Why So Blu?

A Madea Christmas: The Play (Blu-ray Review)

Tyler Perry seems to be the king of mediocrity. In 2002, almost a decade ago, Tyler Perry became a well-renowned director, who is known best for his portrayal of cross-dressing, religious mongol Madea. In fact, that character become so popular with worldwide audiences who have a taste for films that teach a lesson and [usually] ends on a high note, built a big enough fanbase for Perry to create a franchise of films including the Madea character, in films including Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea’s Family Reunion, Madea Goes To Jail, and Madea’s Big Happy Family. Now we have A Madea Christmas, which is yet another lackluster film from Perry, but is not as irritating as it’s predecessors. Hellur! 

 

Film

A Madea Christmas concerns a dysfunctional, diverse, and dynamite group of singers who meet over the holidays. When a college student China (Támar Davis) learns that her parent-figure and nanny Margaret (Cheryl Pepsii Riley) is forced to work over the holidays because she was forced to do so by China’s discerning, ignorant, and bashful mother Lillian (Chandra Currelley-Young), she secretly goes behind her mothers back and invites Margaret’s family to celebrate Christmas with them. Do not get all sappy on this film, because things go haywire, strict, and require a use of subtitles once the fast-talking Madea (Tyler Perry) and her sweet, yet dumbfounded “sidekick” Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis) crash the holidays, the film goes all over the place from here on.

The last time I can recall watching a Tyler Perry movie was way back in ancient time… 2006, where a few friends and I saw Madea’s Family Reunion because Ultraviolet (a dreadful movie, if I may add) was all sold out. Though it had a promising start, the film went downhill once the drama became ridiculous once Madea shows up, which was similar to the same issue that I had with A Madea Christmas. The character of Madea is so trite in development that it becomes close to unbearable whenever she (he, actually) utters her nonsense phrases (hellur, hallelujur, etc). In other words, it gets old after about two minutes.

The only acceptable cross-dresser in film in the past few decades was dominated by Eddie Murphy (only in the first two Nutty Professor’s; do not get me started on Norbit, or Sandler’s Jack and Jill). Ironically, a song about the original story of Jack and Jill and other childhood fables is performed by one of the actors in this. Take a note Sandler, Perry, and especially you, Martin Lawrence, and leave it to the professionals. Putting on a fat suit with a fake pair of breasts and adding an extensive amount of makeup that makes you look like an elderly woman seriously does not help your case.

The film itself, was quite irritating. Aside from my last flaw, which was Madea, I was not pleased with the incredible lack of character development. Seriously. I had to watch it twice just so I could remember the names, which by the way, are supposed to be a clever pun, but get overused way too much, and become old after a while. There were several moments where I couldn’t understand why the audience bursts out laughing at the most unfunny moments; example: Lillian is asked what is wrong by a wacky cook, who in all honestly is not attempting to be humorous, and the audience goes wild. Maybe it is just my mind playing tricks, but I cannot relate to Perry’s sense of humor. For a die-hard fan of Perry, this is quintessential, but a non-fan will not find much joy with A Madea Christmas.

Video 

A Madea Christmas is presented in the standard, average, and normal quality for a film of this stature. The 1080p (1.78:1) presentation is extremely colorful. Colors are very visible yet sometimes the tones blend too much with the character’s outfits. Flesh tones are fantastic, and it is very detailed, so much so that you can see the sweat dropping off of the actors’ faces. No concrete complaints here!

Audio 

A Madea Christmas seems to be quite solid in the audio/video department, but will not go so well in the special features department (but more on that later in this review). The 5.1 DTS-HD MA is phenomenal. The film itself is part drama, part musical, and when songs are performed (which are actually not bad), they sound incredible and made the film more enjoyable. Dialogue is clean, and the audience sounds are clear.

Special Features

Final Thoughts 

If you really love Tyler Perry and his work, then go right ahead! If not, stay far away. A Madea Christmas features a wide array of sappy, heartfelt moments, and a whole lotta racism! I’er apolerrgie to any Tyler Perry fans that I offended out there! 😉

 

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