| | | Faith Gave Her Hope. Fate Gave Her Family.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, English, Dolby Digital (5.1), Spanish
With nothing to lose, Brenda and her son travel from Chicago to small-town Georgia to meet a previously unknown side of the family. Nothing can prepare them for the fun-loving, crass Brown clan. Angela Basset and Rick Fox star in this romantic comedy about the power of love and family - from Tyler Perry.
"...a mixture of moralism and forgiveness, semibawdy humor and cautionary drama, mockery and affection..." A.O. Scott, The New York Times
"...the ensemble scenes capture the spirited sense of fun that is Perry's trademark." Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
"...a fine performance by Angela Bassett..." Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
"...Bassett, as Brenda, turns in the most forceful and self-possessed performance seen in a Perry film." Los Angeles Times
"...[Bassett gets] her groove back after a spate of less than worthy roles. Perry's getting his groove, too..." Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Editor's Note
Adapted from the stage play, TYLER PERRY'S MEET THE BROWNS is a touching family drama and very funny romantic comedy rolled into one. Angela Bassett gives one of the best performances of her career as Brenda, a single mother trying to raise three children, from three different men, in the Chicago projects. After the plant where she works with her best friend, Cheryl (Sofia Vergara), closes down, she can no longer afford her rent, electricity, or day care. But when a surprise letter arrives telling her that the father she never knew has died, and inviting her to the reading of the will and the funeral in Georgia, she has nowhere else to go, so she and her kids, Michael (Lance Gross), Tosha (Chloe Bailey), and Lena (Mariana Tolbert), head down south to meet her half-sisters and -brothers. Her newfound extended family includes the overemotional Vera (Jenifer Lewis), who is suspicious of Brenda; the wacky Leroy Brown (David Mann), who mangles the English language and wears some hysterical outfits; and the steady L.B. (Frankie Faison), who is married to the sweet and caring Sarah (Margaret Avery) and has become the patriarch now that Pops Brown has died. In the meantime, Michael, a high school basketball star, is being pursued by Harry (Rick Fox), a talent scout who is also interested in Brenda. Bassett is outstanding as the dedicated mother who sacrifices her personal life in order to do whatever she can for her children. But Mann nearly steals the show as the wild and crazy Leroy, especially during the funeral scene (outtakes of which run during the closing credits). Perry, the creator of such hit films as DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN and MADEA'S FAMILY REUNION as well as the television series HOUSE OF PAYNE (all of which feature recurring characters), also appears in the film as Uncle Joe and, in a riotous subplot, Madea, who is on the run from the law.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Audio: Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo | | Dubbed: Spanish | | Includes Both Widescreen & Full Screen Versions Of The Film! | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Lions Gate |
| Release Date: 1/27/2009 |
| Running Time: 100 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2008 | | Catalog ID: 23593 | | UPC: 00031398235934 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen/Standard 1.85:1/1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Los Angeles Times
"Angela Bassett, as Brenda, turns in the most forceful and self-possessed performance seen in a Perry film." 03/24/2008Washington Post
"MADEA GOES TO JAIL is both slapstick adn social drama, and it is certainly the most confident mix of the two that Perry has managed to achieve with this particular part of his vast media franchise." 02/21/2009 Reel.com 6 of 10
Get ready to be disappointed, fans of the original Tyler Perry stage play. Meet the Browns resembles that enjoyable ensemble comedy in name only. Instead, our hardworking writer/director lifts the main storyline from his recent What's Done in the Dark... (single mother raising NBA-bound son) and intersperses it with only occasional callbacks to the malapropism-prone Leroy Brown and his entire frenzied family freak show. Gone are a few cast members, the last act funeral free-for-all, and of course, most of the God stuff. In their place are insufferable moments of mild melodrama that sloppily illustrate how single mothers suffer at the hands of deadbeat dads, envious kinfolk, and the lure of easy drug money...On the plus side, Perry hired Angela Bassett as his social surrogate. She delivers a performance of quiet intensity, earning our respect--and a few tears--with her earnest desire to succeed. She is matched well by David Mann, bringing his classic human cartoon Leroy Brown to the big screen...Yet something is still not right with this movie and it has more to do with what's going on behind the scenes than what's in front of the camera. Perry's desire to distance himself from the source material makes this adaptation a bit of a bait and switch...In fact, Meet the Browns definitely feels like three different screenplays purposefully tossed together. - Bill Gibron
San Francisco Chronicle 7 of 10
"Meet the Browns" stars Angela Bassett, whose Brenda character is repeatedly referred to as a "young mother," even though the actress is a few months shy of 50. Give Perry credit for one thing - while every other director insists on giving young women roles that are meant for seasoned actresses, he goes in the opposite direction...The performances are fine, particularly in some of the smaller roles, including "The Wire's" police commissioner Frankie Faison as the only sensible member of the Brown clan and Oakland native Lance Gross as Michael. Bassett looks fantastic, but this isn't her best work, mostly because of a clumsy script that makes her character a contradiction - a pushover when it comes to her abusive ex-husband and then way too steely when dealing with a new romance...There are a few laughs and some touching moments, but nothing you couldn't get by watching episodes of "Good Times" and "Little House on the Prairie" back to back...In Perry's defense, he does write characters that you don't see in other movies, including a woman with bipolar disorder whose condition is not mined for laughs. And it's absolutely ridiculous that this movie received a PG-13 rating instead of a more family-friendly PG. No 12-year-old alive could walk away from this material feeling even somewhat corrupted, and that includes Amish kids. - Peter Hartlaub
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