Roger Ebert Slammed as a 'Racist'
03-04-05, 11:01 AM
#1
2017 TOTY Winner
Thread Starter
Roger Ebert Slammed as a 'Racist'
Do you think it would help to point out that Roger Ebert is married to a young black woman?
"Readers react to 'Mad Black Woman'
story here
Readers of RogerEbert.com /
Here's a small sampling of the mail we've been receiving at RogerEbert.com about Tyler Perry's "Diary of a Mad Black Woman":
Dear Mr. Ebert:
I cannot believe you were called a racist for not liking "Diary Of A Mad Black Woman" and its star, Madea. I am a 24-year-old black woman whom has never seen a Tyler Perry play because I am so not interested in watching a man parade around stage portraying some ghetto granny. Some may be amused by that type of humor but I find it simple-minded.
I guess I'm writing this letter to you because I get so embarrassed when some black people throw the term "racist" around so casually. Then we're looked at as a bunch of whiny brats who cry racism over the most petty things.
I can remember when you did a review of "Boyz N the Hood" years ago, giving it four stars, I believe. I can remember that so well because, as a naive teen, I was amazed that an older, white guy could appreciate and understand a lifestyle not his own. Ever since then, your reviews have been the only critiques I read. You don't need me to tell you this, but screw the haters who jumped you over Madea. I may be black, female and from the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, but I too cannot stand that character.
Angela Hobbs
Chicago, IL
* * *
I just wanted to educate you on the man Tyler Perry. Mr. Perry has been around for a long time. It's no one's fault that you feel like you can't have an open mind about different things such as Black plays and movie. Mr. Perry has written and directed many plays and all have been successful, including the new installment "Madea Goes to Jail" that will make millions. Mr. Perry teaches you about life in a way everybody can relate. So before you try to criticize all his hard work, why don't you try attending one of his plays. In case you don't know "Madea Goes to Jail" starts March 8th at the Arie Crown Theatre. If you're not scared of all us black folks.
Stefanie Kellom
Chicago, IL
* * *
I just wanted you know that your review confirmed what I had believed about the movie "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." I saw a preview of the movie a few weeks ago in downstate Illinois. The first thing that I thought while watching the preview was that the movie was going to be of questionable quality the minute the Madea character appeared on the screen I was thinking -- is this a comedy or a drama?
As a black female, I know that some people 'don't get it' -- when it comes to race. But 'you' are not one of those people and the review is not racist. It looked like a lousy movie with a lousy actor playing a Grandma in Drag. I said the same thing about "White Chicks."
Good black movies exist -- like "Monster's Ball" -- that some parts of the black population resisted due to angry feeling over the interracial
storyline. I have friends to this day that still refuse to watch "The Color
Purple" because Steven Spielberg was the director.
People will continue to see this movie because the play was popular and Mr.Perry has a rags to riches story that resonates in the community. It also doesn't hurt that he is connected to T.D. Jakes and many churches promoted the movie as something that a 'Christian should see.'
We have a long way to go before we realistically deal with race in this
country. If folks really really want to get angry over something, they
should spend their time working on issues that are troublesome in our community.
Jenn Scott-Heron
IL
* * *
Before your critics review Black Films, make sure they do their research. How can they say something is not true, just because it doesn't fit into their White world. We, as African Americans do have a culture in this country (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, but a culture all the same), and “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” captures very real issues in our community.
Everyone at the theatre that I went to knew exactly what was going on and could relate. I can't relate to many White movies I see. I feel that they are "White people being White," but, at the same time, I am not trying to critique their actions.
Madea is a very real person. If you have the opportunity, please go to a Black community and tell someone to take you to Madea, and I bet they will begin to lead you to her. Older Black Women tend to be much stronger than their weak white counter part. The grandmother you know with the hump back is not the one I saw growing up. Trust and believe that Madea does have a gun and she will shoot you if you get out of line.
White people are so fascinating to me. You all walk around with Blinders on, thinking that your culture is the only one that exists. If a movie is not "White Washed," to you, it is not good, not funny, and unrealistic. To be a good critique, you must know what you are talking about when you watch a Black Film. You have to ask yourself, could this person be real; not in your white community, but in a black community. If you don't know, ask someone who is Black, and we can tell you. I have a family member that is a crack head. I have a Madea, I have been treated like the main character in the movie, and I know plenty of gold digging hood-rats. Listen to rap music, it is the story of a lot of our ghettos. That is a big problem with white people. You think if you don't see it and it is not happening to you, it is not true
Dedra Brown
San Jose, CA
* * *
I'm a (fellow?) film reviewer for a website in Brazil, but I write this to you as an avid -- and angered -- reader. Please, let me excuse myself in advance for the rusty English.
You wrote about viewers diminishing your take on "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" as a matter of race and skin-tone ("color" is just a misused word). It just, pardon mon francais, f**king pissed me off. I thought to myself: "Isn't Ebert the same guy who declared 'Eve's Bayou' as his year's best?"; "Isn't that the same guy who mentioned 'Moolaade' and 'Hotel Rwanda' on his last year's top 10 list?"
