MovieChat Forums > Madea's Witness Protection (2012) Discussion > Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence but not Ty...

Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence but not Tyler Perry

posted 13 years ago by nelliewilson
9 replies | jump to latest

Obviously, Tyler Perry tends to rehash the same ideas and concepts of other movie either because he thinks he can do it better or he knows he simply make a profit. He seems to be the laughing stock in the industry which doesn't matter to some, especially himself because he laughs all the way to the bank and he probably enjoys making the movies.

My issue is that he doesn't do it any better than Martin Lawrence or Eddie Murphy. Both of these guys make some really great films. They are known to make some flops as well but it doesn't compare to how bad some of Tyler Perry's movies have been.

Give me more Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence and less Tyler Perry, please.

" The rug really tied the room together, did it not? "

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] nelliewilson 13 years ago

Stand up comedians. You're right. That's the big difference. Eddie Murphy still puts out some funny movies though. Recently he did A Thousand Words which looked horrible in the previews but actually is a decent comedy that still had some good jokes in it and made me laugh. Martin Lawrence on the other hand has been laying low but he did do Wild Hogs not too long ago. Not a great movie, by the way. He was funny in Bad Boys 1 and 2. 3 is coming out next year. And his show was hilarious for a little while.

TP cashing in on the simple minded tv addicted folks seems apparent but I give him credit for being successful at that but not at making good movies. The entire reason he has an audience is because of the dumbing down of America that has been going on for so many years now.

" The rug really tied the room together, did it not? "

[–] venusebony 13 years ago

I think the OP has a point people are being really hypocritical here. Tyler Perry dressed in drag just like Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence.

[–] nicci212000 13 years ago

Nellie-
I don't think that Tyler Perry does Madea b/c he thinks he can do it better than others or b/c he knows he will cash in. I saw TP on Oprah last fall where he discussed Madea. Apparently he has a a really outlandish gun toting Aunt. She will fight and even cut people under the right circumstances to protect her family. She is extremely outspoken, curses alot, and is old school. On top of all this she is also very religious. TP was abused by a few people as a child, and his own father physically abused/terrorized him. His aunt was his only protector since his Mom was being abused by his father as well. The Aunt was in the audience, and when Oprah asked her a few questions about her behavior she did not deny a thing.

TP adores his Aunt. She is who Madea is modeled after. He finds is Aunt highly entertaining, and has tons of stories about her. There was one story where the Aunt pulled a gun on TP's father for beating the Mother (her sister). TP introduced the character in his plays b/c he thinks she is hilarious. The audience responded and the rest is history. The character is dear to him, and he likes portraying her. It's just the entertainer in him. So it's not about dressing in "drag" or any of the other stuff that his critics have made it out to be. Alot of his fans love the character, and the money/profit is just the extra on top.

[–] nelliewilson 13 years ago

The character is based on his Aunt? Ok. I still don't see why he chose to dress in drag for the role. I'm sure Queen Latifah could do the role quite well. He knew people liked it when Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence did it so he followed suit.

Is the movie unoriginal? I say yes.

" The rug really tied the room together, did it not? "

[–] nicci212000 13 years ago

But, Madea is HIS character. The character is personal to him. Why would he want QL to portray Madea? And besides that, you do realize that Madea was created when he was a complete nobody right? He was on the theater circuit playing Madea and other characters. He had no idea that people would respond the way they did to the Madea character, and that it would be so successful. His earlier material was vey low budget, and he didn't have contacts. QL and other celebs wouldn't have given him the time of day. Hollywood didn't either. He has talked about this. He talked about how he couldn't break through, but then the Madea character/money from the plays allowed him financial freedom to break into film on his own by distributing his own movies. He did it all on his own. So if Madea took him all the way to the top, why would he adandon the character. It was not about copying Eddie or Martin. How else could he play his Aunt/Madea if he didn't dress as her? He was portraying a woman.

Look I'm not saying that Madea is an original idea. I'm just telling you that how he came to portray her and his reasons for portraying her are original. I'm also not saying that everything that TP does is good. I was just giving some background on him that some people may not know.

One more thing. TP is not a joke in Hollywood. In fact, he is a major player. Just ask any Casting Director, Producer, unknown or well known auditioning actor in Los Angeles or Atlanta. TP has his critics, but money and proven success talks and BS walks.

[–] nelliewilson 13 years ago

Like I said before, making money is success for some and making good movies is success to others. I think we can agree how TP views success.

Madea might be his character, but you do realize the inspiration of the character comes from a woman and not a man in drag? Just because he wrote the character doesn't mean he has to be that character.

" The rug really tied the room together, did it not? "

[–] nicci212000 13 years ago

Well of course I know the inspiration comes from a woman. I was the one that took the time to explain where the inspiration came from. I'm now just trying to explain to you that the ball was already rolling. The character was already established and had a faithful following audience for several years before the mainstream audience knew who Madea or TP was. It wouldn't make sense to suddenly have QL play Madea. Unless you're saying that he should have never played the character in the first place. In theater men playing women characters, young women playing grandma's, and blacks portraying whites etc is extremely common. It's the life of a theater actor. I don't see the harm in it. Also, good movies are subjective to the person. TP and his fans believe his films are good.

I also want to let you know that I am NOT a TP fan that is trying to defend him at all cost. I haven't seen a lot of his movies because the premise of most of them does not interest me.

[–] 13 years ago

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