Review of A Madea Christmas

Well, if you enjoy Tyler Perry's brand of Madea humor, with the addition of Larry the Cable Guy's redneck shtick this might be to your liking. It has its message of "accepting those who love each other regardless of race" out there loud and clear. It also is quite vocal about keeping Christ in Christmas. There is plenty to annoy those who might consider Madea a loud and opinionated blunt force instrument, with no willy-nilly from her in regards to nonsense (well, nonsense she considers, that is). If you make it past Madea's outburst in a department store where she berates her boss, customers, and staff "wanting her money" after being fired, then this might be what you're looking for in a comedy. In order to supplement Madea's antics, there's a central plot regarding a school in dire need of help and the town Christmas Jubilee on the skids due to no funding available. It seems a dam stopped up the water that has caused a drought, and the company responsible will be funding the jubilee when a teacher (Tika Sumpter, who is a real beauty) requests financial assistance from an old boyfriend (JR Lemon). The company demands that Christ (or nativity scene tribute) not be mentioned during the jubilee as stipulated in the contracted signed by the city's mayor and city council…the town up in arms, Sumpter is eventually fired at the urging of a student's resentful struggling farmer father (Chad Michael Murray, of One Tree Hill fame) to the mayor. Also in the film is Sumpter's reluctance to tell her overbearing, controlling mom (Anna Marie Horsford; I know her from the Sherman Helmsley show, "Amen") that she is married to a white man who owns the farm she lives. Madea knows about it rather early and tries to urge the truth be spilled as the lies only cause frequent discomfort and aggravation, especially when Sumpter's in-laws arrive (Kathy Najimy and Larry The Cable Guy, who are quite a pair). Unusual and rather welcome is that the hick parents are actually okay with an interracial marriage while the African-American mom is the one who might frown upon such a union. Ultimately, of course, Horsford agrees to try and accept her daughter's choice of a husband. The interracial subplot is obvious in making its message important to the viewing audience, which doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I enjoyed how Madea is the one who tries to get it all out in the open and over with. Horsford and Najimy at odds was a lot of fun to me, and the blow up that eventually is resolved when Najimy and Larry go out to console Horsford in the hopes of getting her back in the house is rather amusing and sweet. If you are atheist, you might want to kind of stay away from this, although Madea does rather butcher the story of Jesus more than a little bit in a class. There's also a minor subplot involving a child Sumpter sees potential in (Murray's hard-working, bullied farm kid, with the mother played by Alicia Witt, who deserves better parts than this). With Eric Lively as Sumpter's "corn scientist" husband, given a lecture on milking cows by Madea and Larry, who was bulled by Murray and eventually retaliates. Included in the film is a groaner of a scene where Murray is pulled from a burning wrecked truck by Horsford so that he can redeem himself to all he's hurt. Perry knows his audience: those who love the wholly honest and unfiltered Madea with her own way of talking will find that character right here. If you don't: skip it or else.