Being from the genetic melting pot that is Brazil (and being mixed race myself), it comes as another evidence of the sad state of affairs that the North-American society has been reducing itself as of late: a fascist-oid battle of wills where everything is reduced to a matter of race. Everything. How could you possibly evaluate a work-of-art if you don't share the same background or any evident relation to the material? It's just stupid. It angers me to see that people who don't share your point-of-view, who don't know any better about cinematic art, are completely willing to wash you down in absolutely false and offensive accusations. "He didn't like it? That's cause he's a damn Nazi, that's why!"
The worst: the race question becomes a cop-out for lack of argument.
... I wonder if the same level of excitement from the general audience [over Jamie Foxx's Oscar win for "Ray"] would be raised if the equally excellent Don Cheadle -- this actor in the movie every single human being has the obligation to watch, "Hotel Rwanda," and my favorite candidate -- had won. My belief? No. The general blockbuster crowd didn't purchase tickets for "Hotel Rwanda"; as Chris Rock taught us [on the Oscars broadcast], they went for "White Chicks" instead, even if "Hotel Rwanda" would apparently appeal to their sensibilities more than "the rest of us."
I always read you, but I find myself disagreeing with you most of the time -- and that's a good thing. I love debates. But if I could say something to the people that dissed you: grow yourself some arguments, because this reducing-everything-into-the-black-and-white-issue is just not gonna cut it. And it's alright to like a movie that Ebert didn't. I do it all the time and the points-of-view opposition only makes me more clear-minded.
Sorry, just had to vent.
Bernardo Krivochein
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
* * *
It seems that some folks in the "Black" community are giving you flak over the review of this movie. Of course, a few have charged you with racism. I, a "Black" man, am sorry to hear that. But Mr. Ebert, you need to understand that "Black" folks all over this nation absolutely love Tyler Perry's comedy using this "grandma" character. He has literally "killed" us for a decade in plays and skits using this character. I think this is a fundamental misunderstanding that involves culture. It has happened before and it will happen again....
I just wanted you to know that though I think you are wrong about a great many things within the African-American community and totally disagree with your review of "Diary of a Mad Black woman", I don't think you are racist and if I may, I would like to apologize for those who have made the charge. Hopefully, we as a community can learn that some of the things we find that funny and/or interesting will not necessarily be accepted by the mainstream.
Lavatior B. Turner
Chicago, IL
* * *
After reading your review on "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and your response to the criticism you received, I am more convinced than ever that you are racist and totally clueless. I have never understood why movie critics like you even bother to rate Black movies that you cannot relate to at all. Madea had a relatively small part in the movie, but you critics zeroed in on her and trashed the entire movie. Madea may have done some things most people would not do, but she also does some very touching things , such as feeding her drug addict daughter-in-law, urging her son to forgive and reconcile with his drug addict wife and help her, providing shelter for her suddenly homeless and abused granddaughter and a home for her sick brother, hosting family gatherings, and dispensing words of wisdom.
This movie was about family, love, forgiveness and other positive things. But I guess you can't relate to any of these things. I loved the church scenes and the love scenes with Shemar Moore. I laughed and cried and went through a range of emotions.
You would not know this, but Madea has almost a cult following. We find her hilarious. We can relate to her. We greatly admire Tyler Perry and of course will continue to support him in all of his endeavors.
You trash Tyler Perry for dressing in drag. Did you also trash Robin Williams for dressing in drag as “Mrs. Doubtfire” and Dustin Hoffman for “Tootsie”? And others?
Most of us read your (and others like you) reviews of Black movies as a joke and know that if you don't like one of our movies, we consider that a 'must see.’ We do not take you seriously at all. We will not allow you discourage us from supporting our own.
Rochelle Woods
Chicago, IL
* * *
I wonder if perhaps you disliked “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” because you couldn't understand the cultural context of it. I agree with you that the film has many flaws, but I think the Madea character makes it worth watching. .
Sure, Madea is an exaggeration. There's always exaggeration in good comedy. At the same time, there's a lot about Madea that rings true for me. As an African-American woman, I've seen many tamer versions of Madea, women who refused to settle for anything less than their birthrights (respect, consideration and fair treatment). And sometimes these women can get a little rough, knock some heads together, so to speak, but they can be endearing as well.... Black audiences can identify with Madea. They recognize her as a larger-than-life version of some of the no-nonsense, good-hearted aunts, mamas or grannies they've known and loved.
In the end, though, I'm not mad at you for trashing this movie, Mr. Ebert. I'm attributing your response to the fact that you're just not in the demographic that this film is designed to reach, and you can't relate to Madea. You're still the best critic in the business, and I hope you'll be entertaining us movie nerds for years to come. But I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.
