Madea's Big Happy Family (2011)

Director:

Tyler Perry

Writer:

Tyler Perry (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 April 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Madea jumps into action when her niece, Shirley, receives distressing news about her health. All Shirley...

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tyler Perry	...	Madea / Joe / Tyler Perry
Loretta Devine	...	Shirley
Cassi Davis	...	Aunt Bam
Shannon Kane	...	Kimberly
Isaiah Mustafa	...	Calvin
Natalie Desselle	...	Tammy (as Natalie Desselle Reid)
Rodney Perry	...	Harold
Tamela J. Mann	...	Cora
David Mann	...	Brown
Bow Wow	...	Byron (as Shad 'Bow Wow' Moss)
Teyana Taylor	...	Sabrina
Lauren London	...	Renee
Stevie Wash Jr.	...	H.J.
Nicholas Milton	...	Will
Benjamin 'LB' Aiken	...	C.J.
Philip Anthony-Rodriguez	...	Dr. Evans
Maury Povich	...	Maury Povich
Stephen Caudill	...	Policeman
Chandra Currelley-Young	...	Sister Laura (as Chandra Currelley)
Palmer Williams Jr.	...	Manager
Yakini Horn	...	Worker
James Farster	...	Clerk
Ron Grant	...	Pastor Jackson
Cindy L. Jefferson	...	Nanny
Cheryl Pepsii Riley	...	Choir
Crystal Collins	...	Choir
Dequina Moore	...	Choir
Tamar Davis	...	Choir
Danny Clay	...	Choir
Brandi Milton	...	Choir
Jeffrey Lewis	...	Choir
Zuri Craig	...	Choir
Kislyck 'Kissy' Halsey	...	Choir
Kristal Danyell Murphy	...	Choir
Dave Tolliver	...	Choir
Kenneth 'Mistro' Lowe	...	Choir
Tim Stylez	...	Choir
Monica Lisa Stevenson	...	Choir
Eugene Clarence Brown Jr.	...	Choir
Mark Swinton	...	Choir Leader (as Mark E. Swinton)
Donna Newsome	...	Choir Pre Record
Ronnie Garrett	...	Band Leader / Bass & Strings
Marcus Williams	...	Band Drums
Natalie Ragins	...	Band Keyboards
Michael Burton	...	Band Sax
Melvin Jones	...	Band Trumpet
Derek Scott	...	Band Guitar
Justin Gilbert	...	Band Organ & Piano
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shellita Boxie	...	Customer #1
Demetrius B. Banks	...	Carwash Patron (uncredited)
Rob Epstein	...	Home Buyer (uncredited)
Walter Hendrix III	...	Precision Driver (uncredited)
Maggie Hollis	...	Lady in Waiting Room (uncredited)
Deborah Hurm	...	Hospital Visitor (uncredited)
Ken Melde	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Joanna Theobalds	...	Agent (uncredited)

Directed by
Tyler Perry

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tyler Perry		screenplay

Produced by
Ozzie Areu	....	executive producer
Roger M. Bobb	....	producer
Reuben Cannon	....	producer
David M. Garber	....	producer: main title sequence
Joseph P. Genier	....	executive producer
Dan Masciarelli	....	producer: main title sequence, Rok!t
Michael Paseornek	....	executive producer
Tyler Perry	....	producer

Original Music by
Aaron Zigman

Cinematography by
Toyomichi Kurita

Film Editing by
Maysie Hoy

Casting by
Kim Williams

Production Design by
Ina Mayhew

Set Decoration by
Lance Totten

Costume Design by
Keith G. Lewis

Makeup Department
Lay'Na Anderson	....	additional makeup artist
Martin Astles	....	makeup effects sculptor
Erin Hicks	....	key hair stylist
Keitric Starks	....	third makeup
Wesley Wofford	....	key prosthetic makeup

Production Management
Curtis A. Miller	....	production director: Lionsgate
Carl Pedregal	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roger M. Bobb	....	first assistant director
Rhonda Guthrie	....	second second assistant director
Antoine Massey	....	dga trainee

Art Department
Danny Brown	....	assistant art director
Cristina Lucia Cesari	....	buyer
Rob Hamby	....	propmaker
Solomon King	....	carpenter
Eliot Levin	....	props
Konrad Lewis	....	set dresser
Melinda Sanders	....	buyer
Mike Sullivan	....	scenic charge
Dion Watkins	....	art production assistant
Jay Womer	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Steve Bartkowicz	....	sound re-recording engineer
Laura R. Harris	....	dialogue editor (as Laura Harris Atkinson)
Jason C. Lewis	....	sound utility
Roy Machado	....	adr mixer
Robert Maxfield	....	boom operator
Christopher Mills	....	efp sound
Carl Rudisill	....	sound mixer
David Stanke	....	first assistant sound editor
Gary Summers	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jon Title	....	sound effects editor
Kimberly Wilhoit	....	foley editor
Michael D. Wilhoit	....	supervising sound editor
James Wright	....	dolby sound consultant

Visual Effects by
Cortney Haile	....	visual effects executive
Ariel Loza	....	cg artist: Rok!t
Philippe Majdalani	....	digital intermediate assistant producer
Francesco Panzieri	....	digital compositor: 2G Digital Post
Mitch Paulson	....	supervising digital colorist
Jason Sanford	....	visual effects producer
Richard Servello	....	lead compositor
Doug Spilatro	....	visual effects
Ashley J. Ward	....	visual effects coordinator

