Line #64 Creator/TylerPerry


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tyler_perry_7770.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:320:Tyler Perry and his alter ego Madea]]
3
4	->'''[[Creator/KenanThompson Darnell]]:''' You know, when that man puts on a muumuu, I'm just transported.\
5	'''[[Creator/TomHanks Doug]]:''' I gotta tell you, I love those movies. I bought a box set at Walmart. And if I can laugh ''and'' pray in 90 minutes, that is money well spent.
6	-->-- ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', “Black Jeopardy”
7
8	Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry, Jr. on September 13, 1969) is a mega-successful writer, director, producer and actor whose film ''Diary of a Mad Black Woman'' shocked mainstream box office watchers by opening at #1. It was perhaps less of a surprise to his African American fanbase, who are familiar with his popular stage plays (from which ''Mad Black Woman'' and several other of his subsequent films were adapted), as the demographic for his films centers on black America.
9
10	Perry is perhaps most physically recognizable as his alter ego Madea, a [[ComedicSociopathy violence-prone]], [[SassyBlackWoman loud-mouthed]] [[NeverMessWithGranny grandmother]] who has appeared in many of his films. Madea is a contraction of 'Mother Dearest' = "Ma" Dea(r), a term used in the vernacular of many black Americans in the Southern U.S.
11
12	Perry is also the owner of a film production studio "Tyler Perry Studios", created in 2006 and is based in Atlanta (though the specific area has changed over time), and eventually made history by becoming the first African American man to own a major studio. In 2019, Tyler Perry acquired Fort [=McPherson=] as the new grounds for the studio, which once served as US Army base and is now one of the largest lots in all of Hollywood. While the studio has, naturally, worked on Perry's own projects, it has also contributed work for additional films and TV programs, such as ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'' and ''Film/BlackPanther2018''.
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14	Perry is the godfather of [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily Prince Harry]] and Creator/MeghanMarkle's daughter, Lilibet Diana. The Duke and Duchess honored Perry this way after he came to their aid in early 2020, providing their family with a private plane flight and a secure place to stay during the early days of the covid pandemic, after they had stepped away from their royal duties and the royal family pulled the couple's security detail.
15
16	He [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant has nothing to do with]] ThoseTwoGuys from Music/{{Aerosmith}}.
17
18	!!Tyler Perry's films:
19	[[index]]
20	* ''Film/DiaryOfAMadBlackWoman'' (2005)
21	* ''Film/MadeasFamilyReunion'' (2006)
22	* ''Film/DaddysLittleGirls'' (2007)
23	* ''Film/WhyDidIGetMarried'' (2007)
24	* ''Meet The Browns'' (2008)
25	* ''Film/TheFamilyThatPreys'' (2008)
26	* ''Film/MadeaGoesToJail'' (2009)
27	* ''Film/ICanDoBadAllByMyself'' (2009)
28	* ''Film/{{Precious}}'' (2009)
29	* ''[[Film/StarTrek2009 Star Trek]]'' (2009) in a cameo as an admiral.
30	* ''Film/WhyDidIGetMarriedToo'' (2010)
31	* ''Theatre/ForColoredGirls'' (2010)
32	* ''Film/MadeasBigHappyFamily'' (2011)
33	* ''Film/GoodDeeds'' (2012)
34	* ''Madea's Witness Protection'' (2012)
35	* ''Film/AlexCross'' (2012) based on the Creator/JamesPatterson book ''Cross'' in his first major film role where he only acts.
36	* ''Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor'' (2013)
37	* ''A Madea Christmas'' (2013)
38	* ''The Single Moms Club'' (2014)
39	* ''Literature/GoneGirl'' (2014)
40	* ''Madea's Tough Love'' (2015)
41	* ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesOutOfTheShadows'' (2016) (A surprisingly PlayingAgainstType role for him. He's admitted to being a fan of the series as well)
42	* ''Brain on Fire'' (2016)
43	* ''Boo! A Madea Halloween'' (2016)
44	* ''Boo 2! A Madea Halloween'' (2017)
45	* ''Film/{{Acrimony}}'' (2018)
46	* ''[[Film/Vice2018 Vice]]'' (2018)
47	* ''A Madea Family Funeral'' (2019) (SeriesFauxnale of the Madea movies)
48	* ''Film/TylerPerrysAFallFromGrace'' (2020)
49	* ''Film/ThoseWhoWishMeDead'' (2021)
50	* ''Film/DontLookUp'' (2021)
51	* ''Film/AMadeaHomecoming'' (2022) (crossover with ''Series/MrsBrownsBoys'')
52	[[/index]]
53
54	!! TV Shows
55	[[index]]
56	* ''[[Series/HouseOfPayne Tyler Perry's House of Payne]]'' (2007-2012) – ran for 254 episodes, surpassing ''Series/TheJeffersons'' for the longest run, as measured by episodes, by a black sitcom.[[note]]Defined as a sitcom that features an African American in the lead role, or a primarily African American cast[[/note]] (Several black sitcoms, including ''The Jeffersons'', have had longer runs when measured by seasons.)
