Diary of a Mad Black Woman [WS]

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:	0031398175568
Original Release:	2005
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	LIONSGATE - 600000-AEC LGE
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:56:00
Sales rank:	26,910

Special Features

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

Technical Credits

Tyler Perry

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