Tyler Perry's 'Madea Goes to Jail'

HEADLINE: ** A Long Way to the Big House **
TITLE: TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL
Quality: * * Acceptability: -2
SUBTITLES: None
WARNING CODES:
Language: LLL
Violence: VV
Sex: S
Nudity: N

RATING: PG-13
RELEASE: February 20, 2009
TIME: 103 minutes
STARRING: Tyler Perry, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Derek Luke, Ion Overman, David Mann, Tamela J. Mann, Vanessa Ferlito, RonReaco Lee, Viola David, Sofia Vergara, and Robin Coleman
DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry
PRODUCERS: Tyler Perry and Reuben Cannon
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Michael Paseornek
WRITER: Tyler Perry
BASED ON THE PLAY BY: Tyler Perry
DISTRIBUTOR: Lionsgate Films

CONTENT: (CC, BB, FR, Pa, Ab, Ho, LLL, VV, S, N, A, DD, MM) Strong Christian content with strong moral content, marred by antinomian pagan attitudes and behavior, with examples of an overt anti-Christian resistance to the Gospel and Church before the redemptive ending, plus light homosexual references when a female inmate in prison makes suggestive comments to another female inmate; 71 obscenities (mostly "h" words with some "d" words and some "a-blank-blanks") and five light profanities, plus an obscene gesture; light comic violence such as machine gun fire heard as woman apparently scares away unwelcome guests and woman fights with police officers, and a strong scene of implied rape after a woman is hit by a pimp; implied rape, prostitutes shown on street at night seeking clients, implied prostitution, and some sexual comments; upper male nudity and some female cleavage; alcohol use; smoking, woman is a drug addict who gets help and an elderly man defends the use of marijuana, claiming that God made the plant so it must be okay to smoke it; and, lying, prosecutor frames criminals, uncontrollable anger, arguing, and rebellion against authority.

GENRE: Comedy
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Older teenagers and adults

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SUMMARY: TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL finds Mr. Perry's alter ego winding up in jail with a troubled young woman who has been framed by the fiancé of a lawyer who the woman knew in happier days in college. The drama works well, but the comedy is uneven and the movie's redemptive Christian worldview is marred by too much adult content.

IN BRIEF:

TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL blends broad comedy with tense melodrama. Joshua, an assistant district attorney in Atlanta, tries to help an old friend, Candace, a drug addict picked up for prostitution. Joshua feels responsible for Candace's downfall years ago when he failed to protect her from being raped. Derek's efforts to help Candace upset his fiancé, who works with Joshua in the prosecutor's office. Meanwhile, Madea has problems with the law. She cannot control her own anger. Midway through the plot, Madea and Candace end up in jail together. Madea helps Candace avoid the advances of a tough female inmate as both get counseling from a female preacher ministering to the women convicts.

The comedy in MADEA GOES TO JAIL is slightly uneven, despite two hilarious scenes of Madea arguing with Dr. Phil. The dramatic parts are more interesting and compelling. The drama is helped by good performances from Derek Luke as Joshua and Keshia Knight Pulliam as Candace. In spite of a redemptive Christian ending, MADEA GOES TO JAIL contains plenty of foul language, adult sexual references and some drug content. This content diminishes the positive Christian messages.