Deborah Young
Kansas City, MO
* * *
"Readers react to 'Mad Black Woman'
story here
Readers of RogerEbert.com /
Here's a small sampling of the mail we've been receiving at RogerEbert.com about Tyler Perry's "Diary of a Mad Black Woman":
Dear Mr. Ebert:
I cannot believe you were called a racist for not liking "Diary Of A Mad Black Woman" and its star, Madea. I am a 24-year-old black woman whom has never seen a Tyler Perry play because I am so not interested in watching a man parade around stage portraying some ghetto granny. Some may be amused by that type of humor but I find it simple-minded.
I guess I'm writing this letter to you because I get so embarrassed when some black people throw the term "racist" around so casually. Then we're looked at as a bunch of whiny brats who cry racism over the most petty things.
I can remember when you did a review of "Boyz N the Hood" years ago, giving it four stars, I believe. I can remember that so well because, as a naive teen, I was amazed that an older, white guy could appreciate and understand a lifestyle not his own. Ever since then, your reviews have been the only critiques I read. You don't need me to tell you this, but screw the haters who jumped you over Madea. I may be black, female and from the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, but I too cannot stand that character.
Angela Hobbs
Chicago, IL
* * *
I just wanted to educate you on the man Tyler Perry. Mr. Perry has been around for a long time. It's no one's fault that you feel like you can't have an open mind about different things such as Black plays and movie. Mr. Perry has written and directed many plays and all have been successful, including the new installment "Madea Goes to Jail" that will make millions. Mr. Perry teaches you about life in a way everybody can relate. So before you try to criticize all his hard work, why don't you try attending one of his plays. In case you don't know "Madea Goes to Jail" starts March 8th at the Arie Crown Theatre. If you're not scared of all us black folks.
Stefanie Kellom
Chicago, IL
* * *
I just wanted you know that your review confirmed what I had believed about the movie "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." I saw a preview of the movie a few weeks ago in downstate Illinois. The first thing that I thought while watching the preview was that the movie was going to be of questionable quality the minute the Madea character appeared on the screen I was thinking -- is this a comedy or a drama?
As a black female, I know that some people 'don't get it' -- when it comes to race. But 'you' are not one of those people and the review is not racist. It looked like a lousy movie with a lousy actor playing a Grandma in Drag. I said the same thing about "White Chicks."
Good black movies exist -- like "Monster's Ball" -- that some parts of the black population resisted due to angry feeling over the interracial
storyline. I have friends to this day that still refuse to watch "The Color
Purple" because Steven Spielberg was the director.
People will continue to see this movie because the play was popular and Mr.Perry has a rags to riches story that resonates in the community. It also doesn't hurt that he is connected to T.D. Jakes and many churches promoted the movie as something that a 'Christian should see.'
We have a long way to go before we realistically deal with race in this
country. If folks really really want to get angry over something, they
should spend their time working on issues that are troublesome in our community.
Jenn Scott-Heron
IL
* * *
Before your critics review Black Films, make sure they do their research. How can they say something is not true, just because it doesn't fit into their White world. We, as African Americans do have a culture in this country (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, but a culture all the same), and “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” captures very real issues in our community.
Everyone at the theatre that I went to knew exactly what was going on and could relate. I can't relate to many White movies I see. I feel that they are "White people being White," but, at the same time, I am not trying to critique their actions.
Madea is a very real person. If you have the opportunity, please go to a Black community and tell someone to take you to Madea, and I bet they will begin to lead you to her. Older Black Women tend to be much stronger than their weak white counter part. The grandmother you know with the hump back is not the one I saw growing up. Trust and believe that Madea does have a gun and she will shoot you if you get out of line.
White people are so fascinating to me. You all walk around with Blinders on, thinking that your culture is the only one that exists. If a movie is not "White Washed," to you, it is not good, not funny, and unrealistic. To be a good critique, you must know what you are talking about when you watch a Black Film. You have to ask yourself, could this person be real; not in your white community, but in a black community. If you don't know, ask someone who is Black, and we can tell you. I have a family member that is a crack head. I have a Madea, I have been treated like the main character in the movie, and I know plenty of gold digging hood-rats. Listen to rap music, it is the story of a lot of our ghettos. That is a big problem with white people. You think if you don't see it and it is not happening to you, it is not true
Dedra Brown
San Jose, CA
* * *
I'm a (fellow?) film reviewer for a website in Brazil, but I write this to you as an avid -- and angered -- reader. Please, let me excuse myself in advance for the rusty English.
You wrote about viewers diminishing your take on "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" as a matter of race and skin-tone ("color" is just a misused word). It just, pardon mon francais, f**king pissed me off. I thought to myself: "Isn't Ebert the same guy who declared 'Eve's Bayou' as his year's best?"; "Isn't that the same guy who mentioned 'Moolaade' and 'Hotel Rwanda' on his last year's top 10 list?"
Being from the genetic melting pot that is Brazil (and being mixed race myself), it comes as another evidence of the sad state of affairs that the North-American society has been reducing itself as of late: a fascist-oid battle of wills where everything is reduced to a matter of race. Everything. How could you possibly evaluate a work-of-art if you don't share the same background or any evident relation to the material? It's just stupid. It angers me to see that people who don't share your point-of-view, who don't know any better about cinematic art, are completely willing to wash you down in absolutely false and offensive accusations. "He didn't like it? That's cause he's a damn Nazi, that's why!"
