>Let me say from the start, I ain't mad at Brother Perry for his successes. I have never seen any of his plays or movies and have only seen a bit of an interview on Oprah when his last movie ended up being such a success.Because I am of a certain age and have been exposed to most areas of business I understand who the real decision makers and purse-string controllers are in the entertainment industry. So, again, I ain't mad at Brother Perry.But (and you know there was a big But coming) I really get tired of dressed-up minstrel shows being the only way to appeal to a large number of black people. I've always known the difference between being laughed at and laughing with and I fear that WE spend too much time laughing at ourselves and the stereotypical behavior that is so much engrained in this country's thinking of who we are. Are there Madeas out there. Yes, I grew up in a neighborhood full of them. But for every Madea, there was a Big Momma who helped the unwed mothers get on their feet and took care of kids for no pay so that parents could work or go to school. I grew up with these woman who gave of themselves without complaining just so someone could have a better life. They loved toughly, fiercely, and without condition and it's a shame we can't honor them. Big Momma's Family Reunion would be so much more endearing that Madea's fun fest.Again, I ain't mad at Brother Perry. He's doing him and you can only respect the brother for that.To all of you who knew a "Big Momma" stop and thank them even if it is in your prayers.Peace,JUAN
>Wow, Juan. That was incredibly well put. That's why I loved the movie Soul Food so much. It totally represented for the real Big Mommas of the world. I do believe there's space for both types of movies, but it does make one nervous when these types are the ones that get greenlit the most. I'm just holding out hope that I won't have to one day see Terrence's pretty ass in a wig and a dress in order for him to be at the top of the box office.
>lboogie, I am gonna respect your opinion and once the crowds thin I will give the movie a chance. Like I said, I ain't mad at Brother Perry, he's doing him. But you have to wonder why it is bllack men can always been accepted with a dress and wig but not for being black men — think something as recent as Martin Lawrence as "Big Momma" and all of us remember where Jamie Foxx gained his following. Perhaps we are de-masculinized (is that a word Lo?) and therefore, non-threatening. Of course, you have the other extreme where we are accepted because we are the thugs that we are expected to be. Think Mr. Washington's Oscar.
>HOLLYWOOD IS ON IT'S MINSTREL CYCLE AGAIN!!!!!are you serious?first it was big momma 2….then sanaa lathan kickin' brothers to the curb in "black men can't hang"…okay, my bad. "something new".now we have "madea's family reunion".WELCOME TO MAMMYFEST '06!!!!!what kinda shit is this?now, i'm not gonna be nice like juan was in his post on TP, but this is some dumb shit. lemme tell ya why.1)production, horrible. the cinematography was all jacked up, not sharp or crisp, makeup issues, hell, they even had the boom mike in one of the scenes.were they just too cheap to reshoot that wedding scene where the boom mike appeared? i know john carter, the great editor that he is, didn't see that?! DAMN!2)acting: there needs to be less MADEA & JOE and more BETTER ACTING. as far as i'm concerned the movie wasn't about shit, til CICELY TYSON spoke (and props to MAYA ANGELOU too!). my people, my people…let's get some things straight about this "big momma phenomenon"….a "big momma" doesn't have to be a woman of a "big" physical stature. it could be ANY woman who has a BIG heart & soul to love all whether they are friends, family or a total stranger. try to compare tyler perry's "madea" to s. epatha merkerson's "nanny" in lackawanna blues or irma p. hall's "big mama" in soul food. there is no fuckin' way you can compare. let woman represent woman. let man represent man. easy. if cicely tyson would have played "madea" she would probably would have gotten mad critical acclaim and future awards noms. because she has respect, stage or screen.now, lions gate (who bought the rights to seven of TP's plays/films) is smiling now, but for how long? can they keep this shit up for another five films? george lucas thought "ja-ja binks" was a good idea, you saw what happened to that bugged-eyed alien stepin fetchit too over the course of the last two star wars films. less is more! the film is just overkill, rehashed stuff from "diary". case in point, boris' character, franklin, right out the box, proclaims, "i'm a christian"…like in "diary"…like his dick don't get hard in the morning!if anything needs to happen with tyler's work, it needs to be "less" of him, writing script, acting, directing, writing film score, holding the boom mike or whatever and let others with more experience in that craft take over and make the picture better.if you REALLY want to see great cinematic work of art, go see "tsotsi" hardcore filmmaking from screen adaptation to film. it's in limited releases, probably in NY & LA now because of the OSCAR VOTERS (it's nominated for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM)for the academy awards this weekend.yeah, i know….i knownow some of you black people are simple, like fried chicken and cornbread. it's okay. that's good eatin'. but there comes a time in our lives where we have to want more and expect more in all that we do whether it's going to see a movie, paying a mortgage vs giving away your money in rent, bitchin' about dumb shit in your community but not voting. time for change. and that change is now.ARE YOU LISTENING HOLLYWOOD????
