Madea's Witness Protection

In the latest installment in Tyler Perry's highly successful Madea comedy franchise featuring Perry as elderly matriarch Madea Simmons, Madea's federal prosecutor nephew needs a place to hide hapless George Needleman (Eugene Levy), a Wall Street CFO who didn't realize that his investment firm was running a mob-backed Ponzi scheme that has been laundering money and cheating charities for years, leaving George marked for death by a crime syndicate. So George, his yoga-loving second wife (Denise Richards), sullen teenage daughter (Danielle Campbell), hefty son (Devan Leos), and semi-senile mother (Doris Roberts) move into Madea's Atlanta home. Explaining their sudden presence to a neighbor, Madea identifies them as cousins who lost all skin pigmentation overnight. The plot later introduces Jake (Romeo Miller), a pastor's son who lost his church's $114,000 mortgage fund after investing in George's firm but is unable to break the bad news to his father (John Amos). Versatile New Orleans native Perry not only plays many parts, but also writes, directs, and produces. Filled with throwaway gags (you can even glimpse Richards' ex-husband Charlie Sheen trying to grope Madea during the blooper credits), this is hit-and-miss slapdash comedy that too often feels forced. Optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include "Tyler Perry: Multi Hats & Costumes" on the director (6 min.), "Madea's Comedy Icons" with costars John Amos, Marla Gibbs, Doris Roberts, and Eugene Levy (6 min.), "The Needlemans" character featurette (5 min.), "Madea's Fun House" outtakes (4 min.), "Thank Yur, Hellur: Impersonating Madea" costar impressions (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus digital and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a so-so film.] (S. Granger)