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First off, I haven't seen the movie, but I would assume that it's not geared toward critical acclaim, but as entertainment with a message toward its intended audience.
But I did recently see "Something New," and I have to say that the difference to me between something like "Amos and Andy" and Madea and "Something New" is the difference in writing between someone outside your culture versus someone who is familiar with its complexities and foibles, from inside and from a stance of family love and community. One is stereotyped and takes a mocking point of view; and the other is slapstick humor (however crude) and written by black folks for black folks, and the viewers can tell the difference.
I'm from the wannabe L.A. black bourgeoisie, and what I liked about "Something New" were those small touches that let me know that the writers really know what they were talking about, and that moments that could have been cliche (i.e, the "together" six-figure sistah, the black cotillions) instead felt real. Conversations sound like things you've heard before.
After reading the posts, and my own sister's recommendation. i will rent "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." Sounds like a lot of fun.
