We’re just barely halfway through 2025, and Madea’s Destination Wedding (now on Netflix) is already Tyler Perry’s third directorial effort released this year – and the first since the entertainment mogul was slapped with an ugly sexual harassment lawsuit in June. Although the latter story continues to unfold, it put more scrutiny on Tyler Perry Studios’ work practices, which in the past have included butting heads with unions and, to the point of his prolific churn of content, forcing employees to work long and grueling hours beyond the industry norm. And so we get yet another Perry movie slapped and dashed for the streaming era. He once again dons a fatsuit and drag as his signature character, the brash, outspoken, troublemaking granny Madea, for the second time since he allegedly retired her in 2019 (she returned in 2022 Netflix flick A Madea Homecoming). You won’t be surprised to learn that nothing has changed in the Madea realm, because consistency for capitalism’s sake has been Perry’s M.O. for decades.
The Gist: We open with Perry’s version of a James Bond-style cold open action sequence: Madea (Perry) pulls her vintage boat Caddy into the gas station. Robbers accost her. She indulges her Ramboesque tendencies by dousing them with gas and tossing a match. Ha ha – those jerks likely burned to death. She showed them! Cut to: A junky-looking set that’s supposed to be a restaurant. Madea’s nephew Brian Simmons (also Perry) sits down with his ex-wife Debrah (Taja V. Henson) to discuss something very important. No, it’s not how their 19-year-old son BJ (Jermaine Harris) still acts like an eight-year-old. Rather, their daughter Tiffany (Diamond White) is getting married to Zavier (Xavier Smalls), some dude Brian doesn’t even know and therefore immediately judges as unworthy and/or unsavory. Instead of actually, you know, talking to the guy, Brian uses his power as the district attorney to dig up dirt on him. Or try to, at least. It’s only logical here in Sitcom Land.
Oh, by the way, the wedding will happen in two weeks. In the Bahamas! And to save face, Brian will foot the bill despite the fact that Debrah married a guy who’s so rich, she can charter a private plane for the trip – only for herself, of course, since Brian needs the support of his insane lunatic family for this endeavor. And by “support” I mean “distractions, pointless meddling, confusing moralizing and unending hijinks.” So he arranges for Madea to come along with her usual crew of obnoxoids: Brian’s crass father Joe (also also Perry), level-headed (read: boring) Cora (Tamela Mann), garishly dressed Mr. Brown (David Mann) and randy Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis). This way, Brian can have even more problems to deal with, especially when everyone realizes they can just charge the swanky resort’s many luxurious indulgences – from the minibar to high-roller gambling – to his account.
And so we get long, drawn-out scenes in which Perry, Perry, Perry and the other people in the cast riff and riff and riff overtop each other as they get passports, board the airplane, point and laugh as Mr. Brown shits himself on the plane, check into the hotel, gawk at all the hotel amenities, indulge in all the hotel amenities, work through comedic mishaps with all the hotel amenities and eventually get back to the wedding plot, which is far more complicated and full of ulterior motives than it should be. Will Tiffany find her happily ever after? Is Debrah scheming something? Will Brian ever stop feeling so insecure and put-upon? Will Madea do two-to-three dozen things that should result in her getting arrested? NO SPOILERS.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: It’s a mistake to consider MDW a satire of the destination-wedding rom-com formula. The movie’s just not smart or self-aware enough. Anyone But You hews closer to skewering the tropes while simultaneously embracing them.
Performance Worth Watching: THREE PERRYS, ONE SHOT: There’s a moment here when Joe, Madea and Brian all sit on the front porch trading lines, and it illustrates Perry’s Eddie Murphy-like versatility in front of the camera. That sure seems like a better place for him to be than behind the camera.
Memorable Dialogue: Joe beat me to the pun: “What’s a defecation wedding?”
Sex and Skin: None.
Our Take: You can’t bring this family anywhere, amirite???? Perry wisely assumes we couldn’t give half a cut fart about the plot, so he leans into the character-based comedy that’s fueled all 13 Madea films to date. Which is a way of saying MDW consists primarily of variations and reiterations of the same jokes: Joe is an inarticulate gorilla, Aunt Bam wants to f—, Debrah is a conniving rhymes-with-glitch, Brian is a schmuck, etc. And of course, Madea keeps the family united with her confused philosophizing, which finds her delivering well-considered speeches about loving others honestly and fearlessly, and then in the next breath blurting, “It’s nothin’ an asswhuppin’ won’t solve!” The jokes define the characters; the characters are jokes.
Critics who find Madea’s misadventures regressive and full of dumb stereotypes might be advised to cease digging in their heels and give in to the crazy lady’s imposing presence. You still might not enjoy the movies, but at least you’ll be less agitated. I say that knowing full well how hard it is to gut out the sub-UPN production values, arthritic dialogue, inevitable tonal shift to horsecrap melodrama and gobs of mean-spirited humor. The latter element is un-PC, deeply Boomerfied stuff ranging from garbled jokes about the gun debate (while a stoned Madea stands on her porch with an AK-47) to off-putting one-liners about the necessity of beating one’s children (that’d fix BJ’s arrested development, you know) and nasty cracks that stigmatize addicts (although Debrah is in recovery for substance abuse, she’s still a “crackhead”). Perry’s commentary on the state of American social turmoil is likely represented by Joe’s quip, “You gotta beat them kids’ ass before the police do” – although it may be silly to assume Perry has anything to say at all.
Grading on the Tyler Perry curve, MDW wasn’t quite as grating as some of Madea’s past endeavors (the crossover with Mrs. Brown’s Boys in Homecoming was tougher to endure), and far more preferable to his way-over-the-top thrillers. The filmmaker is still divisive, his work endearing to some and grating to others. I highly doubt that’ll ever change.
Our Call: More like Madea’s Defec- ah, crap. Never mind. Just SKIP IT.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.