The worst: the race question becomes a cop-out for lack of argument.
... I wonder if the same level of excitement from the general audience [over Jamie Foxx's Oscar win for "Ray"] would be raised if the equally excellent Don Cheadle -- this actor in the movie every single human being has the obligation to watch, "Hotel Rwanda," and my favorite candidate -- had won. My belief? No. The general blockbuster crowd didn't purchase tickets for "Hotel Rwanda"; as Chris Rock taught us [on the Oscars broadcast], they went for "White Chicks" instead, even if "Hotel Rwanda" would apparently appeal to their sensibilities more than "the rest of us."
I always read you, but I find myself disagreeing with you most of the time -- and that's a good thing. I love debates. But if I could say something to the people that dissed you: grow yourself some arguments, because this reducing-everything-into-the-black-and-white-issue is just not gonna cut it. And it's alright to like a movie that Ebert didn't. I do it all the time and the points-of-view opposition only makes me more clear-minded.
Sorry, just had to vent.
Bernardo Krivochein
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
* * *
It seems that some folks in the "Black" community are giving you flak over the review of this movie. Of course, a few have charged you with racism. I, a "Black" man, am sorry to hear that. But Mr. Ebert, you need to understand that "Black" folks all over this nation absolutely love Tyler Perry's comedy using this "grandma" character. He has literally "killed" us for a decade in plays and skits using this character. I think this is a fundamental misunderstanding that involves culture. It has happened before and it will happen again....
I just wanted you to know that though I think you are wrong about a great many things within the African-American community and totally disagree with your review of "Diary of a Mad Black woman", I don't think you are racist and if I may, I would like to apologize for those who have made the charge. Hopefully, we as a community can learn that some of the things we find that funny and/or interesting will not necessarily be accepted by the mainstream.
Lavatior B. Turner
Chicago, IL
* * *
After reading your review on "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and your response to the criticism you received, I am more convinced than ever that you are racist and totally clueless. I have never understood why movie critics like you even bother to rate Black movies that you cannot relate to at all. Madea had a relatively small part in the movie, but you critics zeroed in on her and trashed the entire movie. Madea may have done some things most people would not do, but she also does some very touching things , such as feeding her drug addict daughter-in-law, urging her son to forgive and reconcile with his drug addict wife and help her, providing shelter for her suddenly homeless and abused granddaughter and a home for her sick brother, hosting family gatherings, and dispensing words of wisdom.
This movie was about family, love, forgiveness and other positive things. But I guess you can't relate to any of these things. I loved the church scenes and the love scenes with Shemar Moore. I laughed and cried and went through a range of emotions.
You would not know this, but Madea has almost a cult following. We find her hilarious. We can relate to her. We greatly admire Tyler Perry and of course will continue to support him in all of his endeavors.
You trash Tyler Perry for dressing in drag. Did you also trash Robin Williams for dressing in drag as “Mrs. Doubtfire” and Dustin Hoffman for “Tootsie”? And others?
Most of us read your (and others like you) reviews of Black movies as a joke and know that if you don't like one of our movies, we consider that a 'must see.’ We do not take you seriously at all. We will not allow you discourage us from supporting our own.
Rochelle Woods
Chicago, IL
* * *
I wonder if perhaps you disliked “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” because you couldn't understand the cultural context of it. I agree with you that the film has many flaws, but I think the Madea character makes it worth watching. .
Sure, Madea is an exaggeration. There's always exaggeration in good comedy. At the same time, there's a lot about Madea that rings true for me. As an African-American woman, I've seen many tamer versions of Madea, women who refused to settle for anything less than their birthrights (respect, consideration and fair treatment). And sometimes these women can get a little rough, knock some heads together, so to speak, but they can be endearing as well.... Black audiences can identify with Madea. They recognize her as a larger-than-life version of some of the no-nonsense, good-hearted aunts, mamas or grannies they've known and loved.
In the end, though, I'm not mad at you for trashing this movie, Mr. Ebert. I'm attributing your response to the fact that you're just not in the demographic that this film is designed to reach, and you can't relate to Madea. You're still the best critic in the business, and I hope you'll be entertaining us movie nerds for years to come. But I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.
Deborah Young
Kansas City, MO
* * *
03-04-05, 11:02 AM
#2
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Eh, typical. I'm actually GLAD Ebert didn't point out in his article that he's married to a black woman, he'd be lowering themselves to the level of people who can't separate their politics from criticism of a work.
03-04-05, 11:29 AM
#6
Moderator
I guess this means I can never trust Elvis Mitchell ever again, since as a black man he doesn't understand my culture. 
03-04-05, 11:31 AM
#7
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Ebert's response:
Who is that mad black woman?
By Roger Ebert /
Well, now I know who Tyler Perry is. Last Friday I published a negative one-star review of “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” and since then I have received more e-mails than about any review I have ever written, out numbering “Fahrenheit 9/11”and “Passion of the Christ” put together. And they were not all the same message, generated by some web site or its followers. Each manifestly came from an individual reader who felt moved to write.
