, but two awful left turns that are completely inconsistent to character. First, she begins working as a waitress and reluctantly accepts the courtship from hunky factory worker Orlando (who drove her to Madea's house at the start of the movie and happens to be associated with Brian via friendship, a little hokey, and another mistake from Perry), but once Charles gets shot in court (also unlikely, but with the recent Atlanta events in which the judge was killed, plausible) and becomes paraplegic, she becomes vindictive. Consistent? Well, from the viewer's point of view, yes. Considering the way she was dragged from her hair out into the cold at the start of the movie, yes. That her revenge is equally dragged on for too long? Absolutely. (Not to mention the blatant mention of MISERY, as if we the viewer did not catch the visual reference.) The second inconsistency comes when Christian values are introduced and the need to forgive in order to move on comes into play. Suddenly we're flooded with images from a gospel choir, Charles experiences a miracle, and Brian's wife comes walking in singing of rebirth, no doubt a device which can work in a stage play (and can give the first of three climaxes), but not here. When all this is done, we can see the ending coming a mile away, and even that seems as fake as fake fur, but necessary for a happy ending appealing to a large audience.

I also feel that the actors try to handle the material even though it seems to me they're all miscast. Elise and Harris are too young to play a couple married for close to twenty years -- Angela Bassett and Denzel Washington would have brought their characters' natures out more easily but probably were unavailable. Shemar Moore plays his role as if he were back in THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, but then again, his part was written to fit a romantic triangle much in the style of old Hollywood soaps a la Franchot Tone, patiently waiting for his woman. Tamara Taylor brings pathos to her characterization of Debrah but does not belong in this story. Cicely Tyson has two small scenes and reaffirms her welcome back to the acting business.

Tyler Perry is the star of DIARY as writer, producer, and playing three roles (the ubiquitous Madea, Joe, and Brian). I can appreciate his movie in segments and respect its honesty, but as a whole, it's all over the place. (And including what looks like a skit in which Judge Mayblean Ephraim calls upon Bobby Brown for an offense and we hear 'Whitney' shrieking "Bobbay! I love you Bobbay!" in the background doesn't help.) He clearly loves camp movies and spells them out to us. Paring a story down to its bare essentials, however, makes a perfect, air-tight viewing, instead of packing too much into two hours. Perry has a lot going for him, and I think he'll create better scripts instead of focusing on one caricature which as a secondary player was overbearing.

I had heard so much on this movie, I finally decided to watch it once it came on TV. From what little I knew, I expected it to be just a comedy about the revenge a "mad black woman" takes, with all the funny antics from Tyler Perry's Madea.

Yes, the film is definitely funny in places. But there is some very serious drama here that I wasn't expecting. The treatment of the soon to be ex-wife was horrific and painful to watch. So was her eventual revenge when her ex becomes disabled. That was a definite plot twist I didn't see coming.

There is a wide range of emotions in experiencing this film and I can definitely see the appeal and why it has been so popular. But there is also a side of me that wonders if the black community as a whole gets tired of the stereotyping of their culture. It seems prevalent here, very similar as in Martin Lawrence's "Big Momma" (although the latter being more comedy and less drama). But I know it does represent a segment of the population and Perry treats the matter with respect.

Also, Perry's rags to riches success story is very inspiring. I also appreciate that he places emphasis on faith and Christianity, which is rarely seen in modern movies. Kudos for that, Mr. Perry!

"Diary of a Mad Black Woman" is a drama with comedic turrets syndrome. One suspects that with a little more tweaking of the screenplay, the multiple genre's Tyler Perry tries to stuff into the story might have turned out to be cohesive and well-weaved. Instead, the stage-to-screen adaptation has trouble with the transitions from drama to comedy and succeeds more with one genre than the other. This film is the product of "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Nutty Professor" had the two engaged in a form of cinematic sex, but luckily for "Diary of a Mad Black Woman", both of its parental films were enjoyable, which is what "Diary", in the end, becomes.

The story begins with the narration of Helen (Elise), who tells us that her marriage is not all that it seems to be from the outside. Her husband, Charles McCarter (Harris), is awarded Atlanta's attorney of the year and addresses his wife in a speech he gives at a banquet hall, "I could not have done any of this without my wife of eighteen years." Helen smiles and blows her thoughtful husband a kiss. After the ceremony, we get a glimpse of why Helen had informed the audience that her marriage was just a sham. Her husband is verbally abusive and urges her to get out of the car because he has to "go back to the office and get some things". Helen, proving to not only be a mad black woman, but also a smart one, asks him, "Who is she?" He doesn't answer, snarls some hurtful dialogue, and takes off.

The very next day, or so we're left to believe, Charles has a U-Haul truck parked outside of their mansion that is filled with all of Helen's things. Helen is puzzled and darts into her home, only to find new, designer dresses occupying her closet. Perhaps not so smart this time around, Helen assumes the new wardrobe to be her anniversary present from Charles. Dressed in a new gown, Helen greets her husband, who brings home a rather obscure anniversary present – another woman. He informs Helen that he has moved her things out of the house because he wants a divorce. This escalates into a yelling match and results in Charles dragging (literally) Helen out of the house and leaving her outside to be driven away by the U-haul truck (driven by Orlando who is played by "The Young and the Restless's" Shemar Moore).

