Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Benjamin Black Let me give some background about my anticipation for this movie: This was Tyler Perry's next movie after "For Colored Girls," the best movie he released at the time. This movie is based on "Madea's Big Happy Family: The Play," the best Tyler Perry play he released at the time. I saw the trailer and got excited, but what really impressed me was a teaser which included a hip-hop song called "That's Why There's Madea!" I was really excited to see this film! My roommate and I watched it together, and...I was very unsatisfied. There were so many things working for this movie, and it did not live up to expectation at all! I was greatly saddened.So, what, pray tell, is wrong with this play? Well, first of all, this play does the best job of taking material from stage play...Maybe a little too much. But some of the moments they took from play weren't appropriate for the screen. Take, for example, the first scene with Aunt Bam and Shirley in the hospital; this same exact scene is in the play. But everything from Aunt Bam's first lines to the time she leaves is very awkward when I'm watching it in the movie. On stage, it works fine. Sure, it's not needed, but it works a lot better on stage than it does on screen. I can say the same thing when Aunt Bam sings her "nursery rhyme" to Byron's girlfriend, or when Madea mentions the Bible verse "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." These moments works so well on stage, but they're so awkward in film. I feel the same way about the 2005 remake of Mel Brooks' "The Producers." There are a lot of moments they pulled from the Broadway musical that worked so much better on stage than it did in the movie.Also, remember how I said Madea spoke a lot of wisdom in the play? She does here, too, and she uses those same lines. But sometimes, those lines are used for comedy. When she's smacking Tammy and Harold's kids around she's using some of the lines from the play, but they're used mostly for laughs. I don't like that. I love Madea when she's funny, don't get me wrong, but when it's time for her to be wise, let her be wise! Finally, I feel really bad for Byron's character here. He's facing a lot of crap, including the mother of his child, Sabrina. What I don't like is that he's doing everything he's supposed to do for his child, but no one is supporting him. Of course Sabrina is yelling at him, but so is everyone else! The only one who acknowledges the fact that he's doing the right thing is Calvin.OK, that's all my bad stuff. What do I like about this movie. Well, I like the subplot with Brown and Cora. The story about Brown possibly not being Cora's father is hilarious, and the way they tell that story is funny, too! Although, first of all, if this is Brown's first ever colonoscopy, why did he say he had one in "Madea Goes to Jail?" Second of all, did anyone notice that the "Meet the Browns" TV show ended around the time or sometime after the movie came out? Was it canceled because there's nothing else they can do with Brown or Cora? I don't know, but seeing the grown, older adults get on TV and act like teenagers or immature young adults is funny as all get out! Also, Isaiah Mustafa is awesome! Who is Isaiah Mustafa? Tell me if you recognize this line: "Hello ladies. Look at you man, now back to me; now back at your man, now back to me." YES! THE OLD SPICE MAN IS IN THIS MOVIE! Just his presence alone here makes this film awesome! Rude to say, I like the part where Madea smacks the boys around. Yeah, I don't like the lines she says taken from the play, but I love seeing good-for-nothing, spoiled, rude kids getting what they deserve.Finally, there are some funny moments here that work well, and there are some dramatic moments that work well, too. But as a whole, I wasn't too impressed by this movie. I'm really unhappy about that because I was expecting something really great due to everything I said earlier. This, in my opinion is worse than "Meet the Browns." Whereas that movie was good with the exception of the exposition, there are a lot of things stopping this movie from being as good as it could be. But, with that being said, I still kind of like this movie. I don't like it as much as the rest of Tyler Perry's movies, but there are still some good moments, even some that I didn't mention. I like it. You might too, but if what I said above turns you off, then it's probably safe to skip. BOOYIKA!

twilliams76 It isn't a secret that I am not a fan of wunderkind-extraordinaire (cough), Tyler Perry, although I've watched all of his movies hoping that he would one day "get the hang of directing" and make something relatively worthwhile. He did just that with his film -- For Colored Girls -- that immediately preceded Madea's Big Happy Family (and how sad is it that FCG was one of Perry's lowest-grossing films too date -- was it too serious for his target audience?).Madea's Big Happy Family is a regression; but it is on the same-leveled plateau as ALL of the other Madea-titled films. Perry's problem is that he continues to churn-out the same type of film over-and-over again with familiar situations, similar scenarios and over-the-top characters. He appears to know what his audience expects and/or wants from his films and so he gives that to them; but this is detrimental to a filmmaker because he isn't stretching or going beyond.Big Happy Family gives us the same, negatively stereotyped characters found in all of his work that presented anywhere else would be met with outrage. Perry's characters are all one-dimensional -- we have either good and saintly OR bad and wicked OR unimportant and bland. Most of them complain (loudly) that something is wrong while caring NOTHING about the person (family) next to them.Although the film carries Madea's (Tyler Perry, himself) name she isn't really the central character in this one -- it is more of a ensemble piece for Madea's saintly/ailing niece Shirley (Loretta Devine - Crash, "Grey's Anatomy", I Am Sam) and her throng of children that Madea has to set right.The film gives us one of the WORST, most-awful characters (the hate-filled witch is played by Teyana Taylor) to grace our screens in 2011 although she is luckily not a member of the family (she's an ex). The moral message of the pic keeps me from hating the film (Devine's character and arc helps the film); but I am still waiting for Perry to give us something truly important.His love for Precious was highly apparent and I am certain he dreams of giving audiences a prestige picture like that one day; but it isn't going to happen with his vanity attached to every film title he directs.

Lolly1968 I have never watched a Madea movie before so I didn't know what to expect. I saw this one last night and laughed HARD!! :) I thought it was well done as far as topics in the film...family fighting, raising kids, paying child support, just being decent people. Not only did I laugh out loud many times, I also cried. A few topic I would have liked them to expand on...mostly toward the end with Byyyyyrrrooooooonnnnnn (OMG--his baby mommy saying his name like that cracked me up every time!) and what transpired with he and his mother but that might have made it too serious. I don't watch many movies mostly because I am disappointed and find them a waste of time after. I would watch this one over and over and sure I'd enjoy it every time. Good job Mr. Perry...I'm sure I'll start watching your other films soon.

charlytully In the 1940s, Bing Crosby starred as an Irish priest making good in America in the Oscar-winning film, GOING MY WAY. After being forced to come here from their "emerald isle" by the Potato Famine, this movie showed how this ethnic group had risen in a few short generations to positions of influence, such as priests, piano players, and singers.In the 1970s, Marlon Brando starred in a trilogy of Oscar-winning films as a community organizer bringing prosperity to his friends and relatives, earning him the title of THE GODFATHER. After pasta shortages forced them to come here from their beloved "Boot" peninsula, these movies showed Italian Americans rising to positions of prominence in the gaming, insurance, and gentleman's entertainment industries.Today, Tyler Perry has crafted a series of movies centered around his transvestite portrayal of the morbidly obese Madea, with BIG HAPPY FAMILY being the latest example. After being forced to come here through inter-tribal warfare, these flicks show how it has taken only a few generations for descendants of slaves to rise to such positions as mechanics, realtors, drug dispensers, and fast food purveyors. Unless racism rears its ugly head, it seems a foregone conclusion that Perry's dispatch to his respective old country will earn him Oscar kudos on a par with those won by Leo McCarey and Francis Ford Coppola for their parallel report cards home. (And, while I personally may not have rated HAPPY FAMILY 10 out of 10, I did rate it MORE THAN DOUBLE the average rating of 1,151 IMDb votes on it through today. So there!)