Some sent references to a recent National Public Radio report on Perry, “America’s most successful unknown playwright.” Others referred me to the movie’s extraordinary message board at Yahoo – where, after more than two months in release, “Being Julia” has generated 52 messages and an average grade of C-plus, and “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” after four days in release, has more than 2,100 messages and a grade of A-minus.
Many of the messages say versions of the same thing: White critics don’t get it. We don’t know who Tyler Perry is, we have never heard of the millions of dollars his plays have grossed all over America, in theaters, churches, school halls and on DVD, and – most of all – we don’t know that characters like his Madea are based on strong black women the writers are all familiar with.
To back up a second: “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” which opened Friday and will win the box office contest this week with an estimated gross over $25 million, is a movie starring Kimberly Elise as Helen, the wife of a rich African-American attorney (Steve Harris). After 18 years of marriage and verbal abuse, he dumps her for another woman (Lisa Marcos) who has two kids – all the more painful, because her miscarriages were caused by his mistreatment.
The movie, up to this point, is a strong family drama that had engaged my sympathy. Then Helen flees into the arms of her grandmother, Madea, played in drag by playwright Tyler Perry, who (I quote myself) “is built along the lines of a linebacker … a tall, lantern-jawed, smooth-skinned, balloon-breasted gargoyle with a bad wig, who likes to wave a loaded gun and shoot test rounds into the ceiling.” Madea visits the cheating husband’s house to destroy his furniture with a chain-saw.
I ended: “I've been reviewing movies for a long time, and I can't think of one that more dramatically shoots itself in the foot.”
Other critics agreed with me. At rottentomatoes.com, where only 23 of 78 critics liked the film, we read:
* "This isn't a situation in which the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. It's more like they're not even part of the same body." -- Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News
* "A crudely made hodgepodge of rank clichés that veers between shrill melodrama, glossy soap opera, and broad, sitcom-level comedy." -- Timothy Knight, Reel.com
* "Stay clear of this mess." -- Lou Lumenick, New York Post
* “Sure, I laughed. Yes, I cried. But mostly I just wanted to throw up.” – Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post
* "Blows to the head are delivered with more subtlety than the message of ‘Diary of a Mad Black Woman’." -- Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
All clueless white critics? No, Morris is an African-American, who knows who Tyler Perry is and compares Madea to Martin Lawrence’s character in “Big Momma’s House.” He adds, “Perry's brand of touring '’urban’ theater has made him a star in black America. I've seen a couple of his shows on DVD while waiting to get my hair cut at the barbershop. On the stage, their overall hamminess wears down your resistance, and the frisky interplay with the live audience makes them passable fun. A precise double take is always good for a big laugh. But there's nothing precise about the movie that director Darren Grant has made of '’Diary’."
The e-mails I’ve received are more direct: As a white man, I’m told, I am clueless to understand that strong older women, who have had to be tough to survive in hard times, are familiar in all African-American families, and do not conform to the genteel manners of the art-house crowd. More than one writer, especially on the Yahoo message boards, calls me and other critics of the film racist. “Y U B Hating?” is one headline. Demon2002 writes: “Look some of you really need to stop (white people) especially those of you with your racist comments about all blacks in the ghetto. I'm willing to bet my entire direct deposit pay, which is probably substantially more than many of you will see in three months that you didn't see this movie… I hate that home computers have been made so accessible in price that the lower class and closed-minded whites are spewing foolishness across the net.”
Deborah Young of Overland Park, Kansas, was friendlier and more helpful in a message direct to my Answer Man column: “Sure, Madea is an exaggeration. At the same time, there's a lot about Madea that rings true for me. As an African-American woman, I've seen many tamer versions of Madea, women who refused to settle for anything less than their birthrights (respect, consideration and fair treatment). Sometimes these women can get a little rough, knock some heads together, so to speak, but they can be endearing as well. It's clear that other black viewers share my views. Tyler Perry's touring stage plays and DVDs have grossed millions. Why? Because black audiences can identify with Madea. They recognize her as a larger-than-life version of some of the no-nonsense, good-hearted aunts, mamas or grannies they've known and loved.”
At a pre-Oscar party honoring Ebony’s 60th anniversary last Thursday, I talked with producer Reuben Cannon, whose credits include the wonderful “Down in the Delta” and “The Women of Brewster Place.” At the Indie Spirits, I talked with Kimberly Elise. They also worked together on “Woman, Thou Art Loosed” (2004), based on a screenplay and co-starring Bishop T. D. Jakes, another icon of the black community not widely known to whites. That was a much better movie, proving (as “Diary” and “Beloved” do) that Elise is a gifted actress. But it has no Madea, and grossed $6.7 million domestically, a figure “Diary” passed on its opening day.
Cannon and Elise were awfully nice to me, under the circumstances. Perhaps the fact that their movie was #1 at the box office helped. Cannon knew about my review but wasn’t angry. He said “Diary” was intended as a mixture of genres, a movie that would defy convention. They were aware when they made it that Madea was on a different reality level than the other characters, but the formula had been wildly popular in productions of Perry’s plays, and they wanted the film to capitalize on the enormous popularity of Perry and (especially) Madea.
