Madea's Big Happy Family is a 2011 American comedy-drama film based on Tyler Perry's 2010 play of the same name. It is the 11th film in the Tyler Perry film franchise and the sixth in the Madea cinematic universe. Tyler Perry reprised Madea and Joe, and the other cast members include Loretta Devine, Shad "Bow Wow" Moss, David Mann, Cassi Davis, Tamela Mann, Lauren London, Isaiah Mustafa, Natalie Desselle, Rodney Perry, and Shannon Kane. It tells the story of Madea finding out that her niece is dying from cancer. Madea gathers her niece's children and their family members together to deal with the news while contending with the different issues between them.
Madea's Big Happy Family received generally mixed reviews from critics, but it was a box office success, grossing $54.2 million worldwide against a $25 million budget.[3]
When Madea’s niece, Shirley (Loretta Devine), visits Dr. Evans (Philip Anthony-Rodriguez) with Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis), she discovers her cancer has gotten worse and she may only have a few weeks to live. She invites her children to dinner to tell them all at the same time. Cora Simmons (Tamela Mann) and her father Leroy Brown (David Mann) are also at the hospital where a colonoscopy on Mr. Brown shows a growth that needs to be removed surgically. Meanwhile, Madea (Tyler Perry) furiously and violently drives her car through a restaurant named Snax because the manager had delayed taking her order until after the restaurant had stopped serving breakfast for the day. The manager had been preoccupied with a phone call and had been very rude to Madea when she called her out on it.
When Shirley's children, Byron (Shad "Bow Wow" Moss), Tammy (Natalie Desselle-Reid), and Kimberly (Shannon Kane) arrive for dinner, they end up having various arguments amongst themselves and their partners. Byron's ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Sabrina (Teyana Taylor), arrives, calling Byron a "drug dealer" due to him having been one in the past before being caught and incarcerated. She also lies excessively, uses her son's child support money and supplies for herself, and tries to goad Byron back into selling drugs so she can get more money for herself in the process. Moreover, she also turns out to be the manager of Snax. With all of the drama and arguing that ensues at dinner, Shirley does not get the chance to tell the family about her cancer.
More drama amongst the family members continues, including Byron being arrested for failing to pay child support, Cora discovering that Mr. Brown may not be her real, biological father, and Byron realizing that he is actually Kimberly's son. Over time, Shirley's condition worsens greatly, and she is taken to the hospital where she later dies.
At the reception that followed, Madea confronts the family, making each of them resolve their individual issues with each other. Madea, Mr. Brown, and Cora appear on Maury to find out if Mr. Brown is in fact Cora's father. Madea insists that he is, but it turns out he is not. This shocks Madea, who runs off-stage, sobbing hysterically.
- Tyler Perry as:
- Loretta Devine as Shirley
- Shad "Bow Wow" Moss as Byron, an ex-con relative of Shirley
- Tamela Mann as Cora Brown, the daughter of Madea
- David Mann as Leroy Brown, the supposed father of Cora Simmons
- Cassi Davis as Betty Ann "Aunt Bam" Murphy, the cousin of Madea and the aunt of Shirley
- Lauren London as Renee, the gold-digging girlfriend of Byron
- Shannon Kane as Kimberly, a real estate agent, the daughter of Shirley, and the biological mother of Byron upon being raped by her uncle
- Isaiah Mustafa as Calvin, the husband of Kimberly
- Natalie Desselle-Reid as Tammy, the daughter of Shirley and co-owner of an auto-repair garage
- Rodney Perry as Harold, the husband of Tammy and co-owner of an auto-repair garage
- Steven Wash Jr. as H.J., the son of Tammy and Harold
- Nicholas Milton as Will, the youngest son of Tammy and Harold
- Benjamin 'LB' Aiken as C.J., the son of Kimberly and Calvin
- Teyana Taylor as Sabrina, the nagging ex-girlfriend of Byron and manager of Snax
- Philip Anthony-Rodriguez as Dr. Evans, a doctor who oversees the medical treatments of Shirley and Mr. Brown
- Palmer Williams Jr. as Mr. Mills, the manager of Lam Co. Imports
- Ron Grant as Pastor Jackson, a pastor who oversees Shirley's funeral
- Chandra Currelley as Sister Laura
- Maury Povich as Himself, he hears the different cases of Sabrina and Cora
Release[edit]
Box office[edit]
Madea's Big Happy Family was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 30, 2011. The DVD features four featurettes: "By-reen: The Baby Mama from Hell", "Ties That Bind", "Madea's Family Tree", and "Brown Calls Maury".[7] The Blu-ray contains these features as well as a digital copy.[8]
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2011, Comedy/Drama, 1h 46m
42 Reviews 25,000+ RatingsYou might also like
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Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family Photos
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Movie Info
When Shirley (Loretta Devine), Madea's niece, receives distressing news about her health, the only thing she wants is her family gathered around her. However, Shirley's three adult children (Shad "Bow Wow" Moss, Shannon Kane, Natalie Desselle-Reid) are too preoccupied with their own troubled lives to pay attention to their mother. It is up to Madea (Tyler Perry), with the help of rowdy Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis), to bring the clan together and help Shirley deal with her crisis.
