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[tab title="Movie Review"]

A Madea Family Funeral

If you like Tyler Perry’s Madea movies, then more power to you. Go see his latest, A Madea Family Funeral. It is not the best in the series, but neither is it the worst. If you’ve never seen a Madea movie, prepare yourself for a disjointed comedic romp packed with cringe-worthy characterizations, toothless social commentary, and mile-a-minute insults. Oh, and penis jokes. Always penis jokes.

You know what you are in for with a Madea movie, and this chapter is really no different from any of the other dozen or so entries in the franchise that play out something like this: moments of gut-busting, tasteless humor interrupted by long spells of shoe-horned-in soap opera melodrama, all the while forgoing any of the basic conventions of filmmaking. Lather, Rinse. Repeat.

"A Madea Family Funeral suffers from the same obstacles that plague all the others in the series. Tonally, they are a jumbled mess with bits and pieces firing in all directions – some hitting, others totally missing"


So, if Madea is your thing, get your backside to the cinema and catch what Perry is calling the final appearance of his large-framed, sass-mouthed, insult-hurling grandma. This thing will undoubtedly make a ton of money as they always do, and nothing you read here will change that. There is a loyal, built-in audience always chomping at the bit for this brand of irreverent humor. And A Madea Family Funeral will certainly scratch that itch.

In A Madea Family Funeral, Madea (Perry) and her usual sidekicks Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis), Hattie (Patrice Lovely) and brother Joe (also Perry) are planning a party for Anthony (Derek Morgan) and wife Vianne (Jen Harper). We’re never told who Anthony and Vianne are and how they tie-in with Madea, but don’t worry about that. It’s a Madea movie. {googleads}

Anyway, party plans soon turn into funeral arrangements when Anthony is caught, quite literally, with his pants down in a hotel room with family friend Renee (Quin Walters). Oh, forgot to mention that he is also dead. AND, he died with a smile on his face and a permanent, ahem, erection in his pants. In addition, Anthony’s son, A.J. (Courtney Burrell) is discovered in the next hotel room over having sex with his brother’s wife, Gia (Aeriél Miranda). Ridiculous, I know. But just roll with it. This is a Madea movie, after all. The funny parts will return.

As expected, the farcical setup is mere structure around which to mold the scenes of Madea and her waddling cohorts who riff off of one another with a string of insults and quotable Madea lines that are drowned out by the uproarious laughter from the previous bit. Though stretched out way longer than they should be, these are the moments in which A Madea Family Funeral finds most of its success. Good taste and decorum be damned!A Madea Family Funeral

This time around we are introduced to a new character, Uncle Heathrow (also Perry) who is a legless, wheelchair-bound veteran with a Jheri curl mullet who speaks via a hand-held voice box. Hilarity ensues. Sensitivity be damned!

Then, wham! That way-too-serious plot slaps us in the face again with its many disparate subplots that feature incessant fussing by couples who carry on about trust, infidelity, and learning to move on. Who cares? We want more Muh to the damn D-E-A!

A Madea Family Funeral suffers from the same obstacles that plague all the others in the series. Tonally, they are a jumbled mess with bits and pieces firing in all directions – some hitting, others totally missing. In addition, there is simply nowhere else to go with the Madea character, yet here we are again with another slapdash chapter that was DOA before Perry ever donned the flowered mumu.

2 stars

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

A Madea Family Funeral

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD

Home Video Distributor: Lionsgate
Available on Blu-ray
- June 4, 2019
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English SDH; Spanish
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set; iTunes digital copy; Google Play digital copy; Vudu digital copy; FandangoNOW digital copy; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Lionsgate steps up with a drop dead gorgeous 1080p 1.85:1 presentation of Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Funeral that features clear, clean, crisp images throughout with consistent color saturation and image depth. Though quite nice to see in 1080p, this is one of those films that isn't necessarily spectacular in high definition as it takes place mostly indoors and is quite dialogue heavy. Neither is going to ask a lot from your home theater system. It is a solid, well put together package, but just not one that is very exciting.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

In addition to some trailers, the disc comes with several deleted scenes, a gag reel of outtakes, and three rather lengthy making-of featurettes, and cast interviews.

  • Deleted Scenes - Heathrow Smokes; License to Drive; Burn With Grits
  • Outtakes
  • Madea's Tips for Attending a Funeral (01:57) - Tyler Perry as Madea talks to the camera and leaves us with a few tips on attending a black funeral: Don't Raise a Ruckus; Eat a Big Meal; Know Your Scriptures; Turn Off Your Damn Phone; Know Your Hymns
  • Making a Madea Family Funeral: An Affair to Remember (15:57) - A rather lengthy, but interesting nonetheless behind-the-scenes-type featurette with Tyler Perry, cast and crew talking about what it was like working on set.
  • Hellllur: Looking Back on Madea (13:19 - Another lengthy pieces that features cast members waxing nostalgic about all the Madea movies, what Madea will do now that she is retired, and what it was like being on set during the previous films.
  • Trailers

Blu-ray Rating:

  Movie 2/5 stars
  Video  4/5 stars
  Audio 3/5 stars
  Extras 4/5 stars

Overall Blu-ray Experience

3/5 stars

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[tab title="Details"]

A Madea Family Funeral

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude sexual content, language, and drug references throughout.
Runtime:
109 mins
Director
: Tyler Perry
Writer:
Tyler Perry
Cast:
Tyler Perry, Cassi Davis, Patrice Lovely
Genre
: Comedy
Tagline:
She puts the fun in funeral.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I'm here to coordinate the funeral. I hope ya'll will appreciate what I'm gonna do."
Theatrical Distributor:
United Artists
Official Site:
Release Date:
November 16, 1976
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
October 11, 2016
Synopsis: A joyous family reunion becomes a hilarious nightmare as Madea and the crew travel to backwoods Georgia, where they find themselves unexpectedly planning a funeral that might unveil unsavory family secrets.

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[tab title="Art"]

A Madea Family Funeral

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