I have re-read my original review, and see no need to change a word. It expresses what I think about “Diary,” and a critic is worthless if he starts writing what he thinks his readers want to read. He becomes the dummy and his readers become ventriloquists.
But the outpouring of dissent about “Diary” has me thinking in another direction. The assumption beneath my review was that a movie should discover the correct tone for its material, and stick to it. I was grabbed at the outset by the plight of the Kimberley Elise character, was moved by her despair, was touched by the character of her mother, played by Cecily Tyson, and I recoiled every time Madea came charging in like a train wreck.
Yet the most successful film industry on earth, India’s Bollywood, deliberately mixes genres. “You get everything in one film,” my Mumbai friend Uma de Cuhna told me. “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” provides melodrama, romance, scandal, the escapism of a lavish lifestyle, a message of forgiveness, and the larger-than-life Madea, whose pot-smoking doesn’t seem to bother the Christian church audiences who make up a large part of Perry’s fan base.
It’s not supposed to be all of a piece, told with a consistent tone. It’s more like a variety show. And Madea is no more supposed to be a “real” African-American grandmother than Dame Edna Everage is supposed to be a “real” Australian housewife.
Okay, I get it. I refuse to accept the theory that I am racist because I disliked the film (many of the Yahoo messages attack the notion that racism belongs in the discussion). But I do realize that Tyler Perry is under the radar of the white-dominated media, and that the loss of Elvis Mitchell at the New York Times leaves us with only a handful of black critics (Morris, Desson Thomson at the Washington Post, Armand White at the New York Press, and 3BlackChicks.com, for example). Doesn’t it seem like there ought to be more mainstream black film critics than black Oscar nominees?
Unfortunately, White, Thomson and all three black chicks have not reviewed the film, and it’s by no means certain that Mitchell would have praised it. In the New York Press, White’s stablemate Matt Zoller Seitz writes: “This may prove to be a slow-building cult phenomenon that endures withering pans but lingers in theaters for weeks, eventually forcing the same critics who dismissed it to write think-pieces explaining its success.”
The ink is scarcely dry on his review, and here I am, doing just that. Do I think I failed “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” in my duty as a critic? No, because (1) I told you honestly what I thought about it, and (2) I provided a good idea of what’s in the movie, so that readers can decide they’d like it even if I didn’t. My crime seems to have been disliking Madea. But I don’t dislike her – I simply can’t stand her in this movie. I would like to see Kimberly Elise in a serious drama that gives range to her considerable gifts, and Madea in a comedy. But not in the same movie, please.
By Roger Ebert /
Well, now I know who Tyler Perry is. Last Friday I published a negative one-star review of “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” and since then I have received more e-mails than about any review I have ever written, out numbering “Fahrenheit 9/11”and “Passion of the Christ” put together. And they were not all the same message, generated by some web site or its followers. Each manifestly came from an individual reader who felt moved to write.
Some sent references to a recent National Public Radio report on Perry, “America’s most successful unknown playwright.” Others referred me to the movie’s extraordinary message board at Yahoo – where, after more than two months in release, “Being Julia” has generated 52 messages and an average grade of C-plus, and “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” after four days in release, has more than 2,100 messages and a grade of A-minus.
Many of the messages say versions of the same thing: White critics don’t get it. We don’t know who Tyler Perry is, we have never heard of the millions of dollars his plays have grossed all over America, in theaters, churches, school halls and on DVD, and – most of all – we don’t know that characters like his Madea are based on strong black women the writers are all familiar with.
To back up a second: “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” which opened Friday and will win the box office contest this week with an estimated gross over $25 million, is a movie starring Kimberly Elise as Helen, the wife of a rich African-American attorney (Steve Harris). After 18 years of marriage and verbal abuse, he dumps her for another woman (Lisa Marcos) who has two kids – all the more painful, because her miscarriages were caused by his mistreatment.
The movie, up to this point, is a strong family drama that had engaged my sympathy. Then Helen flees into the arms of her grandmother, Madea, played in drag by playwright Tyler Perry, who (I quote myself) “is built along the lines of a linebacker … a tall, lantern-jawed, smooth-skinned, balloon-breasted gargoyle with a bad wig, who likes to wave a loaded gun and shoot test rounds into the ceiling.” Madea visits the cheating husband’s house to destroy his furniture with a chain-saw.
I ended: “I've been reviewing movies for a long time, and I can't think of one that more dramatically shoots itself in the foot.”