>Ooooh-wee! Lance, you didn't pull no punches, did you? As we would expect. I'm sure this is going to get some major responses. *putting on my flak jacket and waiting for the shrapnel to fly*Mel? Where you at?
>Lance, my brother, you went hard but you spoke volumes of truth. I've been known to string a few words together from time to time but I may just have to steal "mammyfest".I first learned about Tsotsi through the BBC channel but unfortunately, it is not playing DC. I may have to figure out a way to get to The Apple, but hopefully after the Oscars the release will extend to other major cities.One love, my brother.
>i feel you juan, big-ups to you as well. despite my diatribe on tyler perry's movie, you hit the nail on the head with most of today's black films: WE spend too much time laughing at ourselves and the stereotypical behavior that is so much engrained in this country's thinking of who we arebut, hollywood as it's own plans….if you would like to see the trailer to "tsotsi", go to moviefone.com search: tsotsi
>can we agree that this production was better thatn the first at least! and the messages were imoportant and reaches an audience that would be overlooked otherwise on those level (spiritually)?
>"can we agree that this production was better thatn the first at least! and the messages were imoportant and reaches an audience that would be overlooked otherwise on those level (spiritually)"-lboogiehell naw. maybe because i watch a lotta films and study it from its' "aesthetic" points of view, which this film has none of it.*** SPOILER ALERT!!! **** IF Y'ALL AIN'T SEEN THE FILM, READ NO' MO'!!!!spirtual? where? what's spirtual about having a family reunion, that's NOT hosted by MADEA that's less than 10 mins. long? they only mentioned it previously in the movie a couple of times, which really wasn't the highlight of the film at all. MADEA'S FAMILY REUNIONthe only thing significant about the family reunion that was good was about three women. CICELY TYSON, MAYA ANGELOU AND GEORGIA ALLEN "AUNT RUBY"…very elegant and with dignity. they spoke of reverence not only to their families but to our "family" in the real world. BUT THAT'S IT! other than that, where's the substance. i got mad as hell, in the scene, which really should have fell on the editor's floor. when joe ask a young girl to bend over to get him a couple of cans of beer out of a barrel, so he and the dirty ol' men can look at her butt was BULLSHIT! i get mad just thinking about it, because tyler perry was reaching for a laugh that was not funny. all this buffooning and shit was unnecessary. even still in the family reunion scene of having a woman singing a gospel hymn with the bell ringing to bring people together, what was that? a cheap, rip-off version of "the color purple". you know the scene, shug avery going back to church. "God Tryna Tell You Something"ask these questions to yourself? what was the point of having this foster child in the film? for laughs? was it funny when she was gettin' her ass whupped juxtaposition with a rerun of a "good times" episode on t.v. when "penny" was being child abused by her mom? getting burned by an iron? wow, that's really spiritual, y'all! you never saw the child excelled in school or in life just one minute she's bad, madea sez some dumb country, broken english shit and the next minute she's good. yeah, right.and the most important aspect of the film, got played the fuck out. spousal abuse. blair underwood's character "carlos" was kicking rochelle aytes' "lisa" ass all over the film and it came down to her being scared, madea, once again, sez some dumb shit and wow, the skies were opened. then she goes and threw some hot grits on him and hits him with a frying pan. game over???i mean tyler could have rewritten it with something to have his ass go to jail or something. better still have him arguing with lisa in private at the family reunion and he hits her. somebody videotaping family members advertly catches the abuse in the background, videotapes it and show-n-tells the family.then all hell breaks loose with 40 angry BLACK men 'bout to shut his ass down. NOW THAT'S REAL!at least in "diary", kimberly elise's "helen" found "forgiveness" and "compassion" and went back to her man (busted up, when she could have dogged him easily; nursed him back to health) after all the shit he put her through. BUT, she remains more of a woman in the end and decided for HERSELF, what was best for her. you saw her grow as a character from a social butterfly to a independent thinking christian woman. yes/no? c'mon lboogie, Madea's Fam. Reu. was all surface and no depth. that's why the movie sux. and if you love it that much, give me back my $7.25!…. hahahahaha!!!!
