It?s easy to dismiss the films of Tyler Perry, undisputed king of a niche multi-media empire of his own making, as broad, caricature-laden comedy populated by what Spike Lee famously labeled ?coonery buffoonery.? But beneath the be-wigged, slapstick-y heft of Perry?s most famous character, Madea, and her often violent crusades in the name of family values — as seen in Friday?s Madea?s Witness Protection, the sassy grandmother?s seventh big-screen outing — lies a fount of subversive discussions of race, class, and self-examination. The only question is: Is Tyler Perry aware of it?
Perry, who dons the Madea dress once more in Witness Protection (grudgingly so, he tells Movieline — more on his mixed feelings about Madea below), wrote and directed the comedy after hitting upon an idea over dinner: What if Bernie Madoff had to move in with Madea as punishment for his fiscal crimes? Eugene Levy stars as a Wall Street accountant who agrees to testify against mobsters involved in a Ponzi scheme, only to be ushered, along with his family, into protective custody ? Madea?s house, to be more precise.
It?s there, in this fish out of water set-up, that Perry plumbs more thoughtful ground. Economic responsibility is a theme, as Perry draws a direct line between the privileged suits that run the world?s financial institutions and the working class plebes whose life savings are often at stake. Race and class divides become blurred as Levy?s Jewish-American family finds common ground, and perhaps even stronger ties, with their equally uncomfortable hosts (Perry as both Madea and her cranky brother, Uncle Joe).
There?s just one thing about all the considered socio-cultural conversations seeded in the subtext of Witness Protection: Perry admits that he didn?t set out…
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