Other critics agreed with me. At rottentomatoes.com, where only 23 of 78 critics liked the film, we read:
* "This isn't a situation in which the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. It's more like they're not even part of the same body." -- Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News
* "A crudely made hodgepodge of rank clichés that veers between shrill melodrama, glossy soap opera, and broad, sitcom-level comedy." -- Timothy Knight, Reel.com
* "Stay clear of this mess." -- Lou Lumenick, New York Post
* “Sure, I laughed. Yes, I cried. But mostly I just wanted to throw up.” – Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post
* "Blows to the head are delivered with more subtlety than the message of ‘Diary of a Mad Black Woman’." -- Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
All clueless white critics? No, Morris is an African-American, who knows who Tyler Perry is and compares Madea to Martin Lawrence’s character in “Big Momma’s House.” He adds, “Perry's brand of touring '’urban’ theater has made him a star in black America. I've seen a couple of his shows on DVD while waiting to get my hair cut at the barbershop. On the stage, their overall hamminess wears down your resistance, and the frisky interplay with the live audience makes them passable fun. A precise double take is always good for a big laugh. But there's nothing precise about the movie that director Darren Grant has made of '’Diary’."
The e-mails I’ve received are more direct: As a white man, I’m told, I am clueless to understand that strong older women, who have had to be tough to survive in hard times, are familiar in all African-American families, and do not conform to the genteel manners of the art-house crowd. More than one writer, especially on the Yahoo message boards, calls me and other critics of the film racist. “Y U B Hating?” is one headline. Demon2002 writes: “Look some of you really need to stop (white people) especially those of you with your racist comments about all blacks in the ghetto. I'm willing to bet my entire direct deposit pay, which is probably substantially more than many of you will see in three months that you didn't see this movie… I hate that home computers have been made so accessible in price that the lower class and closed-minded whites are spewing foolishness across the net.”
Deborah Young of Overland Park, Kansas, was friendlier and more helpful in a message direct to my Answer Man column: “Sure, Madea is an exaggeration. At the same time, there's a lot about Madea that rings true for me. As an African-American woman, I've seen many tamer versions of Madea, women who refused to settle for anything less than their birthrights (respect, consideration and fair treatment). Sometimes these women can get a little rough, knock some heads together, so to speak, but they can be endearing as well. It's clear that other black viewers share my views. Tyler Perry's touring stage plays and DVDs have grossed millions. Why? Because black audiences can identify with Madea. They recognize her as a larger-than-life version of some of the no-nonsense, good-hearted aunts, mamas or grannies they've known and loved.”
At a pre-Oscar party honoring Ebony’s 60th anniversary last Thursday, I talked with producer Reuben Cannon, whose credits include the wonderful “Down in the Delta” and “The Women of Brewster Place.” At the Indie Spirits, I talked with Kimberly Elise. They also worked together on “Woman, Thou Art Loosed” (2004), based on a screenplay and co-starring Bishop T. D. Jakes, another icon of the black community not widely known to whites. That was a much better movie, proving (as “Diary” and “Beloved” do) that Elise is a gifted actress. But it has no Madea, and grossed $6.7 million domestically, a figure “Diary” passed on its opening day.
Cannon and Elise were awfully nice to me, under the circumstances. Perhaps the fact that their movie was #1 at the box office helped. Cannon knew about my review but wasn’t angry. He said “Diary” was intended as a mixture of genres, a movie that would defy convention. They were aware when they made it that Madea was on a different reality level than the other characters, but the formula had been wildly popular in productions of Perry’s plays, and they wanted the film to capitalize on the enormous popularity of Perry and (especially) Madea.
I have re-read my original review, and see no need to change a word. It expresses what I think about “Diary,” and a critic is worthless if he starts writing what he thinks his readers want to read. He becomes the dummy and his readers become ventriloquists.
But the outpouring of dissent about “Diary” has me thinking in another direction. The assumption beneath my review was that a movie should discover the correct tone for its material, and stick to it. I was grabbed at the outset by the plight of the Kimberley Elise character, was moved by her despair, was touched by the character of her mother, played by Cecily Tyson, and I recoiled every time Madea came charging in like a train wreck.
Yet the most successful film industry on earth, India’s Bollywood, deliberately mixes genres. “You get everything in one film,” my Mumbai friend Uma de Cuhna told me. “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” provides melodrama, romance, scandal, the escapism of a lavish lifestyle, a message of forgiveness, and the larger-than-life Madea, whose pot-smoking doesn’t seem to bother the Christian church audiences who make up a large part of Perry’s fan base.
It’s not supposed to be all of a piece, told with a consistent tone. It’s more like a variety show. And Madea is no more supposed to be a “real” African-American grandmother than Dame Edna Everage is supposed to be a “real” Australian housewife.
Okay, I get it. I refuse to accept the theory that I am racist because I disliked the film (many of the Yahoo messages attack the notion that racism belongs in the discussion). But I do realize that Tyler Perry is under the radar of the white-dominated media, and that the loss of Elvis Mitchell at the New York Times leaves us with only a handful of black critics (Morris, Desson Thomson at the Washington Post, Armand White at the New York Press, and 3BlackChicks.com, for example). Doesn’t it seem like there ought to be more mainstream black film critics than black Oscar nominees?
Unfortunately, White, Thomson and all three black chicks have not reviewed the film, and it’s by no means certain that Mitchell would have praised it. In the New York Press, White’s stablemate Matt Zoller Seitz writes: “This may prove to be a slow-building cult phenomenon that endures withering pans but lingers in theaters for weeks, eventually forcing the same critics who dismissed it to write think-pieces explaining its success.”
