Rate this Movie 
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail (2009)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
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
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Reviews for Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 3/5 |
Click to read the article Full Review |
||
|
Click to read the article Full Review |
|||
|
4/5 |
Madea's antics held me captive. Full Review |
||
 C+ |
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. Full Review |
||
|
Click to read the article Full Review |
|||
|
2.5/4 |
if it doesn't work quite as well as some of Tyler Perry's previous efforts, it certainly isn't for lack of trying. Full Review |
||
|
2.5/4 |
I like Tyler Perry's movies best when the character of Medea isn't in them. Full Review |
||
|
2/4 |
Perry knows what his fans want (that would be Madea) and so his fans should be well-pleased by his latest film. Full Review |
||
|
2.5/5 |
It is, in short, not nearly as funny as Madea's Family Reunion, Perry's benchmark for freewheeling, low humour. Full Review |
||
|
2.5/4 |
Pulliam lends the material emotional shadings that Perry does not write into the script himself. Full Review |
||
|
2/5 |
[Tyler Perry's] talent, however heedless and untidy, is real...it's clear that he can make better movies than Madea Goes to Jail. The pity is that, with the enthusiastic audience he's already found, he may never feel the need to. Full Review |
||
|
3/6 |
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. Full Review |
||
|
2/5 |
would have been so much better had he simply left Madea behind to clown around in another film. Full Review |
||
|
|
As ridiculous as his films frequently are, Perry, a shrewd yet benevolent showman, knows and loves his audience. Full Review |
||
|
2/5 |
Hokey and ham-fisted, cheaply made and appallingly edited. Even good actors like Derek Luke and Viola Davis are at a loss to get past the dialogue and the characters. Full Review |
||
|
5/10 |
Two movies for the price of one, but the comedy smashed against the drama makes the whole thing less entertaining Full Review |
||
|
|
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. Full Review |
||
|
2/4 |
The women's prison dramedy I wanted never really happens. Full Review |
||
|
c+ |
Perry's playing-to-the-cheap-seats drag shenanigans hijack a morose street melodrama every 15 minutes and haul it into places even Flavor Flav fears to tread. Full Review |
||
|
3/5 |
Adapting his own play, Perry has pared the plot way back while giving his law-breaking matriarch more room to run free. Full Review |
CommentLatest 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...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Techland lists the best Sci-Fi films of this decade.
Moviefone takes a look back at the biggest stinkers of the past 10 years.
The Me and Orson Welles star answers reader questions on TIME.com.
Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill offers his thoughts on what the best decade for film was.
In the AV Club's "Scenic Routes," Mike D'Angelo reminisces about the Tim Burton film.
Promos
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds