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A Madea Christmas is a 2013 American Christmas comedy film directed, written, produced by and starring Tyler Perry with the rest of the cast consisting of Kathy Najimy, Chad Michael Murray, Anna Maria Horsford, Tika Sumpter, Eric Lively, JR Lemon, Alicia Witt, Lisa Whelchel, and Larry the Cable Guy. This is the first Christmas-themed film from the writer-director. This is the seventeenth film by Perry, and the eighth film in the Madea cinematic universe. It was released in theaters on December 13, 2013.
A Madea Christmas received generally negative reviews from critics and was a box office disappointment in comparison to other Madea films, grossing only $53.4 million worldwide against a $25 million budget.
Plot
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This article s plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (August 2015)
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In Atlanta, Georgia, Mabel Madea Simmons (Tyler Perry) has been talked into getting a job at a local store by her great-niece Eileen Murphy (Anna Maria Horsford). Madea gets fired on her first day.
Meanwhile, Eileen s daughter Lacey Williams (Tika Sumpter), a teacher at a small school in Bucktussle, Alabama, is married to a white man named Conner (Eric Lively) whose plans to grow special corn earned him the ire of corn farmer Tanner McCoy (Chad Michael Murray). The school run by Principal Nancy Porter (Lisa Whelchel) does not have enough money to fund their annual Christmas Jubilee, forcing Lacey to ask her ex-boyfriend Oliver (JR Lemon) to fund the school through his business. While having spoken to Tanner and his wife Amber (Alicia Witt) about the progress of their son Bailey (Noah Urrea) in school, Lacey calls her mother and says she will be unable to come home for Christmas, but Eileen, determined to see her daughter, brings Madea and Oliver with her to visit. Eileen hopes that Lacey and Oliver might still work out as a couple. She does not know that Lacey is married to a white man, which is not what she wanted for Lacey.
Lacey brings Oliver to a town meeting and asks Madea to look after her class. A girl named Lucy (Caroline Kennedy) steals Madea s purse while Madea tells the class a rather unorthodox version of the story of the first Christmas. When she finds her purse is missing, she loses her temper and ties Lucy to a cross decoration in the classroom much to the dismay of Lacey and Principal Porter.
Conner s parents Buddy (Larry the Cable Guy) and Kim (Kathy Najimy) arrive at Conner and Lacey s house for Christmas and are told to keep the marriage a secret since Eileen is staying for Christmas as well. Eileen offends Kim by cutting down her father s memory tree. Though she didn’t realize the meaning, Eileen shows no remorse for the act. She is convinced Buddy and Kim are part of the Ku Klux Klan after seeing Buddy with a sheet over his head (though he was merely engaging in foreplay with Kim), and promptly bars the door to the room she and Madea are sharing.
Lacey finds out that the sponsors called the Sheldon Construction Company are forcing the school to make the Jubilee a holiday theme as opposed to a Christmas theme and that they are responsible for many of the town’s citizens losing their jobs as well as their dam cutting off their lands access to the river. Angered by these facts, Tanner demands that the Mayor of Bucktussle (Steve Boles) fire Lacey which the Mayor does.
Lacey’s conflict at home reaches a boiling point when Eileen and Kim argue. Lacey tells the truth about her marriage to Conner and Eileen s true feelings about whites are revealed: her husband left her for a white woman. Eileen had lied to Lacey all those years, saying he was killed by a white man. Hypocritically angered by the lies she has heard, Eileen storms out vainly hoping for a taxi to pick her up.
Lacey admits to Conner that Tanner caused her to lose her job, setting Conner off. As Eileen walks into town, she sees Tanner in his overturned burning truck and saves his life. Conner walks up to the scene and punches Tanner before demanding Eileen get in his truck. Madea and Connor s parents advise Eileen to accept Lacey s marriage. With Amber with him, Tanner arrives to apologize for everything and to thank Eileen for saving him as he will also speak with the Mayor on rehiring Lacey tomorrow. Connor finally gets Tanner to listen about his corn-growing plans.
At the Christmas Jubilee with her family, Lacey thanks the Sheldon Construction Company and announces their promises to help Bucktussle (which were not in the original agreement) by letting some water out of their dam, knowing the repercussions the company would face if they were to back out. She reveals to Oliver that she is married to Conner as the school s students led by Bailey start singing.
Cast
- Tyler Perry as Mabel Madea Simmons, a tough old lady.
- Kathy Najimy as Kim Williams, a country woman.
- Chad Michael Murray as Tanner McCoy, a corn farmer.
- Anna Maria Horsford as Eileen Murphy, the great-niece of Madea.
- Tika Sumpter as Lacey Williams (née Murphy), the daughter of Eileen who works as a teacher.
- Eric Lively as Conner Williams, a farmworker who is Lacey s husband.
- JR Lemon as Oliver, the ex-boyfriend of Lacey.
- Alicia Witt as Amber McCoy, the wife of Tanner.
