A 2006 movie directed by Tyler Perry. While planning her family reunion, the pistol-packing grandma, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, must contend with the other dramas on her plate, including the runaway who has been placed under her care, and her troubled nieces, half-sisters Lisa and Vanessa.
Associated Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Victoria is emotionally abusive to both her daughters even though they're now adults. She makes it perfectly clear to Vanessa's face that she thinks her children are bastards and wishes she never gave birth to her, and keeps Lisa wrapped around her finger so she can use her trust fund. There's also the fact that she let Lisa's father rape Vanessa with a clear conscience. And to really drive it home, Victoria is encouraging her “favorite” daughter to marry someone who is beating her just so she can get more money.
- Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me: A very disturbing example occurred to Vanessa as a child. As a child, her mother allowed her stepfather to rape her in order to stop him from leaving the family; she cleaned her and dressed her up before he committed the act.
- Been There, Shaped History: Parodied when Madea tells the wedding planner "I shot Tupac!" and then mentions she's referring to a separate incident other than the performer's death.
- Chekhov's Gun: Madea tells Lisa a story about how she handled a person that was similar to Carlos by scalding him with a pot of hot grits and beating him while he was in pain. You think she was just exaggerating as usual. But near the end of the movie, when Carlos comes to Madea's home to reclaim Lisa and Madea heads out to give them privacy, she reminds Lisa of said story and motions to the pot on the stove. Take a wild guess what happens next?
- Disproportionate Retribution: Carlos painfully squeezes Lisa's back just for yawning while having a late evening out with friends.
- Establishing Shot: A very long one at the beginning to show that it is in Atlanta.
- Falling-in-Love Montage: Vanessa and Frankie, and an inversion later on with Carlos and Lisa showing how much he abused her.
- Family Disunion: The events really come to a head at the eponymous reunion, with Lisa and Vanessa's abusive mother, Victoria, starting a physical fight.
- I Have This Friend: This is how Lisa and Vanessa tell Madea that Carlos is beating Lisa. Madea is too sharp to fall for it, but goes along with it anyway and still gives Lisa advice on how to deal with Carlos.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: After smacking one of Nikki's bullies, Madea does a hilarious Shout-Out to The Color Purple...which is completely lost on the middle school children, one of whom asks, "Who's Harpo?"
- Rape as Drama: Vanessa was dolled up for her stepfather to rape her so that he wouldn't leave her mother.
- Shout-Out: Madea quotes The Color Purple:"All my life, I had to fight. I loves Harpo, but I kill 'em dead 'fore I let 'em beat me!"
- Silly Rabbit, Romance Is for Kids!: Vanessa is very cynical about love and is apprehensive about committing to Frankie. This is attributed to not just her children's biological father walking out on her, but also her mother allowing her stepfather to rape her when she was a child.
- Single Parents Are Undesirable: Discussed while Vanessa rides the bus home by a few patrons when Frankie flirts with her and they learn she has two children. Turns out, this was not a turn-off for him, as he's a single father himself.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Vanessa and Frankie.
- Stop Being Stereotypical: The wedding planner tells Madea this, specifically tired of other black people showing up late (and "ignorant").
- A Taste of Their Own Medicine: "I left some grits on the stove. They're nice and hot."
- Teeny Weenie: Victoria pegs Carlos (investment banker with a history of personal abuse) as an insecure "overachiever" driven by this. He doesn't deny it.
- Too Much Information: Joe to Frankie, whom he told he had once passed gas on an airplane. Justified in that Joe's an elderly man and not exactly the epitome of tact.
- The Un-Favorite: Vanessa is this to Victoria, as the latter has hated her from childhood because she hated her father for leaving them.
- Vicarious Gold Digger: Lisa's mother Victoria wants her daughter to marry Carlos, a wealthy investment banker, so that she will continue to afford her luxurious lifestyle. That Carlos is abusive to Lisa is irrelevant to Victoria.
- Would Hit a Girl: Carlos isn't the film's antagonist for nothing...
- Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: Invoked by Victoria, who tells Lisa to simply stop doing whatever it is she does that makes Carlos hit her when Lisa tells her Carlos has been abusing her. This is during the first few minutes of the film and acts as Victoria's Establishing Character Moment. Immediately after, Victoria orders her lunch as if Lisa only commented on the passing weather.
- Why Waste a Wedding?: Near the end, Lisa decides to cut Carlos loose and cancel their wedding. The wedding planner laments that her lavish Paris-themed wedding will not be used. Vanessa's boyfriend Frankie decides to propose to her right then. She accepts and they get married.