With no where to turn, Helen decides to go back to her hometown, where we are introduced to Aunt Madea and Brian, two senior citizen siblings, who look to be in their 80's, but move as if they're in their 30's. Tyler Perry, who gives them distinct enough personalities that the two are rarely ever confused as being cheap imitations of each other, plays these two characters with a contagious energy. When Helen decides to reside with her Aunt until she gets back on her feet, she becomes subjected to Aunt Madea's lessons of life, which almost always involve a handgun or a chainsaw.

From the moment Helen sets foot into Aunt Madea's house, the story becomes familiar. Living amongst her relatives, reuniting with her roots, Helen learns how to be a strong, independent black woman, open and closed to the idea of forming a relationship with Shemar Moore's character. She learns how to release her rage in a rather uproarious scene that allows Aunt Madea to wield a chainsaw around like a distant relative of Leatherface, and she learns how to contain it through forgiveness. The rest of the film is about Helen's struggle to accept Orlando as the nice guy he is and not the pig-of-a-man she thinks he might be when her back is turned, her ex-husband getting his just deserts, and a rather tacked on subplot of Helen's junkie cousin seeking rehab.

When "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" is funny, it's funny. Madea, looking like Ru Paul in even more drag, provides the film with much of the film's comedic moments. Some critics are deeming her as a completely out of place character, but she isn't. Without the character of Madea, the film would be left in a puddle of melodrama. The fact that Madea is played by Tyler Perry can be a distraction, but it's an amusing one, and often funny. And if indeed the character of Medea doesn't fit, and I'm wrong, than at least her character delivers some quality distractions from the film's dramatic elements that are nearly always a hit-and-miss.

As I mentioned before, "Diary" has one genre that works (comedy) and one that doesn't (drama). I'm not sure if Shemar Moore cursed the production with his "The Young and the Restless" soap opera acting talent, but when the film chooses to be sentimental, it all feels so soapy. When Kimberly Elise and Shemar Moore's characters are dancing, he whispers, "This feels like a fairy tale" into her ear. And, he's partially right, but what would be more correct is that it all read like a fairy tale too. Also, there is a scene towards the film's finale, where every character, all at once, come into their own and change for the better while at church. "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" takes the conventional happy ending and feeds it until it becomes so bloated with convenient closure, that it all seems forced.

When walking into "Diary of a Mad Black Woman", I had no idea what I was in for. The trailers for the film had made it look like an all-out, "Big Mama's House" type of comedy, but it was nothing of the sort. The problem with "Diary" is that it focuses on the wrong genre – drama. I think, had the film focused on the comedic elements of the story, turning the entire ordeal into a black comedy (no pun intended), this film would have worked a lot better.

I wanted to like this movie. I really, really did. Tyler Perry is a comic original and his character of Madea is a hilarious creation (even to this white boy) - but Lordy this movie is a confusing mess. It starts out with a serious "soap opera" style that we hope will give way to a nicely contrasting comic spree of good natured revenge, self-discovery and adventure. Wrong. After a brief flirtation with that notion, we are flung immediately back into the soap opera world with liberal doses of religious fervor and a secret knowledge that 'God can do miracles'. When the film eventually returns to it's comic roots in order to give the likable heroine her moment of triumph, I said to myself 'now this is what we've been waiting for! You go, girl!' But once again, the movie retreats, tempering our spirit with a dose of the holy spirit. After a lengthy montage sequence that is as phony as most of the rest of this movie, the film culminates in what can only be described as a gospel movie musical sequence - stolen right out of THE COLOR PURPLE. But we're not done yet - after a 'happily ever after' family dinner (starting with a close-up of a plate of fried chicken yet) our heroine marches off to find her real happy ending in a steel yard. Perry's Madea (and his Joe) seem lost in a film that isn't really where they want to live. They would be much more at home in a scenario like GREATER TUNA or MRS. DOUBTFIRE, where comedy is the main course. Or, maybe better yet, keep them on the stage, where Perry seems to thrive.

I identify with quite a few of the things happening in this movie. I believe that everyone does have the right to a happy and love filled life, but the treatment the wife gives the husband after he is shot is like watching a train wreck unfold in slow motion.

I think that her attitude was a direct result of him, but if she is no better than he was, he won.

This movie had wonderful potential, and failed miserably. At first I was rallying on her side, and I hoped that he would get what he had coming, but there was no excuse for how she treated him.

Leaving him there for 2 days, dumping him face first into a bathtub and then refusing to feed him when he could not care for himself was more abusive than he had ever been to her.

Although this movie did not receive as much credit from a wide-selected audience, I being a Mexican American thought that this movie was written in a unique way. My favorite part about "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" was that the woman forgave her husband for all the terrible things he did to her toward the beginning of the movie. As I was watching the movie, I realized that the theme of the movie was not how it was portrayed on trailers. In the trailers, the movie appears very comical, but in actuality, the movie has more drama. Most of the movie is focused on the renewal of Black woman and not on Madea. I thought this movie was unique and I plan to see another production by the director Tyler Perry.

