The Reel Rejects - MADEA'S FAMILY REUNION (2006) REVIEW–THIS GOT WAY DARKER THAN WE EXPECTED– FIRST TIME WATCH

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

BACK IN THE WILD WORLD OF TYLER PERRY!! Madea's Family Reunion Full Movie Reaction Watch Along:   / thereelrejects   Start your online business with a $1 per-month trial when you visit https://www.shopify.com/rejects! Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) Movie Reaction:    • DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN REACTION – MADE...   Gift Someone (Or Yourself) An RR Tee! https://shorturl.at/hekk2 The Jo(h)n Squad hops back aboard the Tyler Perry Train, giving their Madea's Family Reunion reaction, commentary, analysis, recap, breakdown, & full movie spoiler review!! John Humphrey & Jon Maturan react to Madea’s Family Reunion (2006) — the heartfelt dramedy written, directed by, and starring Tyler Perry as his iconic matriarch, Madea. Blending outrageous comedy with heavy emotional themes, the film centers on a chaotic family gathering that forces long-buried secrets, generational trauma, and questions of love and self-worth to the surface. Follow Jon Maturan: https://www.instagram.com/jonmaturan/?hl=en Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/  Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you to Shopify for sponsoring this video. I'm looking forward to launching this or continuing this franchise with you. so let's get ready to rock and roll. Thank you for joining us on this family reunion. Loved it. Hosted by Medea. As they should all be.

Definitely. Don't forget to like and subscribe. Get that notification bell. Yes. Get notified when the next Medea joint comes your way. So if you want the full length watch along, please join our Patreon. And. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, you can sync up with your own copy over there. Yes, whether it be a DVD, Blu-ray. Amazon like us. And yeah, when you join our Patreon, you get to get a discount, Rejectnationshop.com, which is pretty cool. That obviously helps keep the lights on with also being part of a Patreon generally. But also you can be, you know, help us with asking questions about the, the movie that we just watched

help us guide through the review oh my god so that opening song was written by Tyler Perry and performed by shock a con that's cool he has all these connections I know damn dude otherwise few songs here written by Tyler Perry

damn damn damn damn because he did say like music music by Taylor Perry well yeah I didn't know if that if that meant like score elements or if that meant, yeah, like songs. Sure. Which I guess it would make somewhat more sense if it was the songs because, yeah, the lyrical, thematic qualities.

Mm-hmm. God, so many thank yous. Oh, yeah. Are these all the, like the people? B. Michael. B. Michael's the real guy. Annis. All right.

All right. That's cool. Not bad. Anyway, sorry, I didn't mean to. No, no, no. The color purple quote courtesy of. That's cool. Interesting.

Which, damn, which quote. I got to see. see the color purple now. Yeah, I know, right? 2006. Interesting. Yeah, this got made right after a diary

then. Medea will return in Avengers Day. Exactly. Oh, well. Yeah, when you join our Patreon, you also get idea of our shoot schedule.

So you get all those perks. Please join us there. Honda P. 100%. And you get to join a really amazing community. So, beautiful people

there. But otherwise, I do want to thank Prepper for adding these highlights down. Yeah, thank you, Preper. Because at the end of the day, like this movie, there's a lot of thematic content to this. Definitely. So, thank you, Preper.

There's a lot of, yeah, there's a lot of sensitive material in To say the least. For sure. Thank you to Prepar. Definitely. But otherwise, just going on this journey, I don't, okay, I need to gather my thoughts. I need to gather my thoughts.

Okay. But John, tell me, please, how did you feel about going on this journey with it? Being able to receive the invitation that we get to go to this family reunion. I was honored to be invited to the family reunion. For both reunion and a wedding. And a wedding, yes. That was last minute change. Yes. It's nice to be invited.

It's very lovely to be included. I appreciate it. Now that we're in the reception, we can reflect. Yes. The reflection reception. Yes. Break it down for me, but. These are really, it's a, it is tricky to get to the end of these and find like one or two words to some of the experience.

And I guess that's part of what I am enjoying about this Tyler Perry journey and sort of learning. Again, Tyler Perry is such a, like, ubiquitous person now. You know, you know his work, whether you know his work or not. Yeah. They did some stuff at Henson Studios. That's cool. Wow. Yeah.