- Lisa Whelchel as Principal Nancy Porter, the principal of the school that Lacey works at.
- Larry the Cable Guy as Buddy Williams, a country man who is the husband of Kim and the father of Conner.
- Noah Urrea as Bailey McCoy, the son of Tanner and Amber.
- Ashlee Heath as Audry
- Caroline Kennedy as Lucy, a student of Lacey that runs afoul of Madea when she steals her purse
- Steve Boles as the Mayor of Bucktussle
- Sweet Brown as herself
- Antoine Dodson as YouTube Guy
- Jonathan Chase as Alfred
- Vickie Eng as Customer #6
- Daniel Mann as Austin
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the film was released in stores by Motown Records November 25. This was the first soundtrack to a Tyler Perry film since 2010 s For Colored Girls and the first Madea soundtrack since 2006 s Madea s Family Reunion and 2008 s Meet the Browns. It featured Smokey Robinson, Mariah Carey, Brian McKnight, James Brown, KEM, Boyz II Men, Kelly Rowland, Jeremih, Stevie Wonder, Jackson 5, Pearl Bailey, Ashanti, Kevin Ross & MPrynt.
Reception
Critical response
A Madea Christmas received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 20% rating, based on 35 reviews, with the consensus: It boasts a few laughs, but overall, Tyler Perry s A Madea Christmas ranks among Perry s least entertaining or substantive works. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 28 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating generally unfavorable reviews . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an A− grade.
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a grade B− but said that it felt like reruns: Tyler Perry s movies haven t gotten any worse, but they haven t gotten better either, so they now carry the added disadvantage of overfamiliarity. Variety called it An exceptionally poor piece of holiday cash-in product, rushed and ungainly even by the low standard set by Perry s seven previous Madea films, yet it should be every bit as profitable. The Hollywood Reporter wrote: Bah humbug to this latest screen outing for Tyler Perry s inexplicably popular character and criticized the clunky narrative and the hackneyed dialogue.
Accolades
| Award | Category | Subject | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Raspberry Award | Worst Picture | Ozzie Areu | Nominated |
| Matt Moore | Nominated | ||
| Tyler Perry | Nominated | ||
| Worst Director | Nominated | ||
| Worst Screenplay | Nominated | ||
| Worst Actress | Won | ||
| Worst Screen Combo | Nominated | ||
| That worn-out wig and dress | Nominated | ||
| Larry the Cable Guy | Nominated | ||
| Worst Supporting Actor | Nominated |
Home media
A Madea Christmas was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 25, 2014. The DVD contains a first look at the opening of the then-upcoming animated feature Madea s Tough Love.
| Year | 2013 |
| ReleaseDate | 2013-12-13 |
| RuntimeMins | 100 |
| RuntimeStr | 1h 40min |
| Plot | Madea dispenses her unique form of holiday spirit on a rural town when she’s coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise visit in the country for Christmas. |
| Awards | Awards, 1 win & 6 nominations |
| Directors | Tyler Perry |
| Writers | Tyler Perry |
| Stars | Tyler Perry, Chad Michael Murray, Tika Sumpter |
| Produced by | Ozzie Areu, Jennifer Booth, Matt Moore, Tyler Perry, Mark E. Swinton |
| Music by | Christopher Young |
| Cinematography by | Alexander Gruszynski |
| Film Editing by | Maysie Hoy |
| Casting By | Kim Coleman, Rhavynn Drummer |
| Production Design by | Eloise Crane Stammerjohn |
| Art Direction by | Dane Moore |
| Costume Design by | Johnetta Boone |
| Makeup Department | Nikki Bell, Andrea C. Brotherton, Carol Ci Ci Campbell, Tracy Ewell, Kimberly Jones, Courtney Julien, Paul Anthony Morris, Quintessence Patterson, Wanda Patterson, Sabrina Rowe, Lawrence Davis, Jennifer Nieman, Keitric Starks |
| Production Management | Jennifer Booth, Will Greenfield, Mark W. McCoy |
| Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | David Champion, Alicia Hailey Daniels, Danielle King, Donald Murphy, Gregory J. Pawlik Jr. |