This film is better suited for a night at bible study rather than a night at the movies. Not only is the plot a brow-beaten cliché, it is virtually unrealistic. The idea that a woman would console a man who threw her out of her own house, had an extra-marital affair that resulted in two children, and left her completely broke is simply ridiculous. While the movie zealously preaches religious virtue, it completely fails to capture the reality of human nature.

This movie may have been successful with some audiences, but I wholeheartedly dismiss it. Diary of a Mad Black Woman is merely an assemblage of clichéd, run-of-the-mill story lines tossed into one lackluster film. Its mediocre actors, constant use of poetic justice and religious moralizing are much too weak. Tyler Perry just should have left this one on the stage.

What a strange little film this is. This film has several parts that most definitely do not fit as a cohesive whole, vacillating wildly from preaching Christian values, to maudlin soap opera, to revenge to cheap sex-and-drug jokes. None of these are done particularly well, all shallow, generic and overdone, but, preposterously, the fact that it's such a Frankenstein's monster of poorly-done styles and that it shifts so frequently makes it far more standable than had it just picked a bad style and ran with it.

The film at large is ALL climax. Every single scene, and damn near every single line is either melodramatic exclamation or a punchline that could end every conceivable "MadTV" sketch. Every line is slopping crafted to elicit an outburst from its audience, be it an "Mmhmm!" or an "Amen". This is a film that just wants to please its audience, to the point that it thinks it's appropriate to bookend an emotional discussion about a family member who has descended into the hell of drugs...with a scene of a woman on lithium smoking a joint and throwing herself into the yard to escape imaginary rabbits. It wants to get a reaction from every scene, it wants you to either be crying or laughing at every single moment of the film, tears flowing regardless of the reaction.

Plot-wise, the film deals with Helen (Kimberly Elise) who as the film starts, is being put out on the street by her husband of 18 years (Steve Harris) as he reveals that he has children with some skank chica. She goes and becomes reacquainted with pistol-packing granny Medea (Tyler Perry) and the rest of her family, in the meantime falling in love with nice guy Orlando (Shemar Moore). But once her soon-to-be-ex-husband is crippled by a hit, she has to choose how she cares for this man that she still loves but threw her out on her ass.

Kimberly Elise does her DAMNEDEST to make a real character out of this, and she's the only character that seems genuinely amazed that she's in this cinematic life, between the shock of the crazy break-up, and the voice-over shock that the guy she's with isn't doing SOMETHING wrong. The rest of the cast doesn't really do much. Shemar Moore has some good chemistry but is mostly the rebound guy, while Steve Harris is TERRIBLE in his delivery, enforcing his character as the cipher Type he is. The rest of the cast is seemingly played by Tyler Perry, including ridiculously over-the-top comic Plot Mechanism Grandma Medea, and his experience on the theater shows through, as it yells every line from every character, seemingly playing to the old ladies in the back of the theatre who are hard of hearing. I'm a bit surprised that Tyler Perry didn't direct, considering music video director Grant shows none of the flourish of music video directors, but none of the surehandedness of someone better. The film is mostly simple point-and-shoot, and Perry could easily have done it, as he apparently did for the sequels and all the other things in the Perry empire.

It's a film designed for a specific group of people (middle-class churchgoing black folk), and its three-headed style monster and its basic emotional conceits make it remarkably easy to watch, and each and every scene seems to be either genuinely entertaining in a trashy sort of way, or unintentionally entertaining...in a trashy sort of way. Well, trashy in an upstanding Christian sort of way. In the sort of way that...uh...well...oh, what the hell? {Grade: 5.5/10 (C+/C) / #38 (of 62) of 2005}

I'm a middle-aged, white, single father of three, so perhaps I'm not quite the audience this movie was intended for; therefore, my comments may not be relevant, but I'll make them anyway. First of all, let me say that the movie was very watchable, and I think I enjoyed it for the most part. It has some humorous episodes, but I certainly wouldn't call it a comedy. It seemed to me to show a pretty accurate cross-section of men in general, black or otherwise. Some are scum, some are "nice-guys", and some are responsible family men. The premise here is nothing new - scorned woman tries to make it on her own, falls in love, has second thoughts, and true love conquers in the end - but some of the more unique characters give the film a different feel. However, one aspect of the film did make me feel very uncomfortable, and I don't know that it was intended. While the film has an underlying religious theme, the main character performs some of the most mean-spirited vengeful acts I've seen in a movie, presenting her as both a hypocrite and unstable, and frankly, while I initially felt sympathy for her, by the end of the movie, I was hoping she'd get a visit from a couple of thugs. Not the way I've felt while watching movies of a similar ilk. And speaking of the ending, I've seen other reviews here that have praised it. While it's certainly an emotional moment, it's been done very similarly before, and better, in my opinion. Anyone ever see "An Officer and a Gentleman"? Perhaps Mr.Perry was paying tribute, or perhaps he himself has never seen that movie - or perhaps he has.