Watching Tyler Perry take the directing Rains was interesting for this movie. Partly because like at the towards the earlier parts of the movie I was going to like, okay, I can kind of almost feel him adjusting to, you know, guiding the camera. Right. And, you know, pacing the scenes. His thumbprint is over. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just like more, I don't know, all encompassingly. so I felt like the movie got a little smoother in terms of like the actual

filmmaking going on as we went and I feel like his movie at least these two movies and especially this one they walk these interesting lines where there are times where you're like yeah I could definitely see how this is a play and then there were these other times where partly because there's so many locations and things like you go like damn how would you do this as a play right without having to do a fair amount of pairing down or whatever so like I always enjoy that and I like the fact that his movies have elements of theater. I like theater. I've

been a theater kid in my life and you know, I like that tradition. So, you know, I like that his playwright qualities and the play just staging can sometimes come into effect and you'll get these like long two shots where it is just you got to have the scene down and you got

riff back and forth and create the moment in that more so than you're finding the moment in editing or whatever, not that you're not also doing that. True. But yes, I think the tonal whiplash of these movies is like probably, I feel like it's probably the biggest element. And I know that Tyler Perry comes with a certain amount of contentiousness for multiple

reasons, you know, just as a public figure, as a business operator, and as a creative voice. And so, like, I would be lying if I said I wasn't somewhat, yeah, whiplashed by some of the tonal choices, especially, it's like, that happened last movie, too. certainly and again I stand by that assessment that like these movies feel like you kind of have to be in the yeah in the exact immediate present moment of whatever tone or situation they're trying to depict for you because if you like yeah the flow from one scene to the next is kind of crazy at times and I agree like significantly yeah and here we dredged to some depths that were pretty harsh and I admire the way that these movies attempt to to have the kind of life balance that, like, yeah, sometimes you're going to have a horrifically painful conversation about some kind of childhood trauma that is, like, outlandish.

And you know that that someone's real life experience is probably way too many people's real life experience. True, yeah, unfortunately. And so, yeah, it's fascinating in this context, because then you get to these scenes and you're like, you know, when you have, yeah, it's like in the totality of the movie, there does become a distance where you're, like, like, okay, there's some violence that is really harsh and grim.

There's other violence that's funny. And there are certain, again, like the whole thing at the cookout with the girl and the drinks. Like there's so many weird choices or like in the previous movie when there's so much stuff about domestic violence. And then there's like a Bobby Brown joke. Yes, yes. And a Ike and Tina Turner joke in the same movie as they're like trying to do like a heartfelt treatise on the stuff. So like I think it's, I think. the tonal whiplash and the amount

of disparate themes that are being placed side by side in these movies is like both feature and bug it's a fascinating element of this guy's autorial voice. Right. And it does remind me of an older style of filmmaking in that like

this is not a great point of comparison. Okay. Disclaimer. I went and saw recently, just out of curiosity, I went and saw a double feature of Russ Meyer. movies who's like a 60s softcore smut

filmmaker guy. Oh, okay. And so, you know, and we're talking a soft course, so it's the kind of movie where you're like, and these are back in the day they're shot on film. It's one of those situations where you see the movie and you're like, everyone clearly went, yeah, I mean, like, these are, you know, cheeky skin flicks, but like we do have to do stuff between those scenes.

And it's not like being on the internet now where it's like, you know, you watch some people who aren't really interested in acting do a scene so we can get to this stuff. It's like they're making big capital C choices in these weird smut movies and they're like, they will all of a sudden

tone shift into like all of a sudden we're doing a really real treatise on politics or racism or something. And then all of a sudden there's like some shocking violence that does not feel in line with like the whimsy that much of the rest of the tone has. Then you'll go back to the whimsical

and there's this like weird roller coaster that happens and it happens in other movies but often happens I find in exploitation movies. Fair. In B movies and stuff. And it's not only there, but, you know, yeah, these movies have something similar to me, where it's like you're riding through these tones, and sometimes they're fun and amusing. Sometimes they're really touching and heartfelt.

Sometimes they're melodrama, and I as a viewer, I don't begrudge melodrama in its right place. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Oftentimes people use that as a derogatory term for drama that is cheesy. But I think you can still, I think, think there's still a purpose for melodrama. There's a place for melodrama. Sometimes you want your subtext really subtextual and sometimes it's okay to watch a movie where the subtext is made text and it's fine.

Sure. You know, and so like there's so many things I don't begrudge these movies that I think people don't like already and thus makes them ready to clown on these movies. But at the same time, it's really easy to see what people clown on. Yes, yes, yes. And so this, yeah, this movie had moments where it's like when they first get on the bus, like low key you know you've got this music and part of me is like I like the vibe but I'm also like this does feel a little bit like a softcore movie now right right right right but then they'll do

this montage where they're getting to know each other and they've got the three kids together and you're like this is really sweet yes and then they'll have like a hugely emotional it's fascinating like clearly he loves his characters and loves building out their stories and you've got this mom who's like horrible yes and then has these little cracks where you can see the sad, tragic human underneath. Yeah, that's true. I think these movies, I don't think you could ever really assess these movies as being finessed. And I am curious to watch how the voice grows here because I do find these very fun and striking.