| Art Department | Rose Ashikyan, John D. Bert, Jeremiah Castleman, Seay Earehart, Todd Hatfield, Sean Hesterley, Elliot Holmes, Jeremiah Hornbaker, Zach Kilpatrick, Alphonse A. Lambert Jr., Maureen McGuire, Gregory S. Mills, Samuel Bridger Parker, Glenn Rivers, Robbie Sammons, Mallory Thompson |
| Sound Department | Joe Barnett, Ron Bedrosian, Cary Clark, Matt Derber, Chris Durfy, Kimberly Ellis, Angelina Faulkner, Marshall Garlington, Nerses Gezalyan, Christopher Joseph Harris, Gary Marullo, John Maskew, Beauxregard Neylen, Douglas Parker, Danial Shimiaei, David Stanke, Michael D. Wilhoit, James Wright, Billy Theriot |
| Special Effects by | Scanlan Backus, Michael Aj Dzenowagis, David Fletcher |
| Visual Effects by | Chloe Bostian, Holly Gregory Horter, Chris LeDoux, Mark LeDoux, Tim LeDoux, Jason Sanford, Joshua D. Stevens |
| Stunts | Jwaundace Candece, Scott Dale, Troy Faruk, Andy Rusk |
| Camera and Electrical Department | Matt Alexander, Richard Arnold, K.C. Bailey, Kenneth Bolton, Paolo Cascio, Marc Casey, Ted Chu, Dan Cornwall, Justin DeGuire, Rusty Edmonson, Brant S. Fagan, Michael Fedack, Tom Fendley, Dale Fowler, Tony Jenzano, Justin Yardley Jones, Steve Kupfer, Jason Lerczak, Craig Nix, Chad Oliver, Luis Pagan, Brandon Pierce, Manuel Manny Rivera, Mackie Roberts, Riko Schatke, Art Schultz, Matt Shearer, Gregory Still, Scott Tremble, Ryan Weisen, Jon Derek Wilson |
| Casting Department | Beth Day, Shon Middlebrooks, D.A. Sims, Vanessa Toll, Nathan Wright |
| Costume and Wardrobe Department | Queensylvia Akuchie, Amber Dykes, Shavon Christina Gihan, Christopher Opopo, Parker Scott, Ellen Semones, Johnna Thomas |
| Editorial Department | Tricia Chiarenza, Eric Van Dyn Hoven, Carl S.G. Moore, Justin Powell, Kimi Rosenthal |
| Location Management | Oliver Miles David, Daniel F. Green, Joshua Jones, Andrew C. Kirk, Jason Underwood, Thomas Wohlford |
| Music Department | Jared Banta, Peter Bateman, Sebastian C. Besquet, Max Blomgren, Celeigh Chapman, Kostas Christides, Lindsay-Bea Davis, Erin Dillon, M.B. Gordy, Alexis Grapsas, Joel C. High, Markus Illko, Misha Kachkachishvili, Trevon Kezios, Frank Lead, Deon Lee, Sean McMahon, Adam Michalak, Thomas Milano, Andrew Oye, Thomas Parisch, Natasa Paulberg, Luigi Pulcini, Natalie Ragins, Peter Rotter, Megumi Sasano, Joseph Shirley, Karen Sidlow, Nick Soole, Ryan Svendsen, Francesco Traversi, Bruno Valenti, Jay Weigel, Vivita Zheng, Aaron Zigman, Laurent Ziliani |
| Script and Continuity Department | Jennifer Carriere |
| Transportation Department | Tim Barker, Linda Barrett, Eddie Cavett, Thomas Fountain, Michael Freeman, Derek James Gober |
| Additional Crew | Dana Abercrombie, Keith Anthony, Ozzie Areu, Will Areu, Kimberly Bailey, Khalilah Birdsong, Cameron Boling, Bobby Burks, Markus Burns, Bridgett Buss, Sheena D. Carter, Greg Chester, Morgan Cline, Ami Cohen, Michael H. Cole, Craig Crumpton, Tiana Fernandez, Jeffrey Todd Fischer, Andrea Flader, Eddie Frierson, Mairead Gaffney, Larry Gilbert, Jackie Gonneau, Stephanie Greenquist, Anthony J. Hanna, Deborah Harpur, Sanford Hatcher, Liam Hearne, Renee Hines, Stella L. Holmes, Maysie Hoy, Thomas D. Jennings, Quanita Johnson, Christopher Kelly, Jennifer Krapf, Denice Kumagai, Donna Lynn Leavy, Dana Lee, Luisa Leschin, Paul Lowe, Anna Elisa Mackowiak, Domonique Magee, Shaheed Malik, Debra Mark, John McBride, Megan A. McCoy, Jean McDowell, Robert M. Melnik, Curtis A. Miller, Tim Palen, David Albert Pierce, Jacqueline Pinol, Lance Resch-Anger, Emily Rice, Trevor Schliefer, Robert Severance, Dennis Singletary, Donna Sloan, Chelsea Small, Kimberly S. Smith, Michael C. Smith, Tyler Smith, Anne Stimac, Amanda Sutton, Jessica Switch, Carol Tresan, Greg Tresan, Samuel B. Veal, Asante White, Jasmine K. White, Kelli Wilcoxen, Kimberly Williams, Thomas Williams, Carole Wurst, Mark Wyrick, Ben Zeifman, Clifford L. Johnson, Jon Privett |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
| Companies | The Tyler Perry Company, Tyler Perry Studios |
| Countries | USA |
| Languages | English |
| ContentRating | PG-13 |
| ImDbRating | 4.8 |
| ImDbRatingVotes | 6428 |
| MetacriticRating | 28 |
| Keywords | 2010s,christmas tree,family christmas,family farm,reference to growing corn |