Madea Goes to Jail

Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy  |  Crime  |  Drama

Written by: Tyler Perry

Directed by: Tyler Perry

Release Date:
Theatrical: February 20, 2009
DVD: June 16, 2009

Running Time: 103 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for mature thematic material, drug content, some violence and sexual situations

Starring Tyler Perry, Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam, David Mann, Tamala Mann, Ronreaco Lee, Ion Overman, and Vanessa Ferlito

After a high-speed freeway chase puts Madea in front of the judge, her reprieve is short-lived as anger management issues get the best of her and land her in jail. A gleeful Joe couldn't be happier at Madea's misfortune. But Madea's eccentric family members the Browns rally behind her, lending their special "country" brand of support. Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Hardaway is on the fast track to career success. But Hardaway lands a case too personal to handle - defending young prostitute and former drug addict Candace Washington - and asks his fiancée and fellow ADA Linda Holmes to fill in on his behalf. When Candace ends up in jail, Madea befriends the young woman, protecting her in a "motherly" way as only Madea can. (Lionsgate)

Also On Metacritic

FILM: Daddy's Little Girls Madea's Family Reunion Meet the Browns The Family That Preys Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?

Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site

What The Critics Said

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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 4.5 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

B H gave it a2:
I'm not sure why Madea's name is in the title of this movie. I believe it was done as a marketing scheme because chances are that no one would have given this video a second glance given the real story. Movie fans will likely be very wary of the next Madea movie after feeling like they've been cheated and tricked by this one.

meela n. gave it a6:
This movie was classic tyler perry, it was comedy and drama, very good. Madea should have stayed in jail longer though...lol she is the best!

Jay H gave it a2:
Tyler Perry at his worst. The production values are below par, even the make-up isn't good. Over acted, extremely predictable and the Madea character isn't funny, she's obnoxious. Poor structure, badly written. Awful.

kevin g gave it a0:
The previews were misleading. This was a movie for Tyler Perry to get on his soap box. This is a movie about black peoples problems.And how unfair Society is.NOT FUNNY and BAD ACTING. Perry's A family that prey's together is a excellent movie though.

SK gave it a0:
Terrible... This was actually 2 movies in 1 where neither had anything to do with each other. One being the obvious Madea comedy and the other an over the top drama. I was waiting the entire time for how these two plots would weave intricately together and show how the two lives would affect each other. Instead they just ended up at the same jail and had a couple minor scenes together. In fact, the whole idea of "Madea goes to jail" is misleading. She was probably in jail for about 20 minutes of the movie and half the time was spent in a cliche montage as the days of a calendar get counted off. For as little as the jail had to do with anything, it might as well have been called, "Madea drives a car" or "Madea gets angry". Sadly "Ernest goes to jail" had more of a plot and purpose than this movie.

Chad S. gave it a0:
Accidents will happen. With veteran actress Kathy Bates on board, this filmmaker's approach to hodgepodge plotting and abrupt tonal shifts resulted in a moderately entertaining film that stood a fighting chance of reaching an audience beyond its fervent base. In retrospect, "The Family That Preys" was an accident; a guilty pleasure for people who had previously thought they were immune to overwrought melodrama. This one, however, is for Madea cultists; this one is for the base. Non-fans won't change their minds about the homegrown auteur's most polarizing character, who serves no other purpose, it seems, but to reassess such Eddie Murphy lowlights as "Norbit", and "The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps". To an outsider, the man occupying those frumpy frocks appears to have no comic chops whatsoever. He transforms a segment of American moviegoers into French cineastes. In "Madea Goes to Jail", as the title makes explicit, God's favorite drag queen is back, along with the ham-fisted Christian moralizing that draws a straight line between the believers and the haters. "Madea Goes to Jail" is so unspeakably awful, to quote Elvis Costello circa "Armed Forces": "I just don't know where to begin." For starters, that cute little Rudy Huxtable from "The Cosby Show", plays a fifty-dollar hooker(Keisha Knight-Pulliam) with a grudge against her childhood friend, who let some fraternity boys gang-rape her at college(the movie is like a cross between Richard Linklater's "Tape" and the Duke men's lacrosse scandal). It's a toss-up as to what's worse: Josh's monotonous arguments with Linda(Ion Overman) over the whiny prostitute, or his teary-eyed breakdown on a park bench. And of course, when Candace goes to jail, she just happens to share the same cell as her street-walking friend. How absurdly convenient; it's like summer camp.