And I can absolutely see why some of the people in the comments for us have been like, you know, hey, there are more black movies than just Tyler Perry. Please don't judge black cinema based on this one guy's voice because not ever. everybody likes it and I can I get why at the same time I also get why the people who show up and are like I grew up with this I love this stuff like you know it even though people clown on it I love it I see that that POV too when I'm watching these absolutely so I I guess I do wish for it's like you got Maya Angelou here right you've got all these different messages yeah and there's definitely like conflicting depictions of violence

but they're very spirited, and I really feel the POV, and they're very, like, tangibly auteur pieces for better or worse. And thus, like, the film, the cinema is live, and I enjoy the experience of that. No, yeah. I agree wholeheartedly. Sorry, monologue. Please, no, no, no, no.

No, no. I thank you for being so real about it. Like, I can definitely agree with you in so many of the aspects that you brought up because every tone shift is full swing. It's not like they don't, yeah, they don't hold back. Yeah, it's full swing. So it feels like it's not unintentional. Yes, right?

They go full bore, like full speed. Like we're going to, like you said, sit in this moment and we're going to really invest in this particular message or commentary or whatever we're trying to say, all in. kind of thing. And yes, the, the mixture of messaging made me feel like I would like, I do appreciate, and I was entertained with this movie nonetheless, but because it was so, I don't know, it was so like all over the place, lack of a better phrase, it's tough to latch on to

those tonal shifts and be in that moment, just because, like, Like you said, it's whiplash. I just got back from like a funny scene with Joe. But now we're talking about domestic violence and childhood trauma. That's so intense that I... That one scene was one of the darkest circumstances I have heard articulated in a film. That felt very... Yeah.

And that's a harsh reality that I know exists. Right, no. Unfortunately. Which is, yeah, which like takes it out of the realm of the height. to a place that is like somewhat disturbing. No, I agree. Yeah, it's unfortunate that there are people, you know, even that we may, that we may befriend or we in our everyday lives

that have these circumstances in their history that they won't vocalize. And then they see something, a movie like this, and they're like, wow, I'm really seen, right? And then you also get this, the family reunion aspect, and it's like this historical kind of reflection. Maya Angelou is kind of commentating on during, her her monologue and whatnot and now like so it with all that in this this chaldey tyson like yeah in cecily tyson yeah her her rousing speech this cauldron is so mixed with so much that i i'm

i was taken back and i was like whoa because it's it's it's it's so um it was lack of a better were difficult to put my finger on, like, how I should feel about everything, right? Like, and I enjoyed it. The little, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the thing about, like, romance and, like, the religious tropes. I was like, all right, cool. I, I'm in a familiar place.

There's less Jesus in this. There was less, definitely. What, the, the, the thing that keeps me kind of, uh, invested, and I have to give him the credit is. is Tyler Perry's Medea character, right? She is the son which the rest of this universe revolves around. Yes, because as much as she's like this comedic role, her wisdom imparts in every part of this story.

Medea is, yeah, is like both a force of nature and like a nuanced character in ways. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, not to say that some of that isn't, again, part of the height, but you know it's like joe is a cartoon Brian is a good guy just generally and then Medea yeah is outlandish and funny

but she's also part of the lore and the joke is she's lived a ton and yeah and she's got a hot temper but she's also yeah I got a huge heart and a strong sense of justice when it counts depending on who you're talking to

well justice in the adult world right some of her approach is to kids, I'm like, yeah, at other approaches, I'm like, I don't know about that. And then, you know, and, but yeah, Medea is, is like, for this world, a kind of rounded character in an odd way or a dimensional character in an odd way. Right. And a character that works when she is getting a little serious and being a little over the top.

And she doesn't even take away from the stories that we're invested in, right? like she adds to it significantly, right? Well, and she's always a supporting character to a bunch of other people's situations. You know? And there's always that, again, to relate to real life, there's always going to be that figure in your life that can kind of keep,

is kind of the glue of the family or a friend group or something. Voice of reason. Yes. Yeah, good mitigator for various conflicts. Exactly. And Medea, you know, executes that very... Someone's going to call you on some shit if you need it, but with a, with love.

Definitely. You know, even if it's a smack with love. Right, exactly. So, yeah, it's, it's, there's things to appreciate. And then also the, the, the criticism I have is like, Kiki Palmer's character. I wanted to see a little bit more of that because that was an interesting, kind of fascinating story that, I guess we came full circle when she, you know, she became a better version of herself, which is awesome through the guiding of Medea. So, yeah. But I would want to see more of that.

