Critic's Grade: C-

Frank's film tip: Do you want to read a diary of a less-than-enthusiastic black movie reviewer in reference to Tyler Perry's uneven Christian crisis comedy DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN?

Tyler Perry made his artistic mark by parlaying a series of stage plays detailing the chaotic accounts of a handgun-happy, pot-smoking glib grandmother. Now, writer-producer-comic actor Perry takes his celebrated theater gig and transforms his outlandish routine into a lowbrow urban comedy with simplistic satirical leanings. In Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Perry's ubiquitous presence is all over this disjointed gag session that tries to spin its moralistic fiber about a wounded woman erratically trying to find her spiritual way. From parading around in drag as an acid-tongued senior citizen (read: Big Momma's House) to having his name scattered throughout the film's credits, Perry strains to propel this ethnic romp beyond its tiring penchant for flatulence and hormonal old coots.

Diary has its riotous moments as it mixes its inherent Christian values with that of its grounded transgressions. First time filmmaker Darren Grant's scattershot direction and Perry's shoddy script could have been tightened up a bit. Grant's broad narrative never quite reaches the subversive tone it's aiming for so awkwardly. Instead, Diary is reduced to a meager sitcom-style premise and never realizes its potential for outlining the wry conception of faith and frustration. This film is arbitrarily rooted in a one-dimensional hedonistic haze that struggles with its offbeat conviction.

Helen McCarter (Kimberly Elise) is the wife of prosperous Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney Charles McCarter (Steve Harris). Soon, a clueless Helen discovers the harsh reality of her husband's chronic philandering. Devoted to his mistress and their two sons, Steve hastily banishes Helen from their swank mansion therefore allowing her to fend for herself. As Charles starts the divorce proceedings, Helen is left with nothing to show for financially. Thus, she must return to her oddball family in the shabby neighborhood she gleefully left behind and start from scratch. Helen, despite her marital setback, must rely on her ethical stance nevertheless. Can Helen overcome her inherited turmoil or will her madness overtake her rationale?

As Helen settles into her conflicted mode, she's saddled with sordid relatives and other peculiar personalities. There's flamboyant granny Madea (Perry), her brother Joe (also played by Perry), and an envious crack-smoking cousin (Tamara Taylor). Plus, there is Helen's nursing home bound mother (Cicely Tyson) who seems more sensible than the rest of the kooky clan. Actually, things start to look positive when Helen encounters a sensitive blue-collar guy in handsome Orlando (Shemar Moore). He's the ideal man that was meant for Helen. Should she pursue him or let her Christian beliefs dictate her healing the fragile marriage with cheating Steve? Will Helen ever convincingly regain her dignity as a capable black woman worthy of finding a meaningful existence?

Much is thrown into Diary of a Mad Woman with the flimsy afterthought of a tossed salad. Helen's diary entries are heard and performed throughout the movie yet we never experience much insight into her strife-ridden persona. With the occasional voiceover accompanied by a contrived set of goofy circumstances that finds self-righteous Helen getting even with her two-timing disabled-stricken hubby, Diary cobbles together a conglomeration of cliched notions about the instability of black male/female relationships.

The film never really explores the caustic edginess of its philosophical and psychological entanglements pertaining to feminine empowerment. And Elise's Helen McCarter fails to live up to the film's pronounced title. Sadly, her manipulative trivial tactics pertaining to an injured roguish spouse feels too gimmicky to be believable in its spiritual awakening. The sluggish slapstick is methodically based on tedious stereotypical caricatures and the film's injected cynicism hardly registers at all.

Overall, Perry's on-stage antics may have been entertainingly infectious for those who cherished his irreverent theatrical plays. But as a misguided motion picture, the gospel according to Diary of a Mad Black Woman loses its charismatic muster despite its soul-searching message.

Frank rates this film: ** stars (out of 4 stars)

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