Rating:
PG-13 (Some Mature Thematic Material|Language|Drug Content)
Genre:
Comedy, Drama
Original Language:
English
Director:
Tyler Perry
Producer:
Tyler Perry, Reuben Cannon, Roger M. Bobb
Writer:
Tyler Perry
Release Date (Theaters):
Apr 22, 2011 wide
Release Date (Streaming):
Aug 30, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA):
$53.3M
Runtime:
1h 46m
Distributor:
Lionsgate Films
Sound Mix:
SDDS, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio:
Flat (1.85:1)
View the collection:
Tyler Perry's Madea
Cast & Crew
Tyler Perry
Madea, Joe
Shad "Bow Wow" Moss
Byron
Loretta Devine
Shirley
Cassi Davis
Aunt Bam
Lauren London
Renee
David Mann
Brown
Tamela Mann
Cora
Isaiah Mustafa
Calvin
Rodney Perry
Harold
Shannon Kane
Kimberly
Natalie Desselle-Reid
Tammy
Teyana Taylor
Sabrina
Tyler Perry
Director
Tyler Perry
Screenwriter
Tyler Perry
Producer
Reuben Cannon
Producer
Roger M. Bobb
Producer
Michael Paseornek
Executive Producer
Ozzie Areu
Executive Producer
Toyomichi Kurita
Cinematographer
Ina Mayhew
Production Design
Maysie Hoy
Film Editing
Keith G. Lewis
Costume Design
Kim Williams
Casting
News & Interviews for Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family
New on Prime Video and Freevee in September 2022
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: More Madea and A Bunch of Classics
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View All
Critic Reviews for Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (26)
Full Review… Michael Wilmington Chicago ReaderFull Review… Marjorie Baumgarten Austin ChronicleFull Review… A.A. Dowd Time OutFull Review… Bruce DeMara Toronto StarFull Review… Richard Corliss TIME MagazineFull Review… Wesley Morris Boston GlobeFull Review… Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.comFull Review… Kiko Martinez San Antonio CurrentFull Review… Dustin Putman TheFilmFile.comFull Review… Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.comFull Review… Tim Brayton Antagony & EcstasyFull Review… Jim Lane Sacramento News & ReviewView All Critic Reviews (42)
Audience Reviews for Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family
Dec 02, 2011
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family is a hilarious film, and i'm one of the few people who think the character of Madea is hilarious, but this movie is also just like all the past films juyst with different dramatic situations. The plot of the film makes you want to see how each dramatic stoy ends because they are all so f#cked up, just like every other Tyler Perry movie, and soon it gets kind of boring. The cast is half funny people, and half dramatic actors, now the funny people like Tyler Perry and David mann made me laugh, and all the other actors are sad, and although they played good roles, the old bad relationship acting gets really boring, just a bunch of crying people who are too big a wimps to do anything so madea has to step in. This movie was hilarious and l love the character of Madea, but this movie is also too dramatic and has too many problemns to consider itself a real movie, and overall its just another Tyler Perry film.
Bradley W Super Reviewer
Sep 11, 2011
The only Madea movie I've seen so far. A mixed bag but I was amused. Wasn't expecting such a sad 2nd half of the movie.
Sunil J Super Reviewer
Sep 11, 2011
Not the best Tyler Perry movie by any stretch, but it's not the worst either. It's kind of uneven with it's mix of comedy and drama(luckily, this isn't nearly as melodramatic as other Perry movies.) But overall, it's pretty entertaining. The story is about Shirley, a woman who's been battling cancer and her battle is coming to an end. She needs to tell her family, but her family is so broken apart that she can't get them all together to tell them. She gets the help of her Aunt Madea to get her family together, and things go from there. Madea is either annoying or hilarious depending on who you ask, well I find her hilarious. Perry is awesome and has some great one liners as Madea and Joe(his "help me" lines about the floor are awesome). The rest of the cast is good, and they do their jobs well as the "standard Tyler Perry" supporting cast. If you enjoy Perry's movies(and I do), then you will like this. If you don't like them, then you probably wouldn't want to watch this anyway.
Everett J Super Reviewer
Sep 02, 2011
Tyler Perry is very skilled at his particular brand of family values dramedies, and in this latest effort, his domineering drag persona Madea gathers together her ailing niece's extremely dysfunctional family to try and make peace before her death. Perry brings the laughs with his endearing trademark characters, but the film lacks focus and a strong ending, and doesn't balance humor and drama as well as some of his previous efforts.
What streaming service is Madea's Big Happy Family on?
Watch Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family | Netflix.Can I watch Madea homecoming on Amazon Prime?
Where to stream Tyler Perry's A Madea Homecoming. Today, the only place where you can stream Tyler Perry's A Madea Homecoming is on Netflix.Is Madea on Hulu?
Watch Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion Streaming Online | Hulu (Free Trial)Are Madea plays on HBO Max?
WHERE TO WATCH THE MADEA MOVIES IN ORDER: There is no one streaming service that is home to all of the Madea movies. However, you can stream several of the Madea movies for free, provided you have a subscription to HBO Max and a free Peacock account.