Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Diary of a Mad Black Woman is a 2005 American romantic comedy drama film written by Tyler Perry, which was inspired by the play of the same name. It is Perry's debut feature film, and the first entry in the Tyler Perry film franchise with this film also starring Kimberly Elise, Steve Harris, Shemar Moore, and Cicely Tyson. Directed by Darren Grant, the film was released in the US on February 25, 2005. It is the only Tyler Perry scripted film not directed by Tyler Perry. It was filmed almost entirely in Fairburn , Georgia. The sequel, "Madea's Family Reunion", was released on February 24, 2006. Plot. Helen Simmons-McCarter and her attorney husband Charles McCarter have money, success, and a fine home. Despite seemingly perfect lives, Charles is actually distant, verbally and physically abusive, and has been having multiple affairs, while Helen is unemployed, bored at home, and desperately trying to make her marriage work. On the evening of their 18th wedding anniversary, Helen arrives home to find all her belongings in a U-Haul, and that Charles is abandoning her for his young mistress Brenda, the mother of his two sons . Helen kicks the driver Orlando out of the truck and visits her intimidating grandmother Madea. Madea takes Helen in and helps her get back on her feet, upsetting Madea's brother Joe. Joe's attorney son Brian defends Madea and Helen after Charles and Brenda catch the pair breaking into and vandalizing Charles' mansion. Judge Mablean Ephriam places Madea, a repeat offender, under house arrest and sets a $5,000 property or cash bond for Helen. Brian kicks his addict wife Debrah out of their home, causing him to have a strained relationship with their daughter, Tiffany, who wants to  join the church choir. Fearing that Tiffany will turn to drugs like her mother, Brian refuses until Madea convinces him otherwise, encouraging him to also fix his relationship with Debrah. Helen cultivates a relationship with Orlando. Meanwhile, career criminal Jamison Milton Jackson asks Charles to defend him in his trial for shooting an undercover cop during a drug deal and to possibly bribe the judge $300,000 to rule in his favor, which reveals that Charles received most of his money through drug deals and buying off judges. In divorce court, Helen lets Charles keep all the money and property , provided he pay Brian's attorney fees and continue paying for her mother Myrtle Jean's stay in a nursing home since he made her place her there; Charles agrees to both terms. In the shooting case, despite Charles' efforts, the jury convicts Jamison. While being led out of the courtroom, Jamison snatches the bailiff's gun and shoots Charles in the back for failing to get him acquitted. Orlando proposes to Helen. Before she can respond, she sees the shooting on the news and goes to the hospital with Brian. They encounter Brenda upon arriving. The doctor says Charles  might be permanently paralyzed and asks if they should resuscitate him if things deteriorate. Brenda chooses to let Charles die, but Helen, still Charles's legal wife, tells the doctor to do everything possible for him. Charles recovers, returns home with Helen, and resumes verbally abusing her, but Helen takes the opportunity to retaliate for years of neglect, verbal, emotional, and physical abuse by not only physically humiliating him, but also by revealing that Brenda finally showed her true colors by not only opting to let Charles die, but also by emptying his bank account and leaving with their boys  during his hospitalization. She additionally reveals that their housekeeper Christina has left as well because Charles has no money to pay her, and that all of his friends, associates, and connections have abandoned him now that he has been left crippled and penniless. Helen and Orlando argue when he learns she has moved back in with Charles to look after him, and he leaves heartbroken. Charles realizes his mistakes and apologizes to Helen, realizing that she was the only one who truly cared for him. He becomes a kinder man, while she helps him recover. He regains his ability to  walk one day in church, where Debrah, now clean and sober after going into rehab, reconciles with Brian. Charles hopes to start over with Helen, but during a family dinner with Madea, she gives him her wedding ring and signed divorce papers and tells him she will always be his friend. She finds Orlando, asks him to propose again, and accepts when he does. Music. The soundtrack was released by Motown Records on April 19, 2005. Reception. Critical response. Professional film critics were mostly negative in their evaluation of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman". Rotten Tomatoes gives the film  a score of 16% based on 114 reviews. The site's consensus reads "Tyler Perry's successful play can't make the move to the screen; this mix of slapstick, melodrama and spirituality lacks a consistent tone." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 36% based on reviews from 30 critics, which the site considers "generally unfavorable reviews". Audience polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare "A+" grade, on a scale from A-F. Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars, arguing that the Madea character "is not remotely plausible [and] not merely wrong  for the movie, but fatal to it." Ebert also wrote that Elise, Tyson and Harris offered effective performances and that "[t]here's a good movie buried beneath the bad one." Box office. On its opening weekend, the film arrived at number 1 on the box office rankings, with takings of $21.9 million. The film grossed an estimated $50.6 million in the United States and Canada, with an additional $19,000 internationally, for an estimated worldwide total of $50.7 million. Controversy. In early 2008, playwright Donna West filed suit against Perry, contending that he stole material from her  1991 play, "Fantasy of a Black Woman". Veronica Lewis, Perry's attorney, said there was no need for her client to appropriate the work of others. On December 9, 2008, the case was tried before Judge Leonard Davis in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The jury returned an 8–0 verdict in favor of Perry. Home video. The film was released on DVD and VHS June 28, 2005 by Lions Gate Home Entertainment.