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| A Madea Christmas - 2013 |
Next up we have 2013's "A Madea Christmas", a film in which we see family matriarch Madea disperse some home-grown wisdom to her family as she helps them navigate the roads of lies, deceit, and Christmas all at once.
The film's cast includes Tyler Perry, Anna Maria Horsford, Kathy Najimy, Larry The Cable Guy, Chad Michael Murray, Tika Sumpter, Eric Lively, JR Lemon, Alicia Witt, Lisa Whelchel, and Noah Urrea.
After getting fired from her job in a department store for insulting a customer, Madea agrees to take a drive to visit her niece Eileen's daughter for the Christmas holidays.
Eileen's daughter Lacey is a teacher at a small school in rural Alabama, something that Eileen is not happy about. Lacey is much loved by the staff and students of the school, especially a boy named Bailey, who has to balance his schoolwork with the demands of his father at home. Lacey also has to find a way to stage the town's Christmas Jubilee with the realization that the sponsors don't want to keep "Christ" in Christmas.
It's quite a drive for Madea and Eileen, who hitch a ride with Lacey's old boyfriend Oliver. When Madea has to stop off to use the restroom, she gets more than she bargained for in pursuit of a bathroom. When she's directed to a doorway, she turns around and bolts after seeing what is inside.
When Eileen and Madea arrive at Lacey's house, they are introduced to Conner, who is presented as a farm hand on Lacey's property. In reality, he and Lacey are married. They just haven't worked up the courage to tell Eileen.
While visiting Lacey, Madea is recruited to watch Lacey's class while she is in a quick meeting. Madea proceeds to tell the class the hip-hop version of the Christmas Story. The Virgin Mary (J. Blige) and her husband, Joe (Manganiello), and their quest to get to the Holy City of Birmingham to have baby Jesus. "And as she was there,
they were tryin' to find somewhere to have the baby, but they kept
goin' to all these hotels and wouldn't none of 'em let 'em in. Marriott.
Shut the door. Hilton. Shut the door. Tried to get to the Ritz Carlton, they said, 'You don't belong here'. Everybody just got put out. They went to the Motel 6, they didn't even leave
the light on for her. She was in the dark," explains Madea.
Madea gets extremely agitated when she realizes that her purse was stolen when her back was turned. "Where's my purse?" she asks threateningly to the class.
In true Madea fashion, she finds the perpetrator and teaches them a lesson they'll will never forget.
Back at the house, Conner's folksy parents, Buddy and Kim, arrive to spend Christmas with Conner and Lacey. While they don't agree that the couple hasn't told Eileen the truth about their relationship, they reluctantly agree to go along with the story that Conner is the farm hand.
When Eileen meets Conner's parents, she makes it very clear that she's not thrilled about their presence in her daughter's home.
And she doesn't endear herself to Kim. Eileen chops down a tree from the backyard to use as the Christmas tree. This tree had been planted by Kim in remembrance of her late father. Eileen just shrugs it off.
Eventually, Madea and Buddy have to teach Conner a lesson about deceit and standing up to Eileen. They also teach him a thing or two about farming. Madea falls in the "mud" after getting stuck only to find out that it's not "mud" at all.
By the end of the film, everything turns out all right. Eileen comes to accept Conner as her son-in-law, and the whole family turns out for the Christmas Jubilee, which goes off without a hitch.
Even Lacey's mentee Bailey is able to sing "Mary Did You Know?" to start things off. He's watched proudly by his father, who has learned a valuable lesson concerning his son and the dreams that he has.
Cast rundown:
Tyler Perry.................................Madea
Anna Maria Horsford...................Eileen Murphy
Kathy Najimy.............................Kim Williams
Larry The Cable Guy....................Buddy Williams
Chad Michael Murray...................Tanner McCoy
Tika Sumpter.............................Lacey Williams
Eric Lively..................................Conner Williams
JR Lemon..................................Oliver
Alicia Witt..................................Amber McCoy
Lisa Whelchel.............................Nancy Porter
Noah Urrea................................Bailey McCoy
And that's all for A Madea Christmas. The film takes place in the fictional town of Bucktussle, Alabama. While there really isn't a Bucktussle, there is a town called Bug Tussle in the vicinity of the fictional movie town. Alicia Witt's character Amber (mother of Bailey McCoy) says that she never had much schooling. In reality, Alicia Witt graduated high school at the age of fourteen.
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