The proportionality of the like plot lines was interesting. I feel just in this moment, I feel like Mad Black Woman maybe had a slightly more defined. I can hear yes. Yeah, it's like these, they're both ensemble movies. And in some ways, they're very similar because they start with, you know, some kind of tone setter of like, here's I guess kind of our main character and her rough home situation. And then we get a court scene with Medea that kind of gets her involved in the movie. then then we go into an ensemble piece with multiple stories of women healing their hearts and finding love and then some element of spirituality and you know the the the lineage of your

I don't know whole line of yes like there's a there's like a generational quality both of these movies have had but yeah this one caught me a little more off guard and the proportioning of like how when we're in that scene by the pool I was like okay we're going to follow these three in some way, shape, or form. And they introduce Frankie and later they introduce my guy from Anions of Shield on the step

with the lawnmower. I was like, okay, so this guy's probably going to get with the third friend. Third friend or other friend, friend, not family member, but just other friend and that guy aren't really characters at all. Exactly. And then what's her name? Vanessa. Like, Vanessa felt

like the actual main character Lisa felt more like I don't know Like in the middle of the movie It felt like her The urgency kind of dipped out There was that whole thing where they were like She's got to come home tonight

And then they're just kind of together For a while in the background Until later when he shows up at the reunion And then you're like okay I guess they are still Just kind of status quo And then finally the grits Very satisfying And then finally the wedding switch up

Very satisfying but in terms of like How it orchestra. This one felt less focused and polished in terms of how it dispositioned, how it poised all of its different stories into one big story. The previous movie felt more streamlined in that respect. And I wonder

if that's a virtue of the fact that this is the first Tyler Perry is doing all the things movie versus yeah having somebody else's judgment, you know, on the previous one. And maybe they clashed on that, but I felt yeah, like, again, this one has like so many similar elements going on. But in a slightly less focused package.

And then the reunion, you're like, oh, shit, that's right. That's the title of the movie. And it definitely happened. But it was, yeah, one of those things. They mentioned it a couple times. Then you forget about it for a long time. And then they finally have it. And then there's this wedding to do after that.

Right. So yeah, it was, it was, uh, this one felt a little bit more like a bunch of loosely intertwined stories about the same characters. Right. Than the, I don't know. I felt like the, the clearer through line of the first. movie a little bit more, even though like all the stuff on paper I get here. But yeah, just like who we were cutting to and when felt more polished last time, I think.

Yeah, definitely. This balancing between the stories of the two sisters is, I guess, what got me not confused. I don't want to use that word. But there was this balancing act of like, okay, I'm invested into, you know, Frankie and he's a good guy and cool. And you've got stuff to deal with. And then this broken, like, engagement that you need to get out of. But, like, I understand it's abusive and, like, it's so complicated. And so to balance it both coming from this mother who isn't the greatest,

but also it's a victim, she's a victim of her circumstance. So balancing those three, I don't know why. I thought, yeah, I thought the first character we were going to meet, which is Lisa, right? The bride? Yeah. The bride to be that event. Yeah. Lisa. I thought Lisa was going to be the through line.

But like you said, like it was just like she kind of, yeah, you feel like I guess like Lisa and Vanessa would feel equally important and then their mom would kind of be this third element in a triangle. And again, like these elements are

there. It's not like they're not there, but it's like the way the movie is, yeah, the way the events are laid out and the way the thing is paste and the way the tones are. It feels more like we did this romance movie with Vanessa. involved clearing some trauma from the past and then also involved

the Lisa stuff so that the wedding could ultimately work out for her. And that's cool but yeah, I don't know. The way it sets you up, you're like, oh, okay, this is going to be a Lisa movie. No, no, no, wait, maybe this is an ensemble movie. Right. And then for a while you're like, no, this is a

Vanessa movie? Right. No way, I guess it's a Lisa movie. And then, yeah, so it's, it's just yeah, it's a little all over the place and it's ensemble, and it's wrangling of the ensemble threads. No, definitely. I guess I would say. And what's the one thing, I think what we mentioned this during the watch-along is that it seemed as if Tyler Perry writes these amazingly perfect men.

And like they're the greatest. Or the worst men possible. Right. And the very stark difference of like typically the first guy we meet isn't great. Yeah. And then the guy we, the unassuming. you know, Prince Charming is the best guy will ever

meet. And so I'm, I, I, I, I, I, I kept thinking throughout the movie, um, and like just for future Medea watch, uh, you know, you know, we watch, we ever, whether we get to them or not. Like, who, who is he pulling from?

What experiences? Like, with his writing, like, and then like, again, he might, he might be aware of a lot of his family trauma that, you know, that's sprinkled into, lot of the other characters situations. I just, I, it may be really pondered of like, who is he, is he, is he self-ful, I mean, not self-aware, but like, is he very, he's making commentary on the guys he knew or the guys that, that, that were not the greatest.

So, therefore, he can create the perfect guy, right? And then that does, might not exist in his life or, you know. Rejectation, starting something new isn't just exciting. It is also terrifying. When we launched our merch store, rejignation shop.com, there are a lot of what ifs. What if no one buys anything? What if I can't figure out inventory? Shipping, returns, a whole bunch of stuff I don't understand, and that leap is scary.

