Tyler Perry continues to preach to the choir with his entertaining albeit stereotype-laced blend of melodrama and comedy.
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02/20/09
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Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail (2009)
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Reviews Counted:43
Fresh:12
Rotten:31
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: Divided between sincere melodrama and populist comedy, Madea Goes to Jail fails to provide enough laughs -- or screen time -- for its titular heroine.
Theatrical Release:Feb 20, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $90,485,233
Synopsis: Multitalented screenwriter, director, playwright, and actor Tyler Perry delivers yet another comedy feature from his popular MADEA film series. Largely concerned with African American family life,... [More]
Starring: Tyler Perry, Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam, David Mann
Director: Tyler Perry
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Reviews for Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail
Adapting his own play, Perry has pared the plot way back while giving his law-breaking matriarch more room to run free.
02/23/09
Heaven help me, this Madea character is starting to grow on me.
02/21/09
Crowd-pleasing African-American filmmaker Tyler Perry has been heralded as an entrepreneur, a populist, and an expert on the wants of female audiences, but none of that would have been possible if he weren’t also an expert drag performer.
02/23/09
Tyler Perry's best endeavor to date!
02/20/09
Madea's antics held me captive.
08/03/09
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09/08/09
King of all media Tyler Perry gives fans what they want: irreverent, pistol-packin' big momma Madea, who's going to make those confused, disrespectful young people see sense if she has to slap it into them.
02/24/09
As ridiculous as his films frequently are, Perry, a shrewd yet benevolent showman, knows and loves his audience.
02/25/09
The predictable, even absurd twists that the movie takes to reach its happily-ever-after conclusion are amusing, as are the smart-ass quips and disposition of Perry’s popular alter ego.
02/26/09
Perry's silly beyond 'belief' born again bully pulpit is thankfully upstaged by his former plus size stripper bully protagonist. But the big treat is anger shrink sessions with Dr. Phil, no less, though Madea/Perry's gender grudges get a pass.
02/20/09
Tyler Perry has brought back the zest in the character that made him a household name.
02/20/09
The best parts of Madea Goes to Jail are the title character's motormouthed harangues. The rest of it is a fairly clumsy tale of sin and redemption.
02/23/09
Top CriticTyler Perry knows how to push his audience's buttons. It's just disappointing that the most successful African-American filmmaker of this generation refuses to try any harder than that.
02/20/09
Not everything Madea says is gold, and yet the storyline will literally stop so we can hear the crazed crone go off for no particular reason.
02/20/09
Perry brings his own sensibility to every movie he makes and has enjoyed great success by following his own path. But he leaves you wanting more.
02/23/09
Wouldn't be Perry if the film wasn't outrageously irrational, flimsily edited, acted with rafter-quaking severity, and scripted with Magic Markers. I'd feel cheated at this point if he actually made a concentrated effort to maintain a steady dramatic tone
02/20/09
Madea is the antithesis of the moralistic soapbox Perry's movies stand on, which is why she is usually the enjoyable ingredient in his films.
07/03/09
Obviously Perry's fanbase will turn out to support his latest morality play, but don't expect Madea Goes to Jail to bring any new converts to the Church of Tyler Perry.
02/20/09
It's a patented Perry formula to cram as much as possible into one movie, but Madea Goes to Jail proves the strategy remains as artistically dubious as ever.
02/20/09
Latest News for Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail
March 08, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Watchmen Scores $55.7 Million Opening
The adult-themed superhero film Watchmen seized control of the North American box office posting the biggest debut of the year with an estimated $55.7M in ticket sales over the... More...
March 01, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Madea Schools Jonas Bros., Chun Li
Despite the arrival of rocking teens, Tyler Perry enjoyed a back-to-back stint at number one with the hit comedy Madea Goes to Jail which led a sluggish frame despite suffering... More...
February 22, 2009:
Box Office Wrapup: Madea Crushes The Competition
THIS WEEKEND Tyler Perry once again showed why he is the King (and Madea his Queen) of the box office as Madea Goes to Jail slaughtered the competition this weekend. Holdovers... More...
February 21, 2009:
Tyler Perry back in drag for another modern morality play. 
More...
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