As a middle aged man, Perry recognizes that during the '60s and '70s, the Civil Rights movement was still in its infancy, adjusting to wins while still suffering horrific defeats. Instead, she argues - effectively, one might add - that going back to basics is also recognizing where you came from. Madea, on the other hand, won't let it go. Education, hard work, and God? Forget it. You get the sense in his recent work that Perry is perturbed by a society which sees victimization as a means to a legitimate ends and entitlement as a status to strive for. Perry's main message has always been "firm.but with feeling." Now, it's "save these struggling adolescents before their undermine everything" - and he means EVERYTHING. Indeed, for anyone who grew up in the era of actual parenting, Neighbors from Hell is a breath of retro air. Instead of morality tales, Perry is now merely moralizing.and, frankly, it's a lot of fun. When it looks like bureaucracy and cronyism will countermand common sense, Madea's got the punchline laced put down. When the kids act up, she puts them in their place. She is literally the character that says what everyone, including the audience, is thinking. Madea 2.0 has gone from back sassing battle axe to prescient spokesperson. That being said, this is also the perfect vehicle for this new version of Perry's plays.
MADEA'S NEIGHBORS FROM HELL FULL
Getting there is half the battle with Madea's Neighbors from Hell, though the creator at least allows his villain a chance to be wicked without going into full bore moustache twirling mode. Even with all the wonderful musical padding and gospel scatting employed, it's a plot point eventuality that Madea will have a standoff with Ruth, putting her and the entire system in their place while pontificating on old school music and "it takes a village" viabilities. Naturally, Madea and Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis) discover this fact and report her to CPS, specifically do-nothing social worker Patti (Alexis Hollins) and her boss Clay (Wess Morgan).įrom the very beginning, we know where this material is going. Now, we have confused pre-adolescents, Karen (Chelsea Reynolds), Tay (Kimani Jackson), and Shannon (Jaynma Brown) who are being exploited by a woman named Ruth (Rhonda Davis) for the cash she gets from the State for their care and protection. In the past, his productions have always had a kind of "minors should be seen and not heard" old school stratagem in his narrative, complete with respecting one's elders, learning good manners, and understanding that things were better "back" in the day. Perry has decided to take up the cause of children, or specifically in this case, abused and used foster kids. Unlike previous plays by the multi-hyphenated talent, there is only one main storyline line. Nowhere is this more obvious than in his latest stage effort, Madea's Neighbors From Hell.
MADEA'S NEIGHBORS FROM HELL TV
Even if no one ever again shows up to his movies or tunes into his TV shows, Perry can always make a living putting on the wig and housedress that he's come to be identified with. He'll even toss in a few '70s soul and/or R&B references to prove there was urban music before hip-hop and rap. In this always entertaining persona, Perry does some of his best preaching, be it for salvation from the Lord or for old school etiquette and respect.
As for Perry, he still has the palpitating live audiences to bank on (literally), the masses eager to see their hero in any possible form - writer, director, and perhaps most enthusiastically, as drag dynamo Madea. Evil shtick and are riding it all the way to a decent return on their investment. Others have picked up on his God/Good vs. His underserved demo still shows up in droves, but for the most part, the days of setting the cinema on fire with his Bible thumping comedies and middling melodramas has passed. It's now more or less a given than the tide of Tyler Perry popularity has ebbed and is starting to slowly sink back into the fringes of the mainstream.