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turn your dreams into a reality, you can sign up for $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash rejects. Go to Shopify.com slash rejects at Shopify. Thank you, Shopify for expanding the reject nation and for sponsoring us yet again. It makes me wonder for sure. And I mean, you, you, yeah, they feel like their psychology sprinkled throughout and I'm curious about that because yeah, like all the awful husbands that these are, well, you know, the ones we've witnessed

so far anyway, make me wonder, okay, who is this based on in your history or that you've known or that you've heard about? The guys who are the love interests always feel like this is kind of the fantasy fulfillment of like this is the ideal guy that you would meet

who would help you kind of Yeah, get over that last hump of allowing yourself to be loved like it would be interesting to see a Tyler Pera movie that finds a couple that are both working through and growing through some stuff and could do that together because these two that we've seen anyway a lot of the time it's like the guy has done the work and has grown and just needs to find his queen who he can you know tend to and to give all his love and the woman you know character needs Somebody who is going to be that consistent and show them that they are chosen and loved and all that stuff right and so like Like that's, yeah, I don't know, yeah. To me, it feels like that's the fantasy fulfillment, unless Tyler Perry just knows a couple of the best guys ever. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which more power, you know, I'm glad they're out there if that's the case.

No, definitely, definitely. Yeah, again, there's this, like, I know that thumbprint. I know, like, again, what he, what he typically is going for. So far in these two movies, right? It's not fair to judge his little, you know, profile. But, but, yeah, I'm, I think we're on the same page. It's, like, it's entertaining. it was fun

we're kind of aware of the tonal shifts it's like I'm interested in meeting these movies where they want to go right I'm like that's how I approach stuff like this for this channel and in general when we did Twilight it was a great example of this it's like I know and Tyler Perry different

but similar in that I know people are probably poised to want a clown on this to some degree and a lot of people don't love Tyler Perry's movies right I want to take each one in for what it's trying to do and see if it's successful at doing that. Right. And I think that's the fun.

And again, you know, because, again, say what you will about Tyler Perry, these are like the rare art tour pieces that we get now that, again, he's got all the means in the world to make. So, you know, for better or for worse, I find that fascinating as a film nerd. I agree. And too, I mean, you know, there are elements of culture that are just outside my own purview that I'm sure, some of which I'm sure are things that you could look at these movies and go, Cool, yeah, you're getting some exposure to that.

I'm sure other elements, you're like, please don't take these movies as a representation of any number of things, which I also understand. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, yeah. But, but these are, this is a very interesting exercise, I will say. Of course. But we've got some feedback from our, let's do it. From our patrons, from our royalist rejects. There we go. Awesome Joe, movie reviews.

Do you want to read it because it's a thick boy? I'll take it, yeah. Get it, John. The wedding decorations up there. The hanging angels were a bit disturbing to me. I didn't want to say anything. Now you said it. Thank you.

I would not have like seeing that at my wedding. What if they needed to go to the bathroom? Oh, they're all typed up. They're all typed up for sure. Or if they were hungry, would they need to come down in the middle of the ceremony? No. I think decorative angels would have sufficed, but actual people wasn't my cup of tea. Just my thoughts.

What were yours? Thank you for sharing that sentiment because I was like, you poor thing. What is this? I, yeah, I was very, I was like, this is a beautiful setting to a certain degree. And I was like, I'm kind of going to laugh. Why not? I shouldn't. I don't know.

Because I was trying to stay in the moment of romance and this new wedding that's happened. That's cool. And then like, that's a little tacky and kind of weird and scary. Like, I feel bad for these. workers like they're getting i hope they get paid they got paid tyler perry did not pay them any they weren't they didn't get speaking rules right they did um but yeah so it was strange i thank you for sharing that and thank you for uh pointing that out because it was this but again i wasn't surprised because again this movie has a mixture of so

many tones that i was kind of like not surprised this is kind of weird like um But how would you think? I just thought it was kind of funny that I shouldn't have laughed about it. I mean, I thought it was, I got the idea of it, but I thought it was a strange call because of much of,

well, I wasn't really thinking about what you were thinking about. Not that I don't think those are very valid things to consider. Sure, sure. I think they're definitely got to be diked up. I guess here's my thing. I guess I, in this context, given what we saw, probably would have opted for some artificial angels.

Yes. If the music had, if the instruments had been like functional and they were playing, then I would have much more been amenable to it. I would think that that's actually kind of impressive. And cool. Yeah, definitely. Yes. And I think that, again, as I said during the video, if it had been my scene to direct, I might have had them gaze more intentionally, more lovingly down camera, down the lens to give you sort of an intoxicating angelic POV.