>Oh shit!!! I'm am soooooo staying out of this one. Lance, I get the feeling LBoogie's gonna come at you with both barrels blazing. You both vehemently fall on clearly opposites sides in terms of how you feel about the film and have intense conviction in your stances, whereas Juan is more balanced in the way he discusses it, examining both the yin and the yang. This is quite interesting to watch. I'm loving the fact that equitable dialogue is taking place here.
>Well, the unfortunate thing is all the points raised are real. Also they are terrible ills of the black family and need to be examined, opened and discussed upon families… secrets, painful seacret and how we have not dealt with them. I'd gladly give you $8.00. We can't afford to ignore the point, pain & comedy of the black experence. To take it one step further and really flip da game – I will be big mamma to my grand kids if i fortunate enough. The depth I suppose will come from families attempting to be open to talking about the foul mental impact of slavery that has US bound to this day. Money, insest, domestic violence,unforgivness, self-respect, tolerance, openess to family beyond blood, etc…My big Mommas didn't have more than a 3rd grade education collectivly and were funny in a scare pistal packing way. Yet most of the offspring excelled and are not embarrassed of how we laughed to keep from crying about the ignorance that was all they new and passed down. The good, bad, sad and ugly. I see it overall as a transition to greater levels of the black expeience being brought to the screen by people like you. NOW mickyficky – get yo script out there and make me proud twice over!!! Love u and Juan for the views that white America will poke fun at. But in my opinion it is what it is and will hopeful put our discussion in the minds of people across america and keep it coming until we get it all right. A long row to hoe (country twang!)Smooches!
>okay, lboogie, stick a fork in me…I'M DONE! very well expressed, much luv 2 ya…i thought you were gonna come with guns blazin', instead you stuck a flower in my gun barrel!can't you feel the luv eurbody?
>Sorry about the million typo's i am so sleep i could cry… Glad my passion made it throught the errors!!! I love you back Lo! – "Can't we all just get along" – lol, did i just start somemore shit!
The Lo Zone 
>Tyler really did a great job this time I was impressed and proud!!!Great Production & casting!
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>Let me say from the start, I ain't mad at Brother Perry for his successes. I have never seen any of his plays or movies and have only seen a bit of an interview on Oprah when his last movie ended up being such a success.Because I am of a certain age and have been exposed to most areas of business I understand who the real decision makers and purse-string controllers are in the entertainment industry. So, again, I ain't mad at Brother Perry.But (and you know there was a big But coming) I really get tired of dressed-up minstrel shows being the only way to appeal to a large number of black people. I've always known the difference between being laughed at and laughing with and I fear that WE spend too much time laughing at ourselves and the stereotypical behavior that is so much engrained in this country's thinking of who we are. Are there Madeas out there. Yes, I grew up in a neighborhood full of them. But for every Madea, there was a Big Momma who helped the unwed mothers get on their feet and took care of kids for no pay so that parents could work or go to school. I grew up with these woman who gave of themselves without complaining just so someone could have a better life. They loved toughly, fiercely, and without condition and it's a shame we can't honor them. Big Momma's Family Reunion would be so much more endearing that Madea's fun fest.Again, I ain't mad at Brother Perry. He's doing him and you can only respect the brother for that.To all of you who knew a "Big Momma" stop and thank them even if it is in your prayers.Peace,JUAN
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>Wow, Juan. That was incredibly well put. That's why I loved the movie Soul Food so much. It totally represented for the real Big Mommas of the world. I do believe there's space for both types of movies, but it does make one nervous when these types are the ones that get greenlit the most. I'm just holding out hope that I won't have to one day see Terrence's pretty ass in a wig and a dress in order for him to be at the top of the box office.
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>Oooooh…Ahhhhh…Ol' Lance is building up steam!I'll holla at y'all later…
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>All of what Jaun pointed out was well represented in Tylers movie. A strong & great multi-generation family movie!!!
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>lboogie, I am gonna respect your opinion and once the crowds thin I will give the movie a chance. Like I said, I ain't mad at Brother Perry, he's doing him. But you have to wonder why it is bllack men can always been accepted with a dress and wig but not for being black men — think something as recent as Martin Lawrence as "Big Momma" and all of us remember where Jamie Foxx gained his following. Perhaps we are de-masculinized (is that a word Lo?) and therefore, non-threatening. Of course, you have the other extreme where we are accepted because we are the thugs that we are expected to be. Think Mr. Washington's Oscar.
