movie criitcs are not obligated to "like" anything; they are free to praise whatever they feel and likewise to pan something they detest - however, if they are going to pontificate, they do have some responsibility to put a movie in context. for example, I never read any Lord of the Rings books, so the movies make very little sense to me. someone who's never read Shakespeare would be completely baffled by "Shakespeare in Love". even the movive versions of crappy TV sitcoms make even less sense if you're not familiar with the original shows

given the analogies I've made, I don't think it would have hurt the critics to spend a couple of hours watching the Madea stage plays on DVD so they could have some understanding of why the movie appeared to contain so many disparate elements - if the critics did this and still said the movie sucked, then so be it. but at least they would have done some homework to support their position. such sloppy work from amateur bloggers is one thing - quite another from established "journalists"

It's true. Amos and Andy were freaking hilarious. Perhaps it's easier to appreciate them now, since we have other alternatives and, hopefully, most people know that Kingfish and Sapphire are not reflective of all (or any) black Americans' reality. At the time the episodes were aired, the offence they caused is easy to understand (that was the only picture of black presented -- which is sad when you think of it, since an all-black sitcom was some pretty intense trailblazing, there), but taken in a vaccum -- good grief, they are SIDESPLITTING. Kingfish trying to teach "French" with a chart of the lyrics to "O du Schoene Schnitzelbank" is one of my favorite TV moments of all time. I admit it. Don't throw fruit at me.

I didn't see this movie not because I have any problem with Tyler Perry or the character of Madea -- I've seen videos of his plays, and frankly, the Madea character was hilarious and the only one I didn't want to smack upside the head. My blackness was not offended -- I was annoyed as a woman, that the main character allowed her husband to kick her out of her own home, have other women in the home, and then solve her problem by moaning on her knees a lot instead of being proactive, as if her over-the-top suffering beatified her in some way -- THEN, when her husband lost his health and his mobility, she leaves him in a cold bathtub for hours (or was it days? It's been a while) another over-the-top not to mention vicious, vindictive action. So was she supposed to be a beatified saint or a vindictive bitch? And how was I supposed to like or identify with this flimsy character, vacillating between weakling and sadist. So I didn't bother with the movie. (Also I am tired of seeing Kimberly Elise doing all this suffering onscreen -- she is beautiful and talented as is getting unecessarily typecast because of how she looks, that is to say, not like Halle Berry.)

However, from Tracy's letter in particular, it seems that the movie altered the plot from the stage play significantly, so maybe I'll check it out.

But I've gotta reiterate, strongly, because I think even the critics missed this (and I know all the people going "Shaddup, I know someone like Madea!" missed this): Madea is not the problem -- the unreasonable, unrealistic and hypercliched supporting characters are the problem, and that is a general, not a "black," thing.

Chris Rock has said that when a Black man makes a lot of money doing anything it inevitably attracts criticism. I laughed and laughed, not quite believing it to be true. But there seems to be some truth to this. Even today, the "white father" needs to put his hand of approval on a Black person's work for it to be accepted; nevermind that the other hand goes into his pocket as well.

I love hunor, all kinds. I watch everything, from Mind of Mencia, to Dave Chapelle, to Chris Rock. I believe that humor can teach us a lot about each other, as long as we recognize caricatures for what they are, broad swaddling of humorous perspective around a kernel of truth.

Tyler Perry invests in caricatures, humorous extrapolation drawn from his own experiences, perspective, and environment. His audience knows this, which is why they are drawn to it. He does not talk down to them, or condescend, or say "this is the way we should be." He says "here's a little of how we are, what we wish we could do and say under these circumstances, and how we wish things would turn out."

Black people recognize that with all the criticism White people seem to lever at Tyler Perry's broad strokes on Black family dysfunction; White families' dysfunctions are no better, and no more valid.

Now if only the critics would get that.

I saw "Diary", and I plan on seeing "Family Reunion" too.

The bottomline is: if Hollywood can continue to turn out in mass rotten-to-the-core "general market" (i.e. "white") movies, then why can Blacks and other ethnic groups make mediocre to just "so-damn-bad-they're-art" movies? As long as they make money, since that's all Hollywood (and the rest of America) is interested in.

"Diary" was certainly not the best movie I've ever seen, but it was funny and provided the escapism I was looking for. It also provied me with the rare chance to sit in the same theater with my fundamentalist Christian girfriends (and also a Jewish girlfriend)who aren't open to seeing the more "provacative" movies out there.

Tyler Perry hit a goldmine. And whether anybody wants to publicly admit it (so I will): Amos 'n Andy were funny as hell! Racist, but comic genius. For black people to sit around and denigrate that and other chitlin-circuit entertainment is hypocritical and embracing a cultural denial that borders on ethnic mental illness. Every black comic working today stole their act straight off the chitlin circuit. Black people-we laugh at ourselves and our current and past situations for emotional relief, plain and simple.

As for Mr. Perry's sexual orientation-well if you ain't trying to screw or marry him, who cares? What's the relevance? "What would the black church think?" Oh, I dn't know, the same thing they think about all of the closet gay choir directors and those two ladies that have lived together and come to service now for the last thirty years. The Black Church (just like the "white" church and synagogues) continue to stick their head in the sand over the issue of any sexuality, hetero or homo. If you're looking for clarity and compassion on sex, stay out of the Church, Synagogue and Mosque.

There was a time when there was nothin' but so-called chitlin-circuit entertainment for black people. The road is wide and long now, and if you just can't bear the thought of a loud black man in drag, then exercise your options.

Mr. Perry has a built-in audience. No one has the right to deny them what makes them laugh or cry.

And one last thought to my fellow "negros": isn't it time that we got over the whole "this is so embarassing in front of the white folk! What will they think of us" angst that we've carried around since the early days of integration? WE OVERCAME! We can put out shit and roses with the rest of them. Pick on something else, something valid.