57	* ''Meet the Browns'' (2009-2011)
58	* ''For Better or Worse'' (2011-2017)
59	* ''Series/TheHavesAndTheHaveNots'' (2013-2021)
60	* ''Love Thy Neighbor'' (2013-2017)
61	* ''If Loving You Is Wrong'' (2014-2020)
62	* ''Too Close to Home'' (2016-)
63	* ''Series/TylerPerrysYoungDylan'' (2020-)
64	[[/index]]
65	----
66	!!Tyler Perry's works contain examples of the following tropes:
67
68	%%* AmbitionIsEvil: Frequently.
69	%%* AmoralAttorney:
70	%%** Charles from ''Film/DiaryOfAMadBlackWoman'' is this.
71	%%** Linda from ''Madea Goes to Jail''.
72	%%** Jim Cryer from ''The Haves and the Have Nots''
73	* AuthorAppeal: Majority of his works are influenced by his faith and they are filled with Baptist Christian influences.
74	* BlackComedyRape: Jokes on prison rape, most prominently in ''Madea Goes to Jail''.
75	* BreakingTheFourthWall: Another staple in Perry's plays, nearly to the point of RunningGag. Madea has been known to stop giving lines and fuss at people who came to the play late ''in character''. There are also points where Perry will go off script and point out that they are in a play.
76	-->'''Vienne''': Madea, go upstairs to your room and close the door!\
77	'''Madea''': Girl, dis a play, there ain't no room and no door! ''(cue audience and cast laughter)''
78	* BrokenBird: Many of his heroines.
79	* {{Catchphrase}}: His character, Madea, has a few of them:
80	** "Hellurrrr!"
81	** "I ain't scared of no po po, call the po po ho, CALL DA PO PO HO!"
82	* ComedicSociopathy: Usually centered around Madea's violent tendencies and belief in corporal punishment.
83	* CoolOldLady: Tyler’s character Madea most certainly counts.
84	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Boo 2! A Madea Halloween'' is this compared to its predecessor. Instead of having Madea scaring the fraternity students into going to jail for their recklessness, she goes to a haunted campsite to retrieve her grandchild and her grandchild's friend from being killed by a [[SerialKiller serial killer]]. [[spoiler:It turns out that it was Brian, his friend and two women that he hired to place the petting zoo earlier in the film staged the serial killer stunt. Unlike the first film, Madea had no involvement with the situation and ended up falling victim to the setup. In addition, there was also a killer in the campsite that was revealed to be real at the end of the film.]]
85	* DarkestHour: One in every play, and if Madea hasn't been in the play since the start, this is where she generally shows up.
86	* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler: In ''For Colored Girls'', Crystal's two young children are killed by their father because his PTSD-fueled delusions have led him to believe that the children aren't his and that this was the reason why Crystal refuses to marry him. He drops them from the sixth-floor of their apartment building.]]
87	* DeepSouth: Most of his films take place in Atlanta, and several jokes are made about Madea's Southern black accent ("Good mornting!" "Hallelujer!").
88	* DisproportionateRetribution: Madea loves to do this to anyone who is rude to her. Good examples are in ''Big Happy Family'' when she destroys a window of a restaurant to get her food because of the manager being rude to her. Another one is ''Goes to Jail'' when she tows and destroys a woman's car because the lady not only took her parking spot, but she was rude to Madea as well.
89	* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: One of the biggest criticisms against Perry's plays. He toned it down in the films. However, in the film version of ''Film/WhyDidIGetMarried'', a scene of Marcus choking Angela is PlayedForLaughs. The purpose of this scene is to probably negate the complaining.
90	* {{Dramedy}}: Most of his sitcoms are this.
91	%%* FamilyDisunion
92	* FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo: In ''Big Happy Family'', [[spoiler:Byron finds out that his older sister is actually his mother]].
93	* FemaleGaze: Almost all of his films have one or two {{Mr Fanservice}}s running around, with plenty a ShirtlessScene.
94	* GodIsGood: His works tend to emphasize this.
