Diary of a Mad Black Woman [P&S]

Director: Darren Grant Darren Grant

Overview

A woman has to learn how to love and trust men all over again in this comedy drama. Helen McCarter (Kimberly Elise) would seem to have it all -- she's been married for 18 years to Charles (Steve Harris), and over the course of their time together, he's become one of Atlanta's most successful attorneys. But despite wealth and prestige, things are not as they should be at the McCarter home, and on their anniversary, Charles drops a bombshell on Helen -- he's divorcing her for another woman. Escorted out of the house with nowhere to go, Helen moves in with her grandmother Madea (Tyler Perry), a sassy woman with no shortage of opinions and a gun that she's not afraid to use. As Madea helps Helen get back on her feet emotionally, the divorc?e makes the acquaintance of Orlando (Shemar Moore), a handsome man who is obviously attracted to her. But after her experiences with Charles, Helen isn't sure if she's ready to trust a man again. Diary of a Mad Black Woman was adapted from the popular stage play by Tyler Perry, who also plays several roles in the film, most prominently Madea; it marked the first feature-film credit for successful music video director Darren R. Grant.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/28/2005
UPC:	0031398177494
Original Release:	2005
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	LIONS GATE
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:56:00
Sales rank:	37,964

Special Features

Closed Caption;Full screen version; 5.1 Dolby Digital; 2.0 Dolby Digital; Reflections on Diary ; Outtakes; Tyler Perry commentary; Making of Diary Featurette; Who's Tyler Perry featurette; You Can Do It...It's Electric; Tyler Perry collection trailer; English and Spanish subtitles; Trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kimberly Elise	Helen
Steve Harris	Charles
Tyler Perry	Brian/Madea/Joe,Composer
Shemar Moore	Orlando
Tamara Taylor	Debrah
Lisa Marcos	Brenda
Tiffany Evans	Tiffany
Cicely Tyson	Myrtle
Terrell Carter	Reverend Carter
Carol Mitchell-Leon	Mildred,Mildred
Avery Knight	BJ
Vickie Eng	Christina
Gary Sturgis	Jamison
Bart Hansard	Guard
Chandra Currelley-Young	Chandra
Sho Dixon	Child
Tamala J. Mann	Cora
Ric Reitz	D.A.
Lauren Mitchell	Doctor
Wilbur Fitzgerald	Judge
L. Young	Judge
Judge Mablean Ephriam	Judge Ephriam
Tony Vaughn	Juror
E. Mitchell	Kalvin
Cedric Pendleton	Max
Richard Reed	Bailiff
Joe Washington	Reporter
Kate Donadio	Secretary
Crystal Porter	Woman
Ryan Gentles	Bartender
Ronnie Garrett	Band Member
Marcus Williams	Band Member #2
Earl Fleming	Band Member #3
Christian Keyes	Man Proposing
Brian Andrews	Drums
Darrell Freeman	Bass
Pat Bergeson	Guitar
Philip Gough	Guitar
Yvette Devereaux	Violin Solos,Conductor
John Forbes	Keyboards
Elvin Ross	Composer

Technical Credits

Tyler Perry

Darren Grant	Director
Tyler Perry	Screenwriter,Producer
Reuben Cannon	Producer,Casting
David Nash	Stunts
Pamela Green	Producer
Derrick Simmons	Stunts
Michael Paseornek	Executive Producer
Robert Johnson	Executive Producer
John Dellaverson	Executive Producer
Shay Bentley-Griffin	Casting
Kim Williams	Casting
Michelle Leigh Thompson	Stunts
Todd A. Niesen	Sound Editor
Jay Nierenberg	Sound/Sound Designer
Spencer Johnson	Sound Editor
Jim Hawkins	Sound Mixer,Sound/Sound Designer
Stuart Provine	Sound Editor

Editorial Reviews

Going against the grain comes easy to actor-playwright Tyler Perry, an African-American populist who eschews hard-edged, predominantly urban-based paeans to today’s hip-hop culture and instead skews his dramas to middle-class, church-going audiences. This film adaptation of his Diary of a Mad Black Woman will especially appeal to that demographic, but it makes rollicking good entertainment for all viewers. The titular terror is Helen (Kimberly Elise), whose rich attorney husband (Steve Harris, who also played a lawyer on The Practice) throws her out of their mansion after 18 years of marriage and sets up housekeeping with a much younger woman. Returning to the bosom of her long-neglected family, Helen attempts to work through her anger and again take up the search for true love. First-time director Darren Grant doesn’t seem entirely comfortable with the material; Diary vacillates between heavy-handed melodrama and raucous comedy, the latter quality exemplified by Perry himself, who hilariously plays Helen’s grandma Madea, a fiery-tempered, gun-toting whirligig of a woman. Her tirades counterbalance the playwright’s tendency toward sanctimony and provide much-needed bite when the movie veers into Harlequin Romance territory with Helen’s courtship by a working-class Prince Charming (soap opera stud Shemar Moore). Diary isn’t a classic by any means -- but it’s a sincere and generally successful attempt to broaden the still-too-narrow parameters of entertainment slanted to African-American audiences.