| Diary of a Mad Black Woman | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Darren Grant |
| Produced by | Reuben Cannon |
| Written by | Tyler Perry |
| Based on | Diary of a Mad Black Woman by Tyler Perry |
| Starring | Kimberly Elise Steve Harris Shemar Moore Tamara Taylor Tiffany Evans Cicely Tyson Tyler Perry |
| Music by | Camara Kambon |
| Cinematography | David Claessen |
| Editing by | Terilyn A. Shropshire |
| Studio | Lionsgate BET Pictures |
| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
| Release date(s) | February 25, 2005 |
| Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5.5 million |
| Box office | $50,652,203 |
Diary of a Mad Black Woman is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film written by and starring Tyler Perry, which was inspired by the play of the same name. It is the first film in the Tyler Perry "Madea" film franchise. Directed by Darren Grant, the film was released in the US on February 25, 2005. The sequel, Madea's Family Reunion, was released on February 24, 2006.
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Helen McCarter (Kimberly Elise) and her husband Charles (Steve Harris), an attorney, had it all: money, success, and a fine home. In public they seemed to think their lives were perfect, but it was all far from perfect behind closed doors. Helen is unemployed and her husband strays, having multiple affairs. On their 18th wedding anniversary, Helen wakes up to find all of her belongings packed in a U-Haul truck with Charles kicking her out of the house in the presence of his young mistress - and mother of his two children - Brenda (Lisa Marcos). She kicks the driver of the U-Haul truck, Orlando (Shemar Moore), out of the U-Haul and goes to see her sassy and loud grandmother named Madea (Tyler Perry), who takes her in and helps her get back on her feet. Brian (Tyler Perry), Madea's nephew, acts as Madea and Helen's attorney at court after the two women were caught by Charles and Brenda for breaking into the mansion and vandalizing some of his and Brenda's belongings. (Madea rammed her car into the security gate of Charles' home, cut some of the furniture in half with a chainsaw and the two of them were ripping Brenda's clothes).
Due to Madea being a repeat offender, Judge Mablean Ephriam places her under house arrest and set a $5,000 bond for Helen. Brian himself had some marital problems at home with his wife, Debrah's (Tamara Taylor) drug habits and addiction and kicks her out of the house after the last straw. Helen soon learns to grow through her pain, and is ready to move on. Despite their rocky first encounters she is given a second chance at love with Orlando, the man who was driving the U-Haul truck (as a favor to a friend) on the night she was kicked out. Their relationship blooms over the course of many months. Meanwhile, Charles is coerced by Jamison Milton Jackson (Gary Sturgis) to be his attorney and possibly bribe the judge in his favor for his upcoming trial for shooting an undercover cop during a drug deal. It is revealed that Charles received his money through drug deals, and by buying off judges, when Jamison forces him to be his lawyer.
During their divorce court session, Helen decides to let Charles keep all the money and property provided that he pays Brian's attorney fees and for her mother's stay in the nursing home (he had forced Helen to put her mother in a nursing home during their marriage), which Charles happily agrees to. Charles ends up losing the shooting case when the jurors find Jamison guilty at the trial. As a disgruntled Jamison is being led out of the courtroom by the bailiff, he takes the bailiff's gun and shoots Charles for failing to get him acquitted. Later, Orlando proposes to Helen, promising to love and take care of her forever, but before Helen can respond she sees the shooting on the news and immediately races over to the hospital with Brian where they run into Brenda. The doctor informs them that Charles was shot in the spine and could be paralyzed for life and asks whether they should resuscitate him. Brenda quickly chooses to let Charles die, but Helen, still legally married to Charles, tells the doctors to do everything they can for him.
Charles recovers and returns home with Helen and soon resumes his verbal abuse of her. Having had enough, Helen retaliates for the years of abuse over the course of a few days. It is revealed that during Charles stay in the hospital, Brenda cleaned out his bank account, took the children, and left him. The maid, Christina, also left when Brenda didn't pay her, and all of Charles' outside friends turned their backs on him, leaving Charles broke and alone. Helen meets with Orlando and they argue when he learns that she has moved back in with Charles and is taking care of him, and he angrily storms out of the diner. Charles, finally realizing his mistakes and understanding that Helen was the only one who truly cared about him, apologizes to her in sincerity, and she tends to him through the grueling process of his recovery. Eventually Charles begins to walk again during an emotional scene in church, also during which Debra, now clean and sober, reconciles with her husband and rejoins her family.
Afterward, during a family dinner, despite Charles' expectations that he and Helen can start over, she gives him the signed divorce papers, telling him that she will always be his friend, and leaves the table to find Orlando. She asks him to propose to her again and responds in the affirmative when he does. He picks Helen up and carries her out of the factory as the screen fades to black.
The soundtrack was released by Motown Records on April 19, 2005.
Diary of a Mad Black Woman received a metascore of 36 out of 100 ("generally unfavorable") on the critic-aggregation website Metacritic[1] and 16% on Rotten Tomatoes.[2]
On its opening weekend, the film arrived at #1 with $21,905,089. The film grossed a total of $50,633,099 in the United States and Canada while it grossed $19,104 in foreign countries adding to a worldwide total of $50,652,203.
In early 2008, playwright Donna West filed suit against Perry, contending that he stole material from her 1991 play, Fantasy of a Black Woman. Veronica Lewis, Perry's attorney, has suggested there was no need for her client to appropriate the work of others.[3]
On December 9, 2008, the case was tried before Judge Leonard Davis in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The jury returned an 8-0 verdict in favor of Perry.[4]
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