Stunts
Shellita Boxie	....	stunt performer
Jwaundace Candece	....	stunt performer
Scott Dale	....	stunt coordinator
Troy Faruk	....	stunt performer
Paul Brian Johnson	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Joshua Adam Bermudez	....	grip
Breyaan Bolling	....	lighting technician
Clyde E. Bryan	....	first assistant camera: b camera
Quantrell D. Colbert	....	still photographer
Jeff Crumbley	....	camera operator
Marc Dobiecki	....	director of photography: second unit
Kevin Hightower	....	electrician
Sherri Angela Leger	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Jason Lerczak	....	rigging electrician
Bob Mahoney	....	still photographer
Kevin Murphy	....	gaffer
Matt Robinson	....	rigging grip
German Valle	....	key electric
Paul E. Woods	....	film loader

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sylvia Akuchie	....	costumer
Sylvia Akuchie	....	set costumer
Chantel L. Brown	....	additional costumer
Shayne Allen Duhon	....	set costumer
Rhonney Greene	....	key costumer

Editorial Department
Tricia Chiarenza	....	color timer
Rachel Faith Hanson	....	dailies
Curtis Lindersmith	....	digital intermediate editor
Joi McMillon	....	first assistant editor
Justin Powell	....	post-production assistant
Scott Simerly Jr.	....	post-production assistant
Ariana Young	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Johnny Caruso	....	supervising music editor
Neely Dinkins Jr.	....	cues composer
George Doering	....	musician
Joel C. High	....	music supervisor
Steve Juliani	....	music preparation
Natalie Ragins	....	musician
Rebecca Rienks	....	assistant music supervisor
Peter Rotter	....	music contractor
Michael Stern	....	music scoring mixer: recording engineer
Sam Zeines	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Tracy L. Coker	....	driver

Other crew
Jill Andrade	....	executive assistant to Mr. Ozzie Areu
Ozzie Areu	....	president: Tyler Perry Studios
Will Areu	....	SVP, Tyler Perry Studios
Colbert Bernard	....	production assistant
Khalilah Birdsong	....	creative executive
Hannah Boyce	....	post production intern
Crystal D. Brown	....	production assistant
Michael L. Covington	....	stand-in
Derrick Doose	....	key production assistant
Tsedy Gebeyehu	....	assistant production coordinator
Angela Harvey	....	assistant to executive producer
Liam Hearne	....	post production accountant
Jade A. Holmes	....	production secretary
Chris Kelsey	....	second assistant accountant
Karen Marie Mason	....	location manager
Zoana Price	....	executive assistant to producer
Emily Rice	....	post production accountant
Robert Severance	....	police security
Donna Sloan	....	executive vice president: production, Lions Gate Films
Michael C. Smith	....	police coordinator
Zachary Streich	....	post production intern
Whitney Valcin	....	accounting production assistant
Steve Viola	....	main title supervisor
Carole Wurst	....	executive assistant: Tyler Perry
Dana Abercrombie	....	stand-in: Madea (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Tyler Perry Company, The

Distributors

• Lionsgate (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Maple Pictures (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Eagle Films (2011) (non-USA) (all media) (Middle East)
• Lionsgate

Other Companies

• EFilm  digital intermediate
• Harris Diversified  a/c & power rental
• Paskal Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Rice Gorton Pictures Ltd.  post production accounting
• Sam Hurwitz Productions  electronic press kit (EPK Produced by)
• Soundelux  post-production sound services
• Todd-AO Studios  post-production sound services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for drug content, language and some mature thematic material

Runtime:

USA:106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #46657) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Company:

Tyler Perry Company, The

Goofs:

Continuity: When Cora and Brown are talking to the doctor, Cora picks up her purse and sets it down on the counter behind her. When the camera switches back her purse is sitting on the table between her and Brown again.

Quotes:

Madea:Hey, Harold.
Harold:Hey, Ms. Madea. What's wrong with your car now?
Madea:Nothing.
Harold:For real?
Madea:Nothing's wrong with it at all, except the other day I went out there and put my foot on the gas, and the trunk opened! What the hell is that, Harold? You are triflin' as hell! I'm so tired of bringing my car up in here for you to fix, I am not bringin' it to you no more...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References "All My Children" (1970)

Soundtrack:

Heaven Waits

Typical Tyler Perry fare. Nothing more, and nothing less.

I have to make a confession. I watch Tyler Perry's Madea films. OK, JUST HEAR ME OUT! Now, I think they're all FAR from perfect films, but at the very least, I do enjoy watching the portions featuring Madea. Such was the case of my latest viewing, Madea's Big Happy Family. It's a bit embarrassing to say, but let's just get down to my review.

First of all, we have a tangled web of subplots. The mother of a family, Shirley, is devastated to discover that her case of cancer has worsened, prompting her to plan a family dinner to tell her children about her condition. This includes her daughters, Kimberly and Tammy. Kimberly is a secretive woman (Improperly focused character #1), and Tammy is having trouble with her marriage, and her two disobedient children. This also includes Byron, a man on an unlucky streak, having served jail time for selling drugs, and behind on paying child support to his insufferably obnoxious ex-girlfriend. There's also some drama between Cora and Mr. Brown. But leave it to Madea to set things straight, and not be afraid to beat the living hell out of anyone who steps out of line.

This movie is textbook Tyler Perry. As always, he gathers together a cast that could have been quite good, with good material, but their characters are inconsistently written, and their focus tends to blur because the script is overly cluttered with subplots. It's not a problem because they're hard to follow (They really aren't), but it's because it doesn't give these characters all the attention they deserve.

This isn't even mentioning Tyler Perry's ubiquitous switch in tone. His rhythm moves as comedic scene, dramatic scene, comedic scene, etc. I think the comedy portions are better than the dramatic portions, but the flip flopping between the two makes things feel dull. At the end of the day, I didn't emotionally connect with the story like I feel I should have. For once, I wish Perry would construct a film that's sure of what it wants to be.

I give it ** out of ****