LikeLike
>HOLLYWOOD IS ON IT'S MINSTREL CYCLE AGAIN!!!!!are you serious?first it was big momma 2….then sanaa lathan kickin' brothers to the curb in "black men can't hang"…okay, my bad. "something new".now we have "madea's family reunion".WELCOME TO MAMMYFEST '06!!!!!what kinda shit is this?now, i'm not gonna be nice like juan was in his post on TP, but this is some dumb shit. lemme tell ya why.1)production, horrible. the cinematography was all jacked up, not sharp or crisp, makeup issues, hell, they even had the boom mike in one of the scenes.were they just too cheap to reshoot that wedding scene where the boom mike appeared? i know john carter, the great editor that he is, didn't see that?! DAMN!2)acting: there needs to be less MADEA & JOE and more BETTER ACTING. as far as i'm concerned the movie wasn't about shit, til CICELY TYSON spoke (and props to MAYA ANGELOU too!). my people, my people…let's get some things straight about this "big momma phenomenon"….a "big momma" doesn't have to be a woman of a "big" physical stature. it could be ANY woman who has a BIG heart & soul to love all whether they are friends, family or a total stranger. try to compare tyler perry's "madea" to s. epatha merkerson's "nanny" in lackawanna blues or irma p. hall's "big mama" in soul food. there is no fuckin' way you can compare. let woman represent woman. let man represent man. easy. if cicely tyson would have played "madea" she would probably would have gotten mad critical acclaim and future awards noms. because she has respect, stage or screen.now, lions gate (who bought the rights to seven of TP's plays/films) is smiling now, but for how long? can they keep this shit up for another five films? george lucas thought "ja-ja binks" was a good idea, you saw what happened to that bugged-eyed alien stepin fetchit too over the course of the last two star wars films. less is more! the film is just overkill, rehashed stuff from "diary". case in point, boris' character, franklin, right out the box, proclaims, "i'm a christian"…like in "diary"…like his dick don't get hard in the morning!if anything needs to happen with tyler's work, it needs to be "less" of him, writing script, acting, directing, writing film score, holding the boom mike or whatever and let others with more experience in that craft take over and make the picture better.if you REALLY want to see great cinematic work of art, go see "tsotsi" hardcore filmmaking from screen adaptation to film. it's in limited releases, probably in NY & LA now because of the OSCAR VOTERS (it's nominated for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM)for the academy awards this weekend.yeah, i know….i knownow some of you black people are simple, like fried chicken and cornbread. it's okay. that's good eatin'. but there comes a time in our lives where we have to want more and expect more in all that we do whether it's going to see a movie, paying a mortgage vs giving away your money in rent, bitchin' about dumb shit in your community but not voting. time for change. and that change is now.ARE YOU LISTENING HOLLYWOOD????
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>Ooooh-wee! Lance, you didn't pull no punches, did you? As we would expect. I'm sure this is going to get some major responses. *putting on my flak jacket and waiting for the shrapnel to fly*Mel? Where you at?
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>Lance, my brother, you went hard but you spoke volumes of truth. I've been known to string a few words together from time to time but I may just have to steal "mammyfest".I first learned about Tsotsi through the BBC channel but unfortunately, it is not playing DC. I may have to figure out a way to get to The Apple, but hopefully after the Oscars the release will extend to other major cities.One love, my brother.
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>i feel you juan, big-ups to you as well. despite my diatribe on tyler perry's movie, you hit the nail on the head with most of today's black films: WE spend too much time laughing at ourselves and the stereotypical behavior that is so much engrained in this country's thinking of who we arebut, hollywood as it's own plans….if you would like to see the trailer to "tsotsi", go to moviefone.com search: tsotsi
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>Now come on Lance I saw that for sure in the first tyler movie but not this one…
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>can we agree that this production was better thatn the first at least! and the messages were imoportant and reaches an audience that would be overlooked otherwise on those level (spiritually)?
