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Movies / On DVD / Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Diary of a Mad Black Woman

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Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)

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Reviews Counted:106

Fresh:17

Rotten:89

Average Rating:3.9/10

Consensus: Tyler Perry's successful play can't make the move to the screen; this mix of slapstick, melodrama and spirituality lacks a consistent tone.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for drug content, thematic elements, crude sexual references and some violence

Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins

Genre: Television

Theatrical Release:Feb 25, 2005 Wide

Box Office: $50,382,128

Synopsis: Filled with a mix of comedy and drama, the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman is based on the immensely popular play of the same name written by Tyler Perry. The story focuses on Helen McCarter... Filled with a mix of comedy and drama, the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman is based on the immensely popular play of the same name written by Tyler Perry. The story focuses on Helen McCarter (Kimberly Elise), who has seemingly had the perfect life with husband Charles McCarter (Steve Harris). Over the years, Helen has been a faithful and loving wife, while Charles built a successful and lucrative career as a prominent Atlanta attorney. They wear the latest fashions, drive the nicest cars, have all the possessions they need, and they live on an expansive estate complete with an extravagant mansion, swimming pool, tennis court and all the trappings of wealth – a little piece of paradise away from the city. However, on the eve of their 18th wedding anniversary, Helen’s paradise begins to crumble as Charles announces that he wants a divorce. He abruptly and literally tosses Helen out of the mansion to make room for the other woman. With all of her possessions packed in a moving van, Helen starts on her journey to put the pieces of her life back together. Through the assistance of her friends, family, faith, and a twist of fate, Helen finds the strength and empowerment she needs to get control of her circumstances. She also finds that the tragic events of her life soon become comic, especially with the guidance and help-- mostly unsolicited, by the way--of her pot-smoking, gun-toting, and much beloved, grandmother figure Madea (Tyler Perry). Director Darren Grant brings Tyler Perry’s vision to the screen by intricately weaving together a mix of drama and comedy to tell the universal experience of broken hearts, redemption, forgiveness, recovery, new found love, inner strength and the importance of family and faith as revealed through a cast of colorful and sometimes familiar characters. [More]

Starring: Kimberly Elise, Tyler Perry, Steve Harris, Cicely Tyson

Starring: Kimberly Elise, Tyler Perry, Steve Harris, Cicely Tyson, Tamara Taylor, Shemar Moore

Director: Darren Grant

Director: Darren Grant
Screenwriter: Tyler Perry
Producer: Tyler Perry, Reuben Cannon
Composer: Camara Kambon
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Release:

Jun 28, 2005

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Reviews for Diary of a Mad Black Woman

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61 - 80 (sorted by date)
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Diary of a Mad Black Woman is directed by Darren Grant, who is unable to wrangle all of Perry's attempts to entertain -- or pander to -- his audience into anything resembling a satisfying movie.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
02/25/05
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film itself is a touch insane, veering from comedy to cornball melodrama (and torture!) with such startling alacrity that viewers might laugh and not know if they're supposed to.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
02/25/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

In an awkward split-personality way, it works some of the time.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
02/25/05
Sheri Linden
Sheri Linden
Hollywood Reporter

The trash-talkin' Madea stuff is raunchy and fun (if you're not over that gag by now), but it's totally out of place within the high melodrama that bookends it.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
02/25/05
E! Online

This isn't a situation in which the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. It's more like they're not even part of the same body.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
02/25/05
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Some of these problems stem from the film's leap from a theatrical production's play-to-the-rafters bigness to the screen's demands for something more finessed. There's not a lot of nuance here.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
02/25/05
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post

Half inspired and half eye-rollingly terrible.

Full Review Source: NPR's Fresh Air | comment Comment
02/25/05
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
NPR's Fresh Air

The primary irritant here is Perry, whose performance is the cinematic equivalent of listening to fingernails scrape a chalkboard for two hours.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
02/25/05
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Rather sloppily blends melodrama and spiritual uplift with crass comedy, sometimes in the same scene.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
02/25/05
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

Nobody in the movie seems to know quite what sentiment he or she should be channeling at any given moment.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
02/25/05
Bridget Byrne
Bridget Byrne
Boxoffice Magazine

Blows to the head are delivered with more subtlety than the message of Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
02/25/05
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I've been reviewing movies for a long time, and I can't think of one that more dramatically shoots itself in the foot.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
02/25/05
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Dear Diary, I want to see a better movie than this one, signed an annoyed film critic woman.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
02/25/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Some may question the combination of marital drama and madness with earthy slapstick humor but it, surprisingly, works – at times.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
02/25/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Three separate movies collide in this uneven but heartfelt drama.

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
02/25/05
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

"Waiting to Exhale" crossed with "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps"...laughable, but oddly likeable

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
02/25/05
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

I'm not sure if Diary of a Mad Black Woman is heartfelt or cynical, but if anyone can write a movie that's both, it's probably Tyler Perry.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
02/24/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
02/24/05
AV Club

Displays a blind ineptitude on the level of some of the worst films I've ever seen.... This movie is an absolute train wreck.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
02/24/05
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Grant’s broad narrative never quite reaches the subversive tone it’s aiming for so awkwardly. Much is thrown into Diary with the flimsy afterthought of a tossed salad

Full Review Source: Movie Eye | comment Comment
02/24/05
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
Movie Eye
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date)
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