Or even get some fun lenses out and give them some juge, cinematically speaking. But just given that they're just hanging there and they're just looking around. And like the B-roll of them, they kind of don't quite look like they're given a clear direction on what they're supposed to be doing. They just look like they're hanging around. Yeah, yeah. Weird choice. Yes. I'd have gone with a different choice given what we saw here.

Right. If they had other intentions that they didn't go with, then fine. But like, I don't know. Yes. It did seem like a really big flex that once you see it and there's no other element to it, you're sort of like, okay, so. these six of these people were just going to be chilling up here. The whole ceremony. Just with their legs kind of crossed.

You know. So, yeah. And then I would be sitting there going, okay, so this, this piano is up here. Right.

I hope this isn't a real piano. If it drops on me, I'm dead. Yeah. Yeah. Very striking, very odd choice, though,

I would say. Not what I would have gone with. Definitely. Personally. There you go. Leaves your thoughts, though. Please do.

TJ, what's up, John and John? What's up to you? Thank you for chiming in. Thank you all for chiming in. After watching a couple of Medea movies, what's your favorite and least favorite recurring theme? Thanks, Double J. Oh, double J.

Oh, J. I like that. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Favorite and least favorite recurring theme. Hmm. That's a great one. Yeah.

That's an excellent question. Um, I, well, uh, I don't, I don't mind movies, even movies like this attempting to talk about very real issues. I guess a recurring theme I don't love is when we have like, again, the most grim, you know, I know people, we've lost the ability to properly use this word. But there's a scene in here that I would go so far as to say, like, for your average viewer unprepared would be pretty triggering. And so I guess I don't always love the, I don't even know if you could call this a trope, but like just the way in which these movies will kind of indelicately handle certain things or contradict themselves in terms of what, again, what violence is funny and what violence is not funny. Yeah, yeah.

My favorite recurring theme, golly, give me a second to think. Sure. Okay. I mean, I like spiritual. Like, people promote these movies for having too much. Like, you need Jesus. And there can be a certain element of that that I have seen in these movies. Right.

But I do kind of appreciate when they acknowledge, I like when spirituality shows up in a way where it's not like the movie is necessarily telling me this is what you have to do. Preachy and stuff. Or, like, we're stopping the movie to be a PSA about this. But just like when it is acknowledged that human characters have spirituality and it helps them. some way. I think that's kind of a beautiful thing in a post, in a post religious, cynical society. Sure. Sure. But I'll think for a second while you discuss your favorites and least favorites. So least favorite, I would say very similar to you is the surprising execution of real themes.

Just because now, well, that's a reflection of its marketing, right? When I think of Medea movies, these are first time watches. So when I remember back when this was released in 06 or whatever year, you know, each Medea movie is taking place or released, I remember a lot of the commercials, trailers, TV spots, teasers, what have you, were very lighthearted. Well, because Medea is like the breakout runaway character. Yeah, yeah. And so, yeah, I feel like most of what you advertise is based on is her. Sure. So, I mean, so because of that, right, that's what I, there's, there's, there's an expectation

that's set to a certain degree based on the marketing. And now that I know, I should be expecting some sort of, like, serious kind of theme or trope, because it is real, right? Like, it's a reflection of real life. We're going to have our funny days and then we can go back home and there's some drama that we have to deal with. Right? Like, life is a collection of different themes nonetheless.

It's like you can squint and see how these tonal whiplashes could emulate life if finessed a bit better. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. So, yeah, like you said, it's a little, it's a little I think the best way you, it was how you put it is indelicately, right? Like, it could be triggering. Like, I didn't expect that whatsoever. And

that came out of nowhere. Yeah, and like the, I guess that's, I guess what it, how you learn is then to go like, okay, once you see enough Tyler Perry, is that, then you go like, okay, so no stakes will be off limits. And yeah, some really horrific context might just bubble up at some point. Right, right, right. But yeah, you would never guess that. That was a leveling up from anything we experienced in the last movie.

And we experienced a pretty heavy shit in the last movie. In the last movie, yeah, it was pretty still heavy. Yeah, definitely. So that's, I guess, my least favorite. I think my favorite theme for sure would be a very... This is simple. The theme of, like, the Prince Charming. Because...

There is a lot of that, like, you just need this perfect guy. Exactly. And then everything will be better. But also, we... What I like about that, too, is that we're always introduced to the icky guy first. And so there's always that, because there's that comparison, it's highly appreciated. Versus, if we never meet, like, a...

crummy guy that happens to be a focal point of the plot then we can't appreciate the really good guy if there was no icky guy and there's just a really good guy i my cynical heart would be like he's too perfect what's the catch versus oh we have someone to compare to so that's i would say my favorite theme is because we're not all bad guys you're not i mean i mean john is perfect not all men I'm a bad guy anymore. But no, like, yeah, like, we have our mistakes and stuff. Yeah, we're not perfect by any means. But there are some good guys out there that, like, and it's represented in certain ways.

