Madea is back! After retiring the classic character in 2019, Tyler Perry has brought her back for A Madea Homecoming on Netflix. Perry is, of course, reprising the role of the title character, and is accompanied by longtime Madea players Cassi Davis-Patton, David Mann and Tamela Mann, as well as some exciting additions to the cast. The critics have already seen the movie, which is now available for streaming on Netflix, so let’s check out what they have to say about Perry’s newest movie.
Tyler Perry told audiences to “get ready,” as A Madea Homecoming features the extended family all coming together for the title character's great-grandson’s college graduation. You can imagine drama quickly ensues as secrets start to come out, but Madea is determined not to let anything ruin the celebration. So what did the critics think?
Craig D. Lindsey of the AV Club grades the movie a C-, saying that other than a couple of characters crossing over from the Irish TV show Mrs. Brown’s Boys, it’s the same broad comedy and soap opera twists we’ve come to expect:
The characters are one-note, and the actors portray them that way. Madea remains the center of attention. It shouldn’t be surprising to learn that the funniest moments all revolve around her—see, for example, the flashback of her going after a man-stealing bestie, or the end credits, where she does her own version of an uber-diva’s concert film. Yes, it’s still Madea’s world. And as long as Perry’s ready and willing to pop shots in the air while wearing a muumuu, we’ll all have to keep living in it.
John Serba of Decider says it’s up to the viewer if familiarity breeds comfort or contempt, and regardless of what critical reviews say, fans of Madea’s previous 11 movies and other projects are going to like this one too.
A Madea Homecoming delivers precisely what we expect: Treacly sentiment; ludicrous sub-soap-opera dramatic betrayals; flimsy, half-assed social commentary; and lowbrow comedy including, but not limited to, weed jokes, slapstick, Madea’s ludicrous fabricated anecdotes, horny senior citizens, malapropisms, derps wearing ridiculous clothing, references to visually unappealing genitalia, etc. The Madea/Mrs. Brown culture-clash fodder is monumental in its collision of two intellectual-in-formal-description-only properties that parallel each other in their built-from-the-ground-up popular success and critical revulsion; putting the two characters together may demonstrate how similar at heart geographically disparate cultures can be, because everyone finds men dressed as plus-sized women to be inherently hilarious, especially when said plus-sized woman characters are flatulent and/or tokin’ the reefer.
Alonso Duralde of The Wrap says Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming is perhaps Perry’s best movie yet, which is helped by the fact that it’s not under PG-13 restraints.
With “A Madea Homecoming,” Perry has — probably for the first time since “Madea’s Big Happy Family” –created a vehicle that lets Madea be Madea. No longer required by Perry the executive producer to tone down the material for a family-friendly PG-13 rating, Perry the writer-director-actor lets Madea be the blunt-talking, gun-toting, no-nonsense THC enthusiast that the character was always meant to be.
Pooja Sharma of LeisureByte is on the same page as the previous critic, saying the return of Madea is “feisty,” “hilarious” and “must watch.”
If you’re a Madea fan, chances are you’ve already seen the movie. You were watching it with your family while holding your side from laughing so hard at Madea’s silly comments and antics, or maybe you were watching it alone in your room and talking to the screen. Either way, you know what to expect — humour that all but guarantees a lot of belly laughs.
Ro Moore of WhatToWatch, however, disagrees, rating the Netflix movie 2 out of 5 stars and arguing that the way Tyler Perry delivers social commentary lacks necessary nuance and depth.
But it's 2022, and when it comes to issues like theft of Black homes due to prohibitive property taxes (aka gentrification) and reallocation of tax dollars into programs that positively impact communities instead of police departments (aka defund the police), there’s just no room for flippancy or slanted messaging. Perry’s style smacks too much of stunted respectability politics and inserts the topics into the narrative in ways that “attack” the messenger and overly simplifies (or ignores) the message.
Tyler Perry has created a character and a franchise in Madea that is beloved by her loyal fans. A Madea Homecoming may not break the mold too much, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? While some critics seem to like the movie more than others do, it all comes down to your preferred brand of humor.
Fans of Madea should find something worth celebrating in Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming, which is available for streaming now with a Netflix subscription. See some of the other best movies on Netflix, and be sure to check out our 2022 Movie release schedule to see what else is coming soon.
