Diary of a Mad Black Woman

"Time heals the heart. Faith heals the rest."

2005 1h 57m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🥫

15%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.7

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 246🥫15%Rotten Tomatoes●36Metacritic★5.7IMDB · 16,869

DramaRomanceComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Charles, an attorney, and Helen, his devoted wife, seem to have everything – money, a beautiful mansion – the American Dream. However, as Helen prepares to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary, her life takes an unexpected twist when she comes home to find her clothes packed up in a U-Haul van parked in the driveway. Charles is divorcing her and kicks her out. Helen moves in with her grandmother Madea, an old woman who doesn't take any lip from anyone. Madea helps Helen through these tough times by showing her what is really important in life. Helen is forced to rediscover love, life, and religion in her pursuit for happiness.

“Time heals the heart. Faith heals the rest.”

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Cast

Kimberly Elise
Helen McCarter
Steve Harris
Charles McCarter
Tyler Perry
Madea / Brian / Joe
Shemar Moore
Orlando
Lisa Marcos
Brenda
Tamara Taylor
Debrah
Cicely Tyson
Myrtle
Terrell Carter
Reverend Carter

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Darren Grant
Writers: Tyler Perry
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 9.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Madea Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

221+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Darren Grant, shot by David Claessen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Elvin Ross. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Terilyn A. Shropshire shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kimberly Elise and Steve Harris and Tyler Perry carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Darren Grant directs. David Claessen behind the camera. Elvin Ross scores. Terilyn A. Shropshire cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 9.2× over at the box office.
2Released 21 years ago.
3Part of the "Madea Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4221+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Darren Grant, shot by David Claessen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Elvin Ross. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Terilyn A. Shropshire shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Kimberly Elise and Steve Harris and Tyler Perry carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Time heals the heart. Faith heals the rest.".
10IMDB entry: tt0422093 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 32 themes, including "new love", "faith", "forgiveness", "crooked lawyer".

The technical file

Cinematography: David Claessen
Original score: Elvin Ross
Editing: Terilyn A. Shropshire
Production design: Ina Mayhew
Costume design: Keith G. Lewis
Makeup / hair: Matiki Anoff
VFX supervisor: Mark Dornfeld
Sound: Jonathan Wales
Stunt coordinator: Gerard 'Gus' Williams
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,500,000
Box office: $50,652,203
Return: 921% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 15% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 36/100
IMDB rating: 5.7/10 · 16,869 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

13 wins & 13 nominations total

Part of

Madea Collection

Mabel "Madea" Simmons is a character created and portrayed by Tyler Perry. The character is a tough elderly black woman. Madea has appeared in several plays directed by, written by, and starring Tyler Perry, later appearing in films based on those plays.

Also by

Darren Grant

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Andre Gonzales2023-05-13
★ 8/10
This was the first Tyler Perry movie I ever seen. Madea cracked me up so much that I had to watch all of his movies. This a pretty messed up movie. I guess don't piss off a black woman or she will make you pay.

Production companies