Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)

15% of critics liked it
(110 reviews)
88% of users liked it
(87,122 ratings)

A woman has to learn how to love and trust men all over again in this comedy drama. Helen McCarter (Kimberly Elise) would seem to have it all -- she's been married for 18 years to Charles (Steve Harris), and over the course of their time together, he's become one of Atlanta's most successful… More A woman has to learn how to love and trust men all over again in this comedy drama. Helen McCarter (Kimberly Elise) would seem to have it all -- she's been married for 18 years to Charles (Steve Harris), and over the course of their time together, he's become one of Atlanta's most successful attorneys. But despite wealth and prestige, things are not as they should be at the McCarter home, and on their anniversary, Charles drops a bombshell on Helen -- he's divorcing her for another woman. Escorted out of the house with nowhere to go, Helen moves in with her grandmother Madea (Tyler Perry), a sassy woman with no shortage of opinions and a gun that she's not afraid to use. As Madea helps Helen get back on her feet emotionally, the divorcée makes the acquaintance of Orlando (Shemar Moore), a handsome man who is obviously attracted to her. But after her experiences with Charles, Helen isn't sure if she's ready to trust a man again. Diary of a Mad Black Woman was adapted from the popular stage play by Tyler Perry, who also plays several roles in the film, most prominently Madea; it marked the first feature-film credit for successful music video director Darren R. Grant. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Darren Grant
Written By: Tyler Perry
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Feb 25, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Jun 28, 2005
Studio: Lions Gate Films

Critic Reviews

Peter Howell, Toronto Star
It's never less than watchable, a bizarre hybrid that somehow works as a whole, even though its various components don't mesh.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
It's a cheap melodrama that presses all the right sentimental buttons.
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
Perry doesn't have any delusions of artistry, and potentially, at least, that's refreshing. But any points he earns for lack of pretense are immediately gobbled up by his lack of subtlety.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Raucous and overwrought, the movie is still a hoot to watch and even more fun to talk back to.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Stay clear of this mess.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
There's nothing real or even funny in Perry's performance; all padding and crude makeup, he shouts every line as if he's still playing to the upper balcony in a rundown Masonic Hall.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
[Jams] together not two but three separate genres that probably should have remained that way.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Syrupy drama -- not much here for kids.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
In an extremely strange genre combo, inner city gross out comedy meets evangelical passion play in Diary Of A Mad Black Woman.
Kam Williams, Princeton Town Topics
Imagine a cross between Martin Lawrence's Big Momma's House and Eddie Murphy's The Klumps with Christian and Cinderella themes.
Kam Williams, Princeton Town Topics
What ruins this revenge flick is Madea's boorish, bull in the china store act reminiscent of the sassy black woman stereotype popularized by Sanford and Son's Aunt Esther. Loud and ignorant, Medea tends to trivialize every scene.
LaTonya Taylor, Christianity Today
A satisfying end, but it takes a lot of work -- and a lot of suspended disbelief -- to get there.
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
This bizarre movie is many things--a celebration of Christian values, a drag act, a drug plunge, a soap opera, a sitcom revenge fantasy.
Scott Nash, Three Movie Buffs
As a comedy this movie works. As a love story, the movie contains no sparks. The dialogue is stilted and unnatural, which belittles the drama.
David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com
This is a film that's gone way beyond the realm of bad, past disaster. This one's in the area of all-time grand mistakes.
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel, 3BlackChicks Review
This movie really touched upon an aspect of black life that we can all identify with. More realistic then all of these ghettofied movies that have been presented as representation of black life previously.

Read all 16 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Brad W

Diary of a Mad Black Woman is hilarious, but why can't he make a whole movie on Madea instead of these dramas. The plot is the same old Tyler Perry dramatic black woman movie, a woman has marital problems and gets herself a new man, and side clips of the always hilarious Madea.… More
Diary of a Mad Black Woman is hilarious, but why can't he make a whole movie on Madea instead of these dramas. The plot is the same old Tyler Perry dramatic black woman movie, a woman has marital problems and gets herself a new man, and side clips of the always hilarious Madea. The cast was okay, I love Tyler Perry as Madea and Joe, and the rest of the cast plays average roles. This movie has some well done moments and hilarious moments, but its the same old Tyler Perry film, and it was his first one ever, so there was more to come, but I seriously hate the dramtic portion of these films, I just wish he would make a full comedy on Madea.
erika b

Diary of a Mad Black Woman Is about A couple who been married for 18 years and then Charles drop a some really bad news on Helen. He is divorcing her so he could marry another women. At first the mother in law does everything in her power to get back at Charles. Helen could trust… More
Diary of a Mad Black Woman Is about A couple who been married for 18 years and then Charles drop a some really bad news on Helen. He is divorcing her so he could marry another women. At first the mother in law does everything in her power to get back at Charles. Helen could trust any other man. Will Helen trust men again or will she be alone for her rest of her life. Pros Good acting and plot. Some funny parts. cons i did not like the mother in law only worth a rent
Richard C

C
Coxxie M

fat black-woman suit was not your idea Mr. Perry. GOD EDDIE MURPHY WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR? SUE HIM!!!
Arash X

