Cindy is so awful that it’s a relief when Madea lets loose on her even though it’s a truly cruel prank that sets the girl straight. George’s mother Barbara (Doris Roberts) is either senile or pretending to be or is just pilled out from all the Valium they give her she’s also a horny old broad that keeps making googly eyes at Joe (Madea’s brother Brian’s father and of course Tyler Perry in old man drag). They both let George’s daughter Cindy (Danielle Campbell) walk all over them and George and Kate’s son Howie (Devan Leos) is the subject of many “fat loser”-type jokes. Denise Richards plays his typically brittle and much younger housewife Kate whose main interests seem to be yoga (“yoda” in Madea-speak) and carbs. George played by Eugene Levy’s eyebrows is such a schmuck that he had no idea he was being set up to take the fall or that the company he worked for was stealing millions of dollars from charities. The mob is somehow involved - don’t ask - so the Atlanta ADA Brian (also Perry) puts them up at the safest place he knows: his Aunt Madea’s house. The Needlemans are a rich white family whose patriarch is inadvertently involved in a Madoff-like Ponzi scheme. None of it adds up and half of the movie is taken up by a tiresome group of snobs who deserve their comeuppance at the hands of Madea. Perry also wants to have his cake and eat it too showing the greed and corruption of big companies while also offering at least one of the people at fault both the benefit of the doubt and a shot at redemption. Although there’s no doubt we’re all feeling the repercussions of the 2008 financial crisis and will be for some time to come Madoff isn’t exactly breaking news any more. In this case it’s about shady businesses and Ponzi schemes - Bernie Madoff is even referred to by name. The Madea movies aren’t supposed to be nuanced character portraits they’re Teachable Moments. Given that Madea is Perry in drag as an overweight gray-haired woman who delights in threatening people with violence this is pretty amazing. Tyler Perry’s most famous character Madea is actually the least obnoxious part of his latest movie Madea’s Witness Protection.
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