Madea Goes to Jail (2009)

Mischievous grandma Madea lands in jail, where she meets a variety of mixed-up characters.

Director:

Tyler Perry

Writer:

Tyler Perry

Stars:

Tyler Perry, Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyler Perry	...	Madea / Joe / Brian
Derek Luke	...	Joshua Hardaway
Keshia Knight Pulliam	...	Candace Washington
David Mann	...	Brown
Tamela J. Mann	...	Cora (as Tamela Mann)
RonReaco Lee	...	Chuck
Ion Overman	...	Linda
Vanessa Ferlito	...	Donna
Viola Davis	...	Ellen
Sofía Vergara	...	T.T.
Robin Coleman	...	Big Sal
Bobbi Baker	...	Tanya
Aisha Hinds	...	Fran
Benjamín Benítez	...	Arthur
Karan Kendrick	...	Guard Watson

Storyline

Mischievous grandma Madea lands in jail, where she meets a variety of mixed-up characters.

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Plot Keywords:

cross dressing | sequel | fourth part | remake | directed by star | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, drug content, some violence and sexual situations

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 February 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$41,030,947 (USA) (20 February 2009)

Gross:

$90,485,233 (USA) (17 April 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tyler Perry Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

While the exact charges against Madea are not specified at the start of the movie, when she is in court all charges are dismissed due to the police not reading her "Miranda". The sole time Miranda is applicable under U.S. case law is when there is custodial interrogation by the police (questioning where the suspect is not free to leave). Any crimes the police witness they do not need to interrogate the suspect. The violation of fleeing the police is shown and battery on an officer is inferred. Miranda would not need to be read for either of these offenses to be proved, and a lack of it being read would have no bearing on the validity of the charges. If the police violate a suspect's rights by custodial interrogation without the Miranda warning, the sole penalty for the violation is the suppression of any statements made by the suspect.

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Quotes

T.T.: [pulls out a box of brownies] TADA! Brownies for my brownie! I made them myself.
Madea: Yeah, what do you mean "brownies for my brownie"? You trying to call me black or somethin'?

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Connections

Referenced in Suburgatory: The Great Compromise (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Bridal March"
Written by Richard Wagner
Arranged by Jay Weigel
Performed by Jay Weigel
Courtesy of Music of Melpomene (BMI)
Courtesy of Carondelet Music Group

User Reviews

Topsy Turvy Movie

This narrative can't make it's mind up. The director (who also writes it) gets confused between whether he has written a comedy, or a melodrama.

The scenes containing what we believe to be the main protagonist 'Madea' are an attempt at comedy that rely on spectacle and stereotype. The gags aren't executed very well at all (yet you can't blame the actors and actresses with this script) and I get the feeling that this has all been done before, recently in fact and better I might add.

Scenes containing Candi are melodramatic and actually not that bad. There is some good acting and the plot is well contrived. Some of these scenes question American class division and have a purpose.

So, bring these two elements together and you get a confused audience. The two stories have no relevance to each other until the end of the film when they 'collide'. I use collide loosely because this doesn't even happen. The characters meet and nothing much happens. I think they spoke together in about three shots.

The story itself lets the director down as well. It's easy to second guess (yet you wish you'd be proved wrong) and you wonder whether you are watching two different movies playing at once. The character of Madea is badly constructed. There is no development what-so-ever. Without giving too much away; Madea's involvement in the ending is complete nonsense. People who have seen this film will probably agree that she has no real reason to be there.

To sum up, this is the worst film I have seen in years. The director should have picked one of the stories instead of merging them in some sort of Nutty Professor meets Pretty Woman side show. Utterly ridiculous.