Barnes & Noble

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. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

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 divorcée 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. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 031398175568
• Source: LIONS GATE
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Time: 1:56:00
• Sales Rank: 25,808

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