Parents' Guide to

Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

The mighty Madea preaches, but with less fire this time.

Movie PG-13 2012 114 minutes
Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 2 parent reviews

thetruth561
thetruth561 Adult
April 18, 2020
age 11+

The Truth

The movie is very good and don't believe all the other reviews. It's a very good movie and everyone else has no sense of humor. It taught really good lessons and wasn't even that bad. Madea's lessons are timeless and always useful.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
joshua martinez
joshua martinez Adult
July 6, 2012
age 13+

13 and up.

Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection is a great comedy movie filled with lots of laughs this is a good madea movie for the whole family to enjoy and of course good for your teens and parent's there's only a few thing's that you need to look out for in this film the movie has some some crude sexual remarks used and some mild language used and some drinking and drugs used such as cigarettes and A bottle of champagne is seen the message in this movie is clear that to Be a good citizen, old or young, and the world is a much better place Also, don't take any guff and the role models are that Madea cusses and screams and sometimes resorts to corporal punishment i.e. a slap or two to get her point across, but that point is usually well-meaning She thinks children should respect their elders, adults should be responsible and capable no whining and everyone should be mindful of their contribution to this world.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In TYLER PERRY'S MADEA'S WITNESS PROTECTION, George Needleman (Eugene Levy) thought he was successful as CFO of the charity arm of Lockwise Industries, a Wall Street investment bank. But then he discovers that his firm is actually a Ponzi scheme and Mafia money laundering unit. He can either be killed by the Mob or make restitution with the help of a well-meaning district attorney (Tyler Perry). But first, George needs a place to hide while he works with the government to catch the bad guys. And what better place to disappear than at the mighty Madea's (Perry) house, where the Needleman family's big-city ways won't make the cut?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (10):

No disrespect to the (usually) formidable Madea, but she seems to be losing her touch. She has less fire in her belly; her diatribes aren't as disarming or funny. (Though fans will be glad for a few of them, especially an initial one she unleashes on a poor soul who tries to rob her in her car.) A teenage girl who's quite nasty to her parents, especially her step-mother, is upbraided in a fairly tame and passive-aggressive, roundabout way, when a full-on righteous tongue-lashing would have been more audience-pleasing. Could it be that Madea has softened with age? Or is Tyler Perry tiring of his muse? (We're not even getting into Madea's Witness Protection's weak script or the wasted potential of the New York banker-in-relocated-down-South setup.)

The beauty of Madea is that she says what she thinks, so when she doesn't, we're left unsatisfied, wondering what's holding her back. It also takes much too long to get a glimpse of the film's headliner as the Ponzi scheme storyline is explained. Levy is predictably hilarious, and watching his character and Madea reference a Whoopi Goldberg-in-Ghost moment is gold. But not much else is.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether Madea is a role model in Madea's Witness Protection, if she indulges in some rude behavior (primarily screaming and threats of bodily harm) herself. Does it matter that what she's doing is played for laughs?

  • Talk about Madea's message about the youth of today and their sense of entitlement. Is she right?

  • Parents, talk to your kids about the crime at the heart of this plot and what it might have been influenced by.

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