They might be a little heightened for the movie's sake, but, yeah, those good guys do exist. And so there's an appreciation of that theme of like, hey, they're out there. I like that, too, there's a certain element in these movies of, not all of Tyler Perry's advice, I think, is maybe. be the best advice. And I think that the Prince Charming thing is kind of a double-edged sword because I'm like, I do like that, yeah, like the idea of like, there are, just because you have met these terrible guys, doesn't mean there aren't people out there who really want to love and be loved and all that stuff. I like that these movies seem to want to espouse the idea that like, yeah, you, it's not necessarily, success isn't just money and you shouldn't

trap yourself just for financial comfort when you're going to be emotional. you know down-trod and abused etc. And the previous one had this a little bit more directly but that idea of like no you could reinvent your life today and if you get out of this situation yeah you might

have to change the way that you work and you live and if someone's she said it in this movie someone's always fought for me and in the previous movie it's like someone's always provided for me right so there is that element of like hey no matter how bad it looks you can kind of re I like that yeah you can redefine everything for your

yourself and sometimes, yes, not having as many means can be a fair trade if you're growing your spirit and, you know, and learning to live your own life, you know, rather than desperately trying to maneuver things into a place where then you could start living your life. Right, right, right. That's a good point. I like that. Like you could always start again today feels like kind of a message that is going on. And, yeah, and even in the youth, the whole thing with Medea trying to just empower.

and give a little bit of support. Again, there's that weird back and forth. And I guess maybe that's just a comment on life or something, but just the way she's, that whole thing about like, you just got to give them patience. You got to empower them a little, make them see that they can do the thing. Right, right, right.

Also, I'm going to be right you and hit you with the belt and stuff. Exactly, exactly. So there's a little bit of mud there. But I like the overall sort of spirit of, yeah, helping people be empowered. Yeah, that's a good theme too. Yeah, actually, that's, that's honestly a better thing to be honest than mine so yeah very cool all right j rushden

thank you jay rushden appreciate it question uh you ever tried grits and grits scene funny there uh the grits scene it's kind of funny that was a little it was kind of violent yeah it's kind of funny intense uh i mean you know that was good i was surprised you know coming off the heels of the last movie you expect the that whole concept to get really I thought we were going to have a whole kitchen sequence that was going to go on for like 10 minutes Kind of like in the previous movie where she miseries Steve Harris and then nurses him back to health

And then they forgive each other and all that stuff Like that was another thing where I was like Okay maybe it's just because I was prepared to expect that But she pretty much hits him with the grits Then they go to the wedding She says the truth in front of everybody So I guess that's enough But at the same time I was a little bit like

Oh I guess we're done with this now We're done yeah But yes the grits scene itself was harsh in context, but you're so rooting for it at that point. And it is, again, like when you're thinking to the callback of Medea explaining it, it's kind of funny. Yes, yes. There is humor involved in that scene. And grits are delicious.

I want some right now. Have you ever tried grits? That's the thing. I've never tried. Well, hold on, hold on. Let's get this man a grit. Hold on on. I think I have, and I didn't like it.

Wow, John. I might have not remembered it. So I'm interested to try it. You need to try true grits. Okay. I'm down and I'd like to watch that movie directed by the Cohenberg

Yeah Yes Yes No but that yeah Grit scene was like Oh That's it huh Like

I I was expecting more Do we get to see her Hit him with the pan Maybe a little bit Yeah we did we did A little bit Yeah that's right

We didn't get a lot of that We got a little bit of that We might not see that In this reaction Yeah I can't remember If they had to cut it On the previous one

They probably did I think Yeah I think given the context They still were like This is still domestic exactly.

This is a form of it. Yeah, yeah, exactly. But yes, I would like to try grits again. Last time I tried it, I don't remember having the greatest experience.

Not like it was terrible. I was like, oh. Sorry. That's really messed up. Sorry. I'd like to try grits though, again.

A very good version of it. Highly... Recommend your favorite grits, guys. There you go. Come on. The poem read by Maya Angelou is her own in and out of times.

