The MCU is back! The Madea Cinematic Universe, that is. Just when it seemed Tyler Perry had run out of ridiculous situations to put his iconic, acerbic and (often) inappropriate matriarch in, he transports her to the other side for one of her outrageous adventures yet.

 

Written, directed and starring Tyler Perry, Madea’s Destination Wedding follows Mabel "Madea" Earlene Simmons as she travels to the Bahamas to celebrate her grand-niece’s wedding. But like every other entry, not everything is as it seems. The niece has only known her fiancée for four months! Is she pregnant? Is her groom scheming to steal her family’s money? In Perry’s grand formulaic fashion, you’ll just have to wait until the end because the main draw is only a fraction of the real story. 

 

Before Madea even sets foot on the plane to said wedding, she has a nervous breakdown at the DMV and commits attempted murder (and not necessarily in that order). After she gets to her destination, the audience bears witness to a series of vignettes that feel more like unscripted pranks than comedic storytelling. While the film’s segues teeter on the edge of pointlessness at times, they are at the very least entertaining. Seeing Madea and all of her elderly associates out of their element makes for a decent time. In some cases, however, their side quests feel like they would make much better movies. One of the best examples being Madea’s brother Joe winning big at a casino after starting with only $20 in his pocket. 

 

Not to say that the franchise has run out of steam, but with this particular story it’s becoming a little obvious that Perry doesn’t know what to do with the character anymore. Not even Madea’s climactic soapbox moment, where she tells all the problematic characters about themselves and not-so-subtlely vocalizes the story’s moral, is unforgettable. It’s almost as if all of these stories have become ad libs, with Madea being the only constant while the nouns, verbs and shenanigans are formatted to fit Perry’s pleasure. It’s so redundant that the usual reliance of Black stereotypes is the only thing that gives the film any color.

 

Of the thirteen total entries in this franchise so far, Madea’s Destination Wedding is not the best. But it’s not the worst either. On one hand, its existence is proof that there is no shortage of silly scenarios the character can still be inserted into (fingers crossed that she gets lost in space one day). On the other hand, its execution is proof that Perry refuses to leave his comfort zone - which is ironic considering how the film is literally about Madea leaving hers. Having played the character for so long and written every entry to date alone, there’s no disputing he knows her best. But unless he says “Hellur!” to a more collaborative storytelling process, the next installment could be Madea’s own burial.