The ink is scarcely dry on his review, and here I am, doing just that. Do I think I failed “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” in my duty as a critic? No, because (1) I told you honestly what I thought about it, and (2) I provided a good idea of what’s in the movie, so that readers can decide they’d like it even if I didn’t. My crime seems to have been disliking Madea. But I don’t dislike her – I simply can’t stand her in this movie. I would like to see Kimberly Elise in a serious drama that gives range to her considerable gifts, and Madea in a comedy. But not in the same movie, please.
03-04-05, 11:42 AM
#8
Originally Posted by Sierra Disc
Eh, typical. I'm actually GLAD Ebert didn't point out in his article that he's married to a black woman, he'd be lowering themselves to the level of people who can't separate their politics from criticism of a work.
03-04-05, 12:47 PM
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Brain Stew
Diary of a Mad Black Woman looks like Big Momma's House 2.
03-05-05, 12:48 AM
#11
DVD Talk Legend
I think that this is his wife.
And I saw him on, I believe, Jay Leno the other night. He's showing his age, I hope he keeps going though because I love his reviews.
03-05-05, 02:35 AM
#13
DVD Talk God
Nice response Ebert. 
I love that people are calling him a racist for doing his job. He reviews movies for fucks sake. I'm sure he's positively reviewed a ton of other "black" flicks. Jesus, people.
I love that people are calling him a racist for doing his job. He reviews movies for fucks sake. I'm sure he's positively reviewed a ton of other "black" flicks. Jesus, people.
03-05-05, 03:13 AM
#14
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I'm sorry, but Ebert should only be reviewing movies that are about movie reviewers in their 60s who've written a screenplay for a cult movie and have had thyroid and oral cancers while dealing with the death of their fellow reviewer/partner.
It's clear he doesn't "get" any other type of movie. Everyone else knows this.
It's clear he doesn't "get" any other type of movie. Everyone else knows this.
03-05-05, 05:08 AM
#15
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Originally Posted by Rogue588
I'm sorry, but Ebert should only be reviewing movies that are about movie reviewers in their 60s who've written a screenplay for a cult movie and have had thyroid and oral cancers while dealing with the death of their fellow reviewer/partner.
It's clear he doesn't "get" any other type of movie. Everyone else knows this.
It's clear he doesn't "get" any other type of movie. Everyone else knows this.
03-05-05, 06:39 AM
#16
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I really like how almost all of the responses accusing him of being racist use comments like " white-washed" and "White people being white people". Oh and people, stop mentioning white chicks... noone liked that movie. There's probably purple people somewhere in the galaxy that are puking from the thought of that movie.
03-05-05, 08:40 AM
#17
DVD Talk Legend
“Look some of you really need to stop (white people) especially those of you with your racist comments about all blacks in the ghetto. I'm willing to bet my entire direct deposit pay, which is probably substantially more than many of you will see in three months that you didn't see this movie… I hate that home computers have been made so accessible in price that the lower class and closed-minded whites are spewing foolishness across the net.”
03-05-05, 09:42 AM
#19
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My ex-wife is Japanese, I'm not. Well years ago when her management area expanded she was put in charge of a branch that had a lot of black girls. Well they weren't happy about the change. Whenever they called her racist, which btw usually happened when she had to reprimand them for some fuck up, she would come home and we would have a good laugh. I told her she should put my picture on her desk whenever the girls would come in for meetings. 
Last edited by Giantrobo; 03-05-05 at 09:50 AM.
03-05-05, 10:50 AM
#20
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I know nothing about Tyler Perry but I think Ebert is a hypocrite on this. He tends to give shitty popcorn movies good grades because his standard for these type of movies is, by self-admission, different than other genres of film.
So to give a movie one star because he does not know about Tyler Perry stinks of ignorance about the movie he is supposedly paid to review. If he knew this was a Tyler Perry genre movie, would the grade have been 1 star? I doubt it.
So to give a movie one star because he does not know about Tyler Perry stinks of ignorance about the movie he is supposedly paid to review. If he knew this was a Tyler Perry genre movie, would the grade have been 1 star? I doubt it.
03-05-05, 11:44 AM
#21
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Originally Posted by chanster
I know nothing about Tyler Perry but I think Ebert is a hypocrite on this. He tends to give shitty popcorn movies good grades because his standard for these type of movies is, by self-admission, different than other genres of film.
Originally Posted by chanster
So to give a movie one star because he does not know about Tyler Perry stinks of ignorance about the movie he is supposedly paid to review. If he knew this was a Tyler Perry genre movie, would the grade have been 1 star? I doubt it.
03-05-05, 12:09 PM
#24
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Originally Posted by Slow Hands
He's not racist has anyone read
Roger Ebert's 2004 Guide To Niggar Cinema? He gave Ray three stars.
Roger Ebert's 2004 Guide To Niggar Cinema? He gave Ray three stars.
I read it...
