Boo! A Madea Halloween – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Overview

Madea is asked by Brian to watch his 17-year-old daughter Tiffany on Halloween so she won’t get in trouble and sneak out. But oh, this young girl may need to run with the attitude she gives Madea.

Review (with Spoilers)

I don’t know why I still watch Madea movies but even as Madea starts becoming the new Ernest P. Worrell, I just can’t help myself. I loved the plays and even though the movies don’t compare, they still make me laugh. So after a Madea’s Christmas and now a Madea’s Halloween, who wants to take bets on whether she’ll go to camp or school next? Either way, I’ll probably be there. Now, let’s move on to talking about Boo! A Madea Halloween

 

Characters & Story

Brian (Tyler Perry)

With his wife gone and remarried, Brian is the main person raising his daughter Tiffany (Diamond White) and she is a handful. She, like her mother, doesn’t really respect him and pretty much runs over him. Leading to him asking Madea for help since he has to go away on Halloween and he doesn’t want his 17-year-old daughter going nowhere near this local frat party.

Highlights

Laughed 56 Times

Let me be very clear. I do not go to Madea movies expecting to cry, to watch the best dramatic performances I have ever seen or anything like that. Heck, at this point, I don’t even expect decent character development anymore. With Tyler Perry, I honestly feel the best thing to do is accept he cannot do multiple things well. He can make you laugh, but if he doesn’t have talented actors and actresses pushing him to write better, like with this movie, don’t expect much else or you will be sorely disappointed.

Low Points

So Much Cursing

It has been a while since I’ve seen a Madea production and while I know they can be vulgar, the amount of cursing was kind of shocking. If only because it is not what you walk in expecting. Innuendo is one thing, damn near every character playing a senior citizen does that, but them cursing up a storm and not hinting to it, but saying the N word, B word and etc., it just seems like such an odd shift.

The Young Actors

In the movie, Tiffany wants to party with these frat boys on Halloween and said frat boys aren’t like the ones in Neighbors or anything like that. No. They are horrible and shallow parodies of what is assumed to be frat culture. So expect a lot of “Bra” and the type of stupidity you would find in a Three Stooges type of movie.

It doesn’t end there, though. The character Aday (Liza Koshy) is also a stereotype. A weakly, if developed at all, stereotype of a church girl who, thanks to having friends like Tiffany, does things she knows her parents wouldn’t want to. And just to create a blanket statement that fits, don’t expect much from the young actors in the movie at all. They don’t deliver any memorable jokes, don’t put on any type of performances reminiscent of the first Madea movies, and honestly are just used as a plot device for what the movie is really about: The difference between how people in the “Old School” parented vs. the “New School.”

On The Fence

Old School Parenting vs. New School Parenting

No matter the gimmick, damn near all Madea movies deal with family and usually contain a handful of monologues, amongst all the humor, about how to raise your child, stay together as a family, and deal with unnecessary drama. This one is no different, but it isn’t impactful because it isn’t built on the type of performances and writing to make it significant.

The reason I say that is, Tyler Perry is playing the part which usually goes to an underrated Black actress. One who can easily command and audience, but never gets their due. Perry, as himself, without a costume on, he just isn’t that good at being in that type of role. Though it doesn’t help that Brian isn’t written to be that type of role.

Let me explain, the constant thought put out there is Brian is being a little me-atch when it comes to raising Tiffany since he doesn’t believe in corporal punishment. He believes in talking to her and doesn’t feel like the abuse he went through would be the best idea for raising his child. Leading to him being constantly berated as Tiffany talks back to him and even calls him out on something rather hurtful.

Now, it is fine that Madea and company disagree with Brian’s methods, but you have to question how this successful lawyer can’t think of an argument against everyone and instead stands there, nine times out of ten, looking stupid. Granted, some movies you have to lower your expectations for, but come on? It is like the guy we met in Diary of a Mad Black Women is gone and, like a lot of the actors who don’t reprise their characters again, we got some pitiful replacement.

I Thought The Audience Was Supposed to Enhance The Movie?

As a Black person who goes to theaters where I know my people will go, usually, the best part of the movie sometimes is the people in the audience. Be it their commentary, their weird laughs, or just sharing the moment with a stranger, they are usually an asset. However, and this may just be my experience with the audience I was with, but sometimes I was left wishing I was alone. Reason being, they annoyed the hell out of me and kind of killed the funny moments because they laughed too long and hard and I was just left shaking my head. For really, sometimes the joke was just not that funny.

Overall: On The Fence (Home Viewing)

It’s a funny movie. There is no denying that. However, even with my expectations placed into Tyler Perry mode, I must admit I miss when good actors brought some sort of depth to his movies and challenged Perry to write better. For whether it was Angela Bassett, Taraji P. Henson or the person who needs to start blowing up Shonda Rhime’s phone, Kimberly Elise they made it so the movie couldn’t solely be about laughs and possible catch phrases. Which isn’t to say you’ll grow tired of Madea and her crew, it is just the movie becomes so dull and meets whatever negative expectation people have of Perry movies when they aren’t cracking jokes on screen.