Madea Goes to Jail (2009)

27% of critics liked it
(49 reviews)
74% of users liked it
(303,700 ratings)

Tyler Perry transitions another one of his hit plays to the big screen with this adaptation of Madea Goes to Jail. The successful filmmaker stars once again as the mischief-prone older woman whose exploits this time lead her to jail, where she befriends and reforms a prostitute named Candy (The… More Tyler Perry transitions another one of his hit plays to the big screen with this adaptation of Madea Goes to Jail. The successful filmmaker stars once again as the mischief-prone older woman whose exploits this time lead her to jail, where she befriends and reforms a prostitute named Candy (The Cosby Show's Keshia Knight Pulliam). ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Tyler Perry
Written By: Tyler Perry
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Feb 20, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Jun 16, 2009
Studio: Lionsgate

Critic Reviews

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice
As ridiculous as his films frequently are, Perry, a shrewd yet benevolent showman, knows and loves his audience.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
The women's prison dramedy I wanted never really happens.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Adapting his own play, Perry has pared the plot way back while giving his law-breaking matriarch more room to run free.
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
Perry brings his own sensibility to every movie he makes and has enjoyed great success by following his own path. But he leaves you wanting more.
Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times
If the movie is a mess, it's a purposeful mess, cannily, if not artfully, pushing all the right buttons to ensure Perry will be back for another round.
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Crowd-pleasing African-American filmmaker Tyler Perry has been heralded as an entrepreneur, a populist, and an expert on the wants of female audiences, but none of that would have been possible if he weren't also an expert drag performer.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
A tedious melodrama stuck on top of shrill comedy, and the two parts are both the worse off for the combination.
Neil Pond, American Profile
Perry clearly knows what his fans like, and he gives it to them -- by the shovelful. But for those not so tuned to his talents, Madea Goes to Jail is two excruciating hours of hard time.
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel, 3BlackChicks Review
Madea's antics held me captive.
Clay Cane, BET.com
Madea is the antithesis of the moralistic soapbox Perry's movies stand on, which is why she is usually the enjoyable ingredient in his films.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Perry's silly beyond 'belief' born again bully pulpit is thankfully upstaged by his former plus size stripper bully protagonist. But the big treat is anger shrink sessions with Dr. Phil, no less, though Madea/Perry's gender grudges get a pass.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
Tyler Perry's best Madea movie to date!
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
if it doesn't work quite as well as some of Tyler Perry's previous efforts, it certainly isn't for lack of trying.
Linda Cook, Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
I like Tyler Perry's movies best when the character of Medea isn't in them.
Sean McBride, Sean the Movie Guy
Perry knows what his fans want (that would be Madea) and so his fans should be well-pleased by his latest film.
Jim Slotek, Jam! Movies
It is, in short, not nearly as funny as Madea's Family Reunion, Perry's benchmark for freewheeling, low humour.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Pulliam lends the material emotional shadings that Perry does not write into the script himself.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
[Tyler Perry's] talent, however heedless and untidy, is real...it's clear that he can make better movies than Madea Goes to Jail. The pity is that, with the enthusiastic audience he's already found, he may never feel the need to.
Jeffrey Lyles, Gazette (MD)
would have been so much better had he simply left Madea behind to clown around in another film.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Hokey and ham-fisted, cheaply made and appallingly edited. Even good actors like Derek Luke and Viola Davis are at a loss to get past the dialogue and the characters.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dead A

"If they got me got me got me I gotta get them get them get them" This does have serious matters in it. I only enjoyed Tyler Perry's part as Madea. Other scenes were okay. Too much seriousness seems always boring to me… More
"If they got me got me got me I gotta get them get them get them" This does have serious matters in it. I only enjoyed Tyler Perry's part as Madea. Other scenes were okay. Too much seriousness seems always boring to me (doesn't mean I don't take things seriously, just happens during the movie that's it).
Rachel F

Tyler Perry can never go wrong.
Matt P

This movie is two different movies haphazardly smashed together. The two stories may have worked better separately, but together they suffer from jarring shifts in tone and a feeling of disconnection.
Jeff B

