When Shirley, Madea's niece, receives distressing news about her health, the only thing she wants is her family gathered around her. However, Shirley's three adult children are too preoccupied with their own troubled lives to pay attention to their mother. It is up to Madea, with the help of rowdy Aunt Bam, to bring the clan together and help Shirley deal with her crisis.
"Madea's Big Happy Family'' nonsensically knots the spiritual and the salacious, asking gossipy questions then giving pulpit answers so that the movie is wonderfully, woefully absurd.
– Wesley Morris,
Boston Globe,
25 Apr 2011
fresh:
If Perry gets on your wavelength, you can forgive him too. He's only the host at a home-cooked banquet of wild emotions.
– Richard Corliss,
TIME Magazine,
25 Apr 2011
rotten:
The title is meant to be ironic. Too bad irony is in such short supply in Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family. Sadly, subtlety is also missing.
– Bruce Demara,
Toronto Star,
27 Apr 2011
rotten:
Epitomizing the shrill franchise's schizophrenic tonal shifts, Madea metes out Christian life lessons with one hand -- and righteously bitch-slaps with the other.
– A.A. Dowd,
Time Out New York,
27 Apr 2011
fresh:
Like most of Perry's movies, this one oscillates wildly and shamelessly between raunch and pathos, leaving plenty of room for the performers to work. The lively ensemble includes a scene-stealing Cassi Davis as pothead Aunt Bam.