| | | 2-Disc Special Edition.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, English, Subtitled, Spanish, Dubbed
Charles, an attorney, and Helen, the devoted wife, seem to have everything, money, a beautiful mansion - the American Dream. But just as Helen prepares to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary, her life takes a surprising turn.
"A very curious and very entertaining mix..." Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
"...good-natured sensibility...entertaining." Claudia Puig, USA Today
Editor's Note
Genres and genders collide in this unusual mix of Christian soap opera and raunchy cross-dressing comedy. Tyler Perry adapts his own play--one of a series wherein he personally portrays Grandma Madea, an overweight, no-nonsense, old, Christian, African-American woman. In DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN, the main character is Helen (Kimberly Elise), whose wealthy, abusive husband Charles (Steve Harris) kicks her out of their mansion after 18 years of marriage. Luckily Grandma Madea is there to offer some tough love. When a gangster's bullet later makes Charles a cripple, Helen has to decide between love (i.e. wreaking Madea-sanctioned old testament vengeance) and Christian duty. The movie then progresses in two directions: the well-acted dramatic side, with Helen getting her life together thanks to the love of the dreamy Orlando (YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS star Shemar Moore) and her hospitalized momma (Cecily Tyson); and the go-for-broke humor side, with Harris whooping it up in unfettered glee as the chainsaw-wielding, pistol-packing Madea (he also plays several other roles). Whatever one's take on the oddness of the combination, there is no denying the power of Perry's unique mixture of cross-dressing outrageousness and Christian good intent, or the fine acting talent of the entire cast.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital Stereo | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Lions Gate |
| Release Date: 1/8/2009 |
| Running Time: 116 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2005 | | Catalog ID: 21404 | | UPC: 00031398214045 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, Spanish Dubbed | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Winner (2006) | | | Image Award, Kimberly Elise, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | | | Image Award, Cicely Tyson, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | |
Nominee (2006) | | | Image Award, Shemar Moore, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | | | Image Award, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Outstanding Motion Picture | |
Nominee (2005) | | | MTV Award, Tyler Perry, Breakthrough Male |
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"Distinguishing it from mainstream Hollywood fare is its unusual blend of melodrama, comedy, revenge fantasy and a morality play, with an uplifting spiritual underpinning throughout." 02/25/2005 p.9EEntertainment Weekly
"[Perry] pumps his cliches so full of hot air that they stay aloft even as you're laughing at their brazenness." 03/04/2005 p.49-50 PopMatters 9 of 10
"Perry adapted the script from his popular stage play, one of seven he's had produced since 1992...Perry soon became a Christian community favorite, recently tapped by Dallas' Reverend T.D. Jakes to write the play version of Jakes' own novel, Woman Thou Art Loosed, which was also filmed and released last year, and which also starred Elise. While the previous film took on a somber tone as it explored the enduring effects of a woman's childhood abuse by her mother's boyfriend, the new one careens between antic and grim, as Madea signifies an expansive, Big Momma sort of humor...Moreover, Perry's impressive and occasionally daunting multiplicity recalls Eddie Murphy's in the Klumps movies. Here, as with Murphy, the one-man-show aesthetic distracts from anything else that might be going on, including the Christian redemption story, Helen's emotional or moral evolution, or even Charles' own struggles." - Cynthia Fuchs
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