Beautiful. Fair. This is the final film of Maya Angelou. So she must have acted more than I am aware. Oh, interesting. Because I mean, obviously iconic, but okay. Oh, yeah. She's in a poetic justice. So she wasn't, okay, so okay. She wasn't

like acting constantly. Right. But over the years, she has definitely made appearances and stuff like that. And has done some acting work not as herself. Okay, cool, cool, cool. Okay, so she was in Roots. Okay. I got to see Roots. I got to see Poetic Justice. Janet. Yeah. Goodness gracious me.

but yeah apparently this was her final film let's see after the first record-breaking release of the series first entry diary of a mad black woman Lionsgate Entertainment acquired a seven-picture deal of Tyler Perry's remaining Medea film so it was one year after the other kind of thing like 05-06 yeah I guess so and then seven-picture deal

damn mm-hmm Janet Jackson was considered for the role of Lisa that's pretty crazy goodness. The scene where Lisa throws hot grits on Carlos is a reference to a 1974 incident involving Al Green and his girlfriend where she poured hot grits on him causing second degree burns on half his body.

Damn. That's crazy. The bus Vanessa takes home from work is a Pittsburgh Port Authority bus with stops around the city in Allegheny County flashing Parkway Center and Washington Junction. That must mean something to the people who live near here.

This was our arena Aeson's debut. Okay. Let's see. Tyler Perry's brother, Embry Perry, appears as the character, Man on the Bus. Oh, interesting. Okay.

And Jennifer Lewis, who plays The Wedding Planner, and Lynn Whitfield, who plays Victoria. We're both in the two-part episode of Amazing Grace in season three of Touched by an Angel. Oh, interesting.

Lynn played the doctor while Jennifer played the owner of a hair salon. So we got people reuniting here. There you go. Golly, man. This is quite a movie. this is quite a time. Surprise there's not more trivia

about this movie, honestly. But yeah, I feel like the play plot might have been a little different from this. Henry Simmons is my dude from Agents of Shield. Shout out. He was Mac.

Excellent character on that show. He was in a few other movies, right? Yeah, yeah. He's out here. He's acting, man. He's acting. Yeah. Come on.

I haven't, oh, Boris Kojo, I think is his name. I feel like I've seen him in something else. I mean love interest. Oh, he's in a bunch of Resident Evil movies. Movies.

Let's go. I want to watch this. That's cool. But yeah, Tyler Perry should make a saw movie. If Chris Rock got to do it, I think it should be sick if Tyler Perry did one. He could do it on his back lot. He could pay for the whole thing. He could.

He could probably get at least as much money as any of the previous saw movies. For real. That's the most expensive saw. $20 million. Anyway. Probably. Goodness gracious me. These cast are stacked.

Freakin Maya Angelou was here. Yes. is crazy. Yeah, Kiki Palmer, very young Kiki Palmer. Yeah, dude. Golly. Golly, man.

Some veterans in here. This was also God. This was Georgia Allen's last movie as well, apparently. Goodness gracious. RIP. Ruby, yeah, yeah, yeah. And Lisa Arndale,

man. Excellent. Definitely, yeah. Excellent. All right, well. Knocked out of the park. That was weird, too, because again, this movie positions the actual Lisa as the main character.

And I mean, Rochelle 8's is great too. But it really felt like they gave Lisa Arndelle the lion's chair of like... It was more like a Vanessa movie. The really heavy lifting. That's right. Oh my God, that's right. She's in white chicks.

Rochelle 8th is in white chicks. And trick or treat. That's right. Oh, my God. I've seen her in a bunch of other things. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's full of that guy, people. and Tyler Perry

better when he's doing characters Brian was better in the first movie I must say Brian performance Much more believable He was way smiler in this movie Yeah yeah yeah yeah Whereas Well he has a lot to do with his wife

That's why I remember his his wife He's a lot more trauma Yeah whereas in this one he's just chilling A lot of the time Yeah And I definitely I mean Medea obviously his best character I've witnessed so far

Joe obviously his Eddie Murphy clumps tribute I suppose Yes yes You know still believable Brian, I'm rooting for you next time back to form. Brian the lawyer.

There you go. Woo! There you go. Brian the lawyer. That was a party in a reunion in a wedding. And we appreciate you joining us. We do.

We had a ton of fun. We did. I'm still kind of questioning Joe's asking for a drink. And like, that was weird. What do you mean, John? What do you mean?

there's nothing creepy about that. There are no other themes in the movie that would contradict the inclusion of a scene like that, John. I don't know what you're talking about. All right. So I don't know what film criticism school of thought you came from. But in my house, every scene is its own movie, man. All right? This is an anthology.

Oh, my gosh. Remember to leave your comments down below. How did you feel about the movie? Were we crazy about the tones? Or do you guys agree? But yeah, I look forward to the next Medea movie because apparently there's seven pictures or something like that. I mean, there are more than that.

Because they're the ones that are called Medea something. And there are other ones that are Diary of a Mad Black woman or whoever else. So I can only have Medea in it. I can only imagine, yeah. But yeah, we look forward to the next time you join us. We do. I'm looking forward to it right now. Definitely.

And yeah, until then, we'll make sure that our reunions and weddings aren't as troublesome with floating angels. Thank you for joining us. See you guys. Next one. Peace.