Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

Unfortunately the movie isn't about Madea going to jail at all. That would have been a funny movie.

As ridiculous as his films frequently are, Perry, a shrewd yet benevolent showman, knows and loves his audience.

The women's prison dramedy I wanted never really happens.

Perry's playing-to-the-cheap-seats drag shenanigans hijack a morose street melodrama every 15 minutes and haul it into places even Flavor Flav fears to tread.

Adapting his own play, Perry has pared the plot way back while giving his law-breaking matriarch more room to run free.

Continues Perry's improvement as a filmmaker and will undoubtedly please his growing legion of fans.

Until Perry decides one way or another what tone he is going to approach with his projects, the results will continue to be frustrating.

A half-silly/half-moralistic story about how it is never too late to turn things around, "Madea Goes to Jail" is as wispy as whipped cream, but also as easy to consume.

A tedious melodrama stuck on top of shrill comedy, and the two parts are both the worse off for the combination.