In Theaters: February 20, 2009

Like the title says, Madea heads to the big house in Tyler Perry’s latest morality-laced melodrama.

Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail
Directed by Tyler Perry
Starring: Tyler Perry, Derek Luke, Keshia Knight-Pulliam and Viola Davis
**1/2

The films of Tyler Perry hearken back to an older time, specifically the Golden Age of Hollywood, when the industry’s famed studio system cranked out dozens of domestic morality plays every year.  Designed to teach moviegoers how to lead lives of virtue, these three-hankie melodramas generally revolved around a lost soul (usually a young single woman) who had wandered down a sinful road and needed to be coaxed back onto a more righteous path.  Surrounding this character were several stalwart heroes and hissable villains who served as the devils and angels on his or her shoulders.  Seen today, these films often come across as horribly dated, but it’s hard not to admire their earnestness.  They want to entertain and educate and too many mainstream movies today focus on the former rather than the latter.

Perry has never been shy about the fact that his films are first and foremost designed to impart serious life lessons, most of which are derived from his staunch Christian beliefs.  It’s not uncommon for the narratives of his movies to come to a dead stop so that a character can deliver a lengthy monologue that doubles as a dose of church-going style testimony.  In his latest film, Madea Goes to Jail, that moment occurs in the final half-hour when his signature character, the white-haired, gun-toting, muumuu-wearing matriarch Madea (played, as always, by Perry himself in full drag) lectures a roomful of female prisoners about personal responsibility.  It’s worth nothing that the conclusion of this speech was greeted by cheers and applause and a few scattered “Amens!” from the Times Square audience I saw the movie with.  I’ve gotta give Perry credit: he’s not a subtle writer, but he knows how to speak to his audience.

As the title implies, Madea Goes to Jail does involve Madea going to jail, although she doesn’t actually get locked up until well over an hour into the movie.  Before that, the bulk of the story revolves around Joshua Hardaway (Derek Luke), an ambitious assistant D.A. who is about to get married to fellow lawyer—and spoiled princess—Linda (Ion Overman).  Called into court to prosecute a routine prostitution case, he discovers that the accused is actually his childhood friend Candace (Keisha Knight Pulliam a.k.a. little Rudy Huxtable).  In the five years since he saw her last, Candace has acquired a drug habit and a series of prostitution arrests and is obviously in need of a friend that’s willing to help her turn her life around.  Naturally, the stuck-up Linda isn’t too pleased with the idea of her fiancé’s helping one of “those people” (as she puts it) and so Josh has to decide if he’s willing to sacrifice his impending marriage to do right by an old friend.

As in Perry’s previous films, the Madea sequences are designed to act as comic relief in between the multiple acts of the central morality play.  It’s not hard to see why this character rocketed her creator to fame—Madea represents our inner Id unleashed.  She says what she likes and does what she likes and is rarely punished for her actions.  Even when she’s put behind bars, she refuses to change her ways and inevitably winds up becoming the boss of her cell block.  Much of the film’s comedy is broad, slapstick-type stuff, but that’s an appropriate match for the exaggerated melodrama that defines the Joshua/Candace story arc.  For better or worse, there’s not a trace of irony to be found in this or any other Perry production, which is exactly what his fans love and his critics love to hate.

It would be easier for me to let Perry off the hook for his excesses if he were a better filmmaker.  It’s a shame that, six movies into his big-screen directorial career, he still hasn’t mastered such basic skills as shot composition and match cutting.  And, like George Lucas, he only seems to have two instructions for his cast: “Louder” and “More crying.”  Surprisingly, that hasn’t stopped bigger and bigger names from appearing in his movies.  Madea Goes to Jail features one of his best ensembles yet, with Luke, Vanessa Ferlito and current Oscar nominee Viola Davis doing good work in underwritten roles.  (He also scores some big-name cameos, including Dr. Phil, Judge Mathis, Tom Joyner and the women of The View.)  In fact, the only real weak link in the cast is Pulliam.  Maybe it’s just the cognitive dissonance of seeing Rudy Huxtable dressed up as a prostitute, but she never seems completely convincing in this part, even though she sheds all the tears that the director asks of her.  Obviously Perry’s gigantic fanbase will turn out en masse to support his latest filmed morality play, but don’t expect Madea Goes to Jail to bring any new converts to the Church of Tyler Perry.

Verdict: Rent It