Tyler Perry’s A Medea Christmas – written, produced, and directed by Tyler Perry. Low Comedy. 100 minutes Color 2013. ★★★★★
The Story: Medea’s bustin’-out-all-over extended whatever gathers at a farm to open the gift nobody wants: The Truth!
I like Tyler Perry’s Medea pieces, because they are like the old Abbot and Costello movies: you know the style of the story will not tax you and will not fail you. The stories are as obvious as a limerick. And as humanly humorous. This is not Cartier’s. This is the Five and Ten Cent Store, and I respect its treats and decorums.
Medea is played by the director, of course, with an unconquerable bosom and the quack of a drake dressed up as a duck. The free-floating mouth of this matron is met fully by the wonderful playing of the domineering mother of the bride of Anna Marie Horsford and by Kathy Najimy as the mother of the groom who takes her on in a brilliant turn. Najimy is a performer not seen often enough in principal roles in principal films. So grab your chance while you can, and catch her here.
But, of course, the great treat is anticipating the mercurially volatile Media’s opening her mouth to blurt out another outrageousness. Perry has a true talent with this character, a human being who knows no bound of race or age or religion or type. She is one of the rare free sprits around.
So his films are not just for black audiences at all.
Go and check it out for yourself, and when you come back I’ll say: “See, I told you so.”