It is not that the appeal of Tyler Perry completely evades this reviewer. The Christian values and well-meaning morals manifest themselves quite plainly, thank you. It is the fact that for two hours, said reviewer could not wrap his head around the concept that this nearly 7-foot… More
It is not that the appeal of Tyler Perry completely evades this reviewer. The Christian values and well-meaning morals manifest themselves quite plainly, thank you. It is the fact that for two hours, said reviewer could not wrap his head around the concept that this nearly 7-foot mediocre actor was supposed to look like a cantankerous old woman and not a giant man in drag?never mind buying the performance. Surely, his prolific output is partly to blame for this humorless exercise (constantly producing plays on top of movies on top of television doubtlessly equals quantity over quality)?partly. The truth is, Perry?s problems go beyond weak acting and writing?specifically, everything between the opening and closing credits. In this PG-13-rated dramedy, the anger management issues of an overbearing Southern mother (Perry) lands her in the clink, while the loved ones rallying behind her learn the value of ? wait for it - family. In another storyline, a prostitute (Pulliam) comes back into the life of the public defender (Derek Luke) assigned to her and Madea?s case. With a ready-made audience, Perry spoons out more of the same schlock from the previous Madea outings (Madea?s Family Reunion, Meet the Browns). This pistol-packing former stripper is outrageous?-okay, the audience gets it?they are all just waiting for the laughs. Even TV staples Dr. Phil and Judge Mathis struggle to wring humor out of a script in dire need of redrafting. Worse, some actors actually look into the camera while the principals, Pulliam and Luke, look lost without some strong direction. Bottom line: Lock it up and throw away the key.
Fascade F

This was a funny (as usual) movie this time the world famous matriarch goes to the slammer...LOL! See this...it was done in a made for tv type format...I mean that is my viewing of it...see it it is hilarious.
Juan C

madea is back, and this time, she's going to the big house, and she's bringing in the major laughes! i laughed a lot that this is the best madea film ever seen! A
Deb S

I just don't believe it was one of Tyler Perry's best. The plot has an assistant district attorney helping an old friend, now a hooker, in trying to come clean and start over while his fiancé, the DA tries to make sure that never happens. Meanwhile Madea's antics have… More
I just don't believe it was one of Tyler Perry's best. The plot has an assistant district attorney helping an old friend, now a hooker, in trying to come clean and start over while his fiancé, the DA tries to make sure that never happens. Meanwhile Madea's antics have finally landed her in prison where she continues her ways unabated. Madea has always been a problem for the police. She has a rap sheet a mile long and doesn't feel any need to change her behavior. The problem with the movie is that it tries to be two very different kinds of films, and it succeeds in being those two kinds of films, but the combination of the two styles kills this one completely. Half the movie is a light-hearted comedy in the vein of the Nutty Professors and Big Momma's House, but the other half of the film is a very serious drama that deals effectively with very serious issues. Dr. Phil makes a surprisingly hilarious cameo as a therapist that tries in vain to get Madae to admit that she has an anger management problem, which ultimately lands her in jail. However this movie is funny, it had heart, it was entertaining, and oh by the way, it had a message!!!
Philip P

I haven't seen many of the Tyler Perry movies. They come out so frequently its insane-I don't know how he does it, but "Madea Goes to Jail" offered a little bit of comedy (when we watched Madea get into trouble) and a little bit of drama (Derek Luke and the Cosby… More
I haven't seen many of the Tyler Perry movies. They come out so frequently its insane-I don't know how he does it, but "Madea Goes to Jail" offered a little bit of comedy (when we watched Madea get into trouble) and a little bit of drama (Derek Luke and the Cosby kids dilemma). It was a bit jarring to go from such feel good moments to the depressing state of society, but it did teach a good "lesson" and Perry smartly infuses some Christian morals into his story. I am sure he does this with every film, but its too late for me to catch up. I enjoyed the movie, it did feel a bit rushed-but it seems Perry cannot go wrong with these films.
Donna D

I know it was quirky, but I actually laughed throughout this whole movie! Tyler Perry is hilarious as Madea. I really enjoyed this movie. ;)
Marisol M

Tyler Perry plays have always made uneven transitions to the screen and this one is no exception.