The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
A Madea Christmas
Comedy · Drama · 2013
Madea dispenses her unique form of holiday spirit on rural town when she's coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise visit in the country for Christmas.
Movie details
A Madea Christmas
“Jolly. Fat. Old. Who were you expecting?”
2013 Comedy · Drama 1h 39m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
Madea dispenses her unique form of holiday spirit on rural town when she's coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise visit in the country for Christmas.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over A Madea Christmas?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Juniper
Drama · 2021
When a self-destructive teenager is suspended from school and asked to look after his feisty alcoholic grandmother as a punishment, the crazy time they spend together turns his life around.
Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas
Comedy · 2021
On her first holiday without her father, Zoey attempts to create a magical Christmas for her family just like the ones Mitch used to do.
Family Weekend
Comedy · 2013
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.
The Adults
Drama · 2023
Eric returns home for a short visit and finds himself caught between reuniting with his sisters and chasing a victory with his old poker group. As the trip extends, Eric finds it increasingly difficult to avoid confrontations and revelations as his carefully constructed façade of his adulthood gives way to old childhood conflicts.
Tyler Perry's A Madea Homecoming
Comedy · 2022
Madea's back - hallelujer! And she's not putting up with any nonsense as family drama erupts at her great-grandson's college graduation celebration.
The Middle Man
Comedy · 2021
Frank Farrelli takes on the job as a middle man in the God-forsaken town of Karmack, USA, a community in a depression so deep that they need a middle man to professionally communicate more of the bad news.
Tyler Perry's Finding Joy
Drama · 2025
Joy, a successful designer, seeks a proposal at Christmas. In Wyoming's mountains, she finds what she truly needs when the man she loves sees her as just a friend.
Life During Wartime
Comedy · 2010
Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.
The Safety of Objects
Drama · 2002
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
All About Nina
Comedy · 2018
Nina Geld's passion and talent have made her a rising star in the comedy scene, but she's an emotional mess offstage. When a new professional opportunity coincides with a romantic one, she is forced to confront her own deeply troubled past.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Tyler Perry
Written by
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry
Madea
Anna Maria Horsford
Eileen
Tika Sumpter
Lacey
Eric Lively
Conner
Kathy Najimy
Kim
Larry the Cable Guy
Buddy
Chad Michael Murray
Tanner McCoy
Court is in session
Put A Madea Christmas on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.