Crap...
Greg S

Dear diary, I saw an awful movie the other night about a woman who is kicked out by her cad husband but finds the strength to persevere. It was totally superficial; couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a drama, romantic comedy, gross-out comedy, or a spiritual; and, most… More
Dear diary, I saw an awful movie the other night about a woman who is kicked out by her cad husband but finds the strength to persevere. It was totally superficial; couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a drama, romantic comedy, gross-out comedy, or a spiritual; and, most embarrassing of all, the writer cast himself in three roles, including a painfully unfunny gun-toting granny in drag. Sincerely, a mad movie viewer.
Bradley W

Diary of a Mad Black Woman is hilarious, but why can't he make a whole movie on Madea instead of these dramas. The plot is the same old Tyler Perry dramatic black woman movie, a woman has marital problems and gets herself a new man, and side clips of the always hilarious Madea.… More
Diary of a Mad Black Woman is hilarious, but why can't he make a whole movie on Madea instead of these dramas. The plot is the same old Tyler Perry dramatic black woman movie, a woman has marital problems and gets herself a new man, and side clips of the always hilarious Madea. The cast was okay, I love Tyler Perry as Madea and Joe, and the rest of the cast plays average roles. This movie has some well done moments and hilarious moments, but its the same old Tyler Perry film, and it was his first one ever, so there was more to come, but I seriously hate the dramtic portion of these films, I just wish he would make a full comedy on Madea.
Matt P

The movie comes off as a cliche of marriage and spirituality and doesn't go as deep as its premise invites it to. However, Madea herself is so funny and (in a very odd way)charming you can't help but love her.
Juan C

i have to give credibility to some of the actors, and it's script also, but the real good thing in this film is the comedy in this movie and the real success for the movie to be hillarious and fun to watch is madea, played by tyler perry in a woman's outfit. i mean his… More
i have to give credibility to some of the actors, and it's script also, but the real good thing in this film is the comedy in this movie and the real success for the movie to be hillarious and fun to watch is madea, played by tyler perry in a woman's outfit. i mean his performance is hillarious, nonstop comic funny, and hysterical as madea. however, it can be too dramatic when it's not suppose to, and two actors act like real a-holes. but again, this is a funny, hillarious movie cause of madea. B
Deb S

The movie is about a woman going through a divorce with her husband who treated her very badly and she is trying to deal with the anger and hurt that is inside of her. She stays with her grandmother, Madea, while she is waiting to get divorced. With help from her friends, her family,… More
The movie is about a woman going through a divorce with her husband who treated her very badly and she is trying to deal with the anger and hurt that is inside of her. She stays with her grandmother, Madea, while she is waiting to get divorced. With help from her friends, her family, God, and a new guy she's met she starts to heal. Tyler Perry has done it again. His humor and the serious theme of the movie gives the audience hope of happy ending despite rough starts. A great movie that shows that through family, good friends and faith, a person can survive anything, and even thrive.
Andrew F

I surprisingly liked this movie. At times, though, I felt like it didn't know what kind of movie it wanted to be. Slapstick comedy? Drama? Romance? I didn't get it. Gun-wielding Madea did make me laugh, though.
Moe E

Even though I'd said I wasn't interested, a co-worker loaned me their DVD copy months ago and it just sat on a shelf till the other day. Yeah, I'll admit that there are some cheesy moments, sappy dialogue and cliched characters, the message is still a good one.
Miriam K

What can I say. . . I had never watched a Tyler Perry film before watching this with my oldest daughter. Im glad I did. It was pretty good! The acting, the script, the message. . .
Lee K

Surprisingly funny, I still have to see Madea's Family Reunion however. Tyler was great as Madeo.
Sam C

Funny! Pretty well made to top it off...
Leo L

Touching! I felt for the main character.

Read all 16 featured audience ratings

Cast

            Kimberly Elise as Helen

            Steve Harris as Charles McCarter

            Shemar Moore as Orlando

            Tamara Taylor as Debrah

            Lisa Marcos as Brenda

            Tiffany Evans as Tiffany

            Cicely Tyson as Myrtle

            Tyler Perry as Brian

            Brian Andrews as Drums

            Wilbur Fitzgerald as Judge

            Carole Mitchell-Leon as Mildred

            Michael Pniewski as Foreman

            Ric Reitz as D.A.

            Joe Washington as Reporter

            L. Warren Young as Judge

            Richard Lee Reed as Bailiff

            Gary Sturgis as Jamison

            E. Roger Mitchell as Kalvin

            Vickie Eng as Christina

            Cedric Pendleton as Max

            Tamala J. Mann as Cora

            Lauren Leah Mitchell as Doctor

            Bart Hansard as Guard

            Philip Gough as Guitar

            Crystal Porter as Woman

            Yvette Devereaux as Violin Solos

            Terrell Carter as Reverend Carter

            Avery Knight as BJ

            Chandra Currelley-Young as Chandra

            Sho Dixon as Child

            Judge Mablean Ephriam as Judge Ephriam

            Tony Vaughn as Juror

            Kate Donadio as Secretary

            Ryan Gentles as Bartender

            Ronnie Garrett as Band Member

            Earl Fleming as Band Member #3

            Christian Keyes as Man Proposing

            Darrell Freeman as Bass

            Pat Bergeson as Guitar

            John Forbes as Keyboards

            Marcus Williams as Band Member #2

            Mike Pniewski as Foreman
See full cast