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>"can we agree that this production was better thatn the first at least! and the messages were imoportant and reaches an audience that would be overlooked otherwise on those level (spiritually)"-lboogiehell naw. maybe because i watch a lotta films and study it from its' "aesthetic" points of view, which this film has none of it.*** SPOILER ALERT!!! **** IF Y'ALL AIN'T SEEN THE FILM, READ NO' MO'!!!!spirtual? where? what's spirtual about having a family reunion, that's NOT hosted by MADEA that's less than 10 mins. long? they only mentioned it previously in the movie a couple of times, which really wasn't the highlight of the film at all. MADEA'S FAMILY REUNIONthe only thing significant about the family reunion that was good was about three women. CICELY TYSON, MAYA ANGELOU AND GEORGIA ALLEN "AUNT RUBY"…very elegant and with dignity. they spoke of reverence not only to their families but to our "family" in the real world. BUT THAT'S IT! other than that, where's the substance. i got mad as hell, in the scene, which really should have fell on the editor's floor. when joe ask a young girl to bend over to get him a couple of cans of beer out of a barrel, so he and the dirty ol' men can look at her butt was BULLSHIT! i get mad just thinking about it, because tyler perry was reaching for a laugh that was not funny. all this buffooning and shit was unnecessary. even still in the family reunion scene of having a woman singing a gospel hymn with the bell ringing to bring people together, what was that? a cheap, rip-off version of "the color purple". you know the scene, shug avery going back to church. "God Tryna Tell You Something"ask these questions to yourself? what was the point of having this foster child in the film? for laughs? was it funny when she was gettin' her ass whupped juxtaposition with a rerun of a "good times" episode on t.v. when "penny" was being child abused by her mom? getting burned by an iron? wow, that's really spiritual, y'all! you never saw the child excelled in school or in life just one minute she's bad, madea sez some dumb country, broken english shit and the next minute she's good. yeah, right.and the most important aspect of the film, got played the fuck out. spousal abuse. blair underwood's character "carlos" was kicking rochelle aytes' "lisa" ass all over the film and it came down to her being scared, madea, once again, sez some dumb shit and wow, the skies were opened. then she goes and threw some hot grits on him and hits him with a frying pan. game over???i mean tyler could have rewritten it with something to have his ass go to jail or something. better still have him arguing with lisa in private at the family reunion and he hits her. somebody videotaping family members advertly catches the abuse in the background, videotapes it and show-n-tells the family.then all hell breaks loose with 40 angry BLACK men 'bout to shut his ass down. NOW THAT'S REAL!at least in "diary", kimberly elise's "helen" found "forgiveness" and "compassion" and went back to her man (busted up, when she could have dogged him easily; nursed him back to health) after all the shit he put her through. BUT, she remains more of a woman in the end and decided for HERSELF, what was best for her. you saw her grow as a character from a social butterfly to a independent thinking christian woman. yes/no? c'mon lboogie, Madea's Fam. Reu. was all surface and no depth. that's why the movie sux. and if you love it that much, give me back my $7.25!…. hahahahaha!!!!
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>Oh shit!!! I'm am soooooo staying out of this one. Lance, I get the feeling LBoogie's gonna come at you with both barrels blazing. You both vehemently fall on clearly opposites sides in terms of how you feel about the film and have intense conviction in your stances, whereas Juan is more balanced in the way he discusses it, examining both the yin and the yang. This is quite interesting to watch. I'm loving the fact that equitable dialogue is taking place here.
LikeLike
>Well, the unfortunate thing is all the points raised are real. Also they are terrible ills of the black family and need to be examined, opened and discussed upon families… secrets, painful seacret and how we have not dealt with them. I'd gladly give you $8.00. We can't afford to ignore the point, pain & comedy of the black experence. To take it one step further and really flip da game – I will be big mamma to my grand kids if i fortunate enough. The depth I suppose will come from families attempting to be open to talking about the foul mental impact of slavery that has US bound to this day. Money, insest, domestic violence,unforgivness, self-respect, tolerance, openess to family beyond blood, etc…My big Mommas didn't have more than a 3rd grade education collectivly and were funny in a scare pistal packing way. Yet most of the offspring excelled and are not embarrassed of how we laughed to keep from crying about the ignorance that was all they new and passed down. The good, bad, sad and ugly. I see it overall as a transition to greater levels of the black expeience being brought to the screen by people like you. NOW mickyficky – get yo script out there and make me proud twice over!!! Love u and Juan for the views that white America will poke fun at. But in my opinion it is what it is and will hopeful put our discussion in the minds of people across america and keep it coming until we get it all right. A long row to hoe (country twang!)Smooches!
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>okay, lboogie, stick a fork in me…I'M DONE! very well expressed, much luv 2 ya…i thought you were gonna come with guns blazin', instead you stuck a flower in my gun barrel!can't you feel the luv eurbody?
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>God, LBoogie. I just wanna HUG YOU RIGHT NOW. You are so AWESOME!!!
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>Sorry about the million typo's i am so sleep i could cry… Glad my passion made it throught the errors!!! I love you back Lo! – "Can't we all just get along" – lol, did i just start somemore shit!
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