Arriving in theaters without a press screening, Tyler Perry’s latest might end up being the top-grossing film of this Oscar weekend (particularly with no other prominent releases to compete). Here’s what our Melissa Anderson has to say about the film: “When we last saw Tyler Perry’s signature character–the bosomy, blunt-smoking, Glock-yielding Georgia granny–she and her brother, Joe (also Perry), were being pulled over by the po-po in a cameo in last March’s Meet the Browns (this is Perry’s third film in 11 months). Wearing a fat suit and earrings for more than two minutes for the first time since Madea’s Family Reunion (2006), Perry isn’t content to operate in one genre when he can stuff in at least three. He leavens–not altogether seamlessly–his ludicrous fallen-woman melodrama (Assistant D.A. Derek Luke is determined to save crazy-wigged prostitute Keshia Knight Pulliam, a childhood friend who took a bad turn after two years in college) with Madea’s broad humor: “I’ll rip out your urethra tube!” Check off all of Perry’s motifs: vilification of the black bourgie princess, tough-love Christian messages, Academy Award-nominated actresses (Viola Davis, this time) managing to maintain their dignity. As ridiculous as his films frequently are, Perry, a shrewd yet benevolent showman, knows and loves his audience. And 2009 is a particularly resonant year for Madea, who, though she out-bullies Dr. Phil and beats a butch blonde yardbird into submission, still isn’t as tough as the grandma now living in the White House.”