Diary of a Mad Black Woman

This is one of the strangest movies I have ever seen. Based on a play by Tyler Perry, it tells the story of a woman’s (Kimberly Elise) struggles to find herself after the breakup of her marriage. The film is a straightforward drama for some of its running time, but it is interrupted with strange slapstick that casts Perry in drag as Medea, an elderly female relative of Elise, wielding guns and chain saws in an effort to win back her relative’s respect. Medea does garner some laughs, but her presence clashes with the serious melodrama most of the film offers. By the time the film’s climactic church scene plays out, the film has become a car crash of styles, with Medea becoming something more of a distraction rather than helping move the plot along. I suppose a Medea movie in the future could be worlds better than, say, Big Momma’s House, but that’s not saying much.