95	%%* HoldMyGlasses
96	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: In a few films, but most notably ''Goes to Jail''. That one was played by [[ContractualPurity Keshia Knight-Pulliam]], a.k.a. [[Series/TheCosbyShow Rudy Huxtable]].
97	* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: [[Series/TheSoup Tyler Perry Productions In Association With Tyler Perry Presents Tyler Perry's]] ''[[Series/TheSoup Tyler Perry]]'' [[Series/TheSoup Featuring Tyler Perry As Tyler Perry]]. {{Averted\|Trope}} in ''For Colored Girls''; while credited as the director, the publicity ''doesn't'' call it "Tyler Perry's..."
98	* {{Jerkass}}: Madea is quite possibly the biggest asshole as of late on the big screen or theatre. She has no qualms with breaking the law and harming others to get what she wants. That includes using lethal weapons, destroying property, and physically harming others.
99	* LighterAndSofter: ''Tough Love'', an animated parody of Madea, is this. It is the first and, so far, the only Madea film to receive a PG-rating and has managed to tone down Madea's actions as compared to other films, such as ''Mad Black Woman'' and ''Goes to Jail'' (the former involving chainsawing a living room because her grandchild was kicked out of her own house by her own husband and the latter involving destroying someone's cars with a forklift truck all because [[DisproportionateRetribution the driver stole her parking spot]]). Whereas, in ''Tough Love'', Madea chases after children that were causing actual problems and just happened to cause damages in the process. She's also [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold notably nicer]] than she is in the [[JerkAss other films]], even helping an old lady cross the street and try to get a bunch of unruly children to behave.
100	%%* {{Melodrama}}: Chock-full of it.
101	* MoodWhiplash: Especially prevalent in his Madea films.
102	%%* NeverMessWithGranny: Madea
103	* NeverTrustATrailer: His movies tend to be advertised as being about Madea and her wacky hijinks. In reality, she usually serves as simple comic relief in otherwise heavy dramas.
104	* OscarBait:
105	** His adaptations of ''Push'' and ''For Colored Girls...''. Succeeded the first time.
106	** Although in the case of ''Precious'' (the adaptation of ''Push''), the film had already been finished, screened, and reviewed by the time he had signed on as Executive Producer. He had no input on the actual film, but his name recognition (along with that of Creator/OprahWinfrey) allowed it to get a better theatrical distribution deal.
107	%%* PluckyComicRelief: Madea
108	* RagsToRiches: He had a rough childhood and was abused by his father, was molested as a child, and was homeless for a period of time. He now is rated by ''Forbes'' magazine as being the sixth highest paid man in Hollywood, and his movies have grossed more than $400 million worldwide.
109	* RapeAsBackstory: In most of Perry's works, there is at least one character that went through some form of sexual abuse or assault in the past. Heavily implied to be a part of his own history during his struggling days.
110	* RapeAsDrama: A consistent theme in Perry's movies is the trauma women suffer from sexual violence and how a loving relationship and faith in God can bring spiritual healing.
111	* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: Madea has this attitude.
112	* SeriesFauxnale: Perry claimed that ''Family Funeral'' would be the final Madea film, though the actual finale for the character was the subsequent play ''Madea's Farewell'', which was later televised. As it turns out, though, Madea quickly returned with ''A Madea Homecoming'', just three years after ''Family Funeral''.
113	* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Most, if not all, of the female protagonists in his movies are this.
114	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Somewhere in the middle. Perry tends to combine harsh black culture with genuine human heart and humor.
115	* SpotlightStealingTitle: Many of the movies are titled after Madea and are advertised as being about Madea, despite the fact that she is usually not the main character.
116	* StayInTheKitchen: Perry's films are not exactly progressive when it comes to women's issues. Any woman who steps out of the role of mother and homemaker or pursues a career instead of family is always punished by the narrative.
117	* TeamMom: Madea always serves as these in both the films and plays.
118	* TokenWhite: [[http://www.cracked.com/video_18212_the-5-white-characters-in-every-tyler-perry-movie.html This video]] lovingly parodies the five white characters in any given Perry film.
119	** Subverted in ''Witness Protection'', where the main character is white and his family play big roles.
120	* WriterOnBoard: A lot of these films are his biases, and things taken from his life.
121	* WolverinePublicity: [[BreakoutCharacter Madea]] initially. Over the years, Perry has begun to focus less on Madea, even if her name is still in the title.
122	* YouLookFamiliar : Tyler Perry often reuses many of the actors from his previous works in new shows, movies, and stage plays that he makes. He has said he does this because he likes to give the actors and actresses who work with him a chance to play many different diverse roles in different types of works.

Context Creator / TylerPerry