Madea's Big Happy Family

What it's about:

Madea, everyone's favorite wise-cracking, take-no-prisoners grandma, jumps into action when her niece, Shirley, receives distressing news about her health. All Shirley wants is to gather her three adult children around her and share the news as a family. But, Tammy, Kimberly and Byron are too distracted by their own problems: Tammy can't manage her unruly children or her broken marriage; Kimberly is gripped with anger and takes it out on her husband; and Byron, after spending two years in jail, is under pressure to deal drugs again. It's up to Madea, with the help of the equally rambunctious Aunt Bam, to gather the clan together and make things right the only way she knows how: with a lot of tough love, laughter, and the revelation of a long-buried family secret.

What the critics thought:

"Madea's Big Happy Family nonsensically knots the spiritual and the salacious, asking gossipy questions then giving pulpit answers so that the movie is wonderfully, woefully absurd."
- Wesley Morris, Boston Globe


"Perry possesses a superb ear for the themes and emotions that connect him to his core audience, and that's on display again here, though the unconverted might grumble that the movie's many riffs and rants feel recycled from previous offerings."
- Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times


"Writing about certain of Tyler Perry's movies feels more like filing a witness report."
- Michelle Orange, Movieline