Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns

Theatrical Release Date: 2008 03 21 (USA)

UPC: 031398235934

Studio: Lionsgate

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Adult Language, Drug Content]

Summary: Prolific playwright Tyler Perry adapts his popular stage play of the same name in this family-oriented comedy concerning a desperate mother who connects with the family she never knew. Brenda is a single Chicago mother of three who has been struggling for years to keep her kids off of the streets. Suddenly let go from her job with no warning to speak of, the eternally optimistic mother begins to experience a suffocating sense of hopelessness for the very first time in her life. When Brenda receives a death notice claiming that the father she has never met has passed away, she quickly gathers up the kids and sets out for Georgia to attend the funeral. Upon arriving in the Deep South, the once fretful mother is pleasantly surprised to discover that there is a whole side of the family she never knew existed. A crass but good-natured clan that welcomes Brenda and her children with open arms, the Browns' lazy summer afternoons and frequent trips to the county fair offer a much-needed contrast to the stress of surviving in inner city Chicago. Writer/director/actor Perry reprises his role as indomitable, law-breaking grandmother Madea in a comedy that proves sometimes second chances come when you least expect it. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Features: cc

Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns

Format: DVD

Release Date: 07/01/2008

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen, 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 101 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1, Side A -- Meet the Browns: Widescreen
1. Running Late [5:30]
2. Getting By [3:01]
3. Always Make It [2:38]
4. Keeping Focus [5:31]
5. What Is Going On? [5:54]
6. Friend of the Family [3:14]
7. Familiar Faces [2:58]
8. Speaking Out [4:52]
9. Family Stories [4:17]
10. Who Are You? [4:41]
11. Saying Good-bye [5:34]
12. New Options [4:33]
13. Last Will [2:27]
14. Making Progress [3:30]
15. Dirty Offer [3:48]
16. Making Choices [3:19]
17. I'm Not Going [2:43]
18. Not in You [3:09]
19. Emergency Phone Calls [2:45]
20. Gaining Strength [2:51]
21. Pitching In [3:36]
22. Signing Contracts [6:11]
23. Big Day [4:08]
24. Let Me Be That [9:42]
Disc #1, Side B -- Meet the Browns: Fullscreen
1. Running Late [5:30]
2. Getting By [3:01]
3. Always Make It [2:38]
4. Keeping Focus [5:31]
5. What Is Going On? [5:54]
6. Friend of the Family [3:14]
7. Familiar Faces [2:58]
8. Speaking Out [4:52]
9. Family Stories [4:17]
10. Who Are You? [4:41]
11. Saying Good-bye [5:34]
12. New Options [4:33]
13. Last Will [2:27]
14. Making Progress [3:30]
15. Dirty Offer [3:48]
16. Making Choices [3:19]
17. I'm Not Going [2:43]
18. Not in You [3:09]
19. Emergency Phone Calls [2:45]
20. Gaining Strength [2:51]
21. Pitching In [3:36]
22. Signing Contracts [6:11]
23. Big Day [4:08]
24. Let Me Be That [9:42]

Derek Armstrong

With Meet the Browns, Tyler Perry has made another reasonably heartfelt examination of some aspect of the modern African-American condition -- in this case, single motherhood -- while goosing it with just enough laughter so it's not too heavy. Angela Bassett, as the mother in question, brings immense value to any film in which she appears, and basketball player Rick Fox, as her love interest, proves he has nuanced enough chops to avoid being just a pretty face. Perry actually dials back some of his usual proselytizing, as God makes only a token appearance in this film. Instead, his primary agenda is to extol the virtues of family, both immediate and extended, in creating the kind of mutual support network that allows people to grow and flourish. (And if he happens to think the essence of family is found not in big-city Chicago, but in rural Georgia, well then, that's just keeping with another career-long agenda.) Despite the things Meet the Browns does right, one of its missteps can't help but seem glaring. Perry's trademark has been the incorporation of his gun-wielding grandma, Madea, into his stories, regardless of whether that makes narrative sense. Here, it's utterly senseless. For no good reason, except maybe so she can appear in the movie's trailers, Madea makes an unwelcome third-act appearance that involves a high-speed police chase, with her brother Joe (also played by Perry) riding shotgun. The scene lasts five minutes and has nothing to do with either the events that came before or the events that follow. It doesn't kill the movie, but it does make one wish Perry had just been satisfied with the comic relief he already had on hand: David Mann and Jennifer Lewis, who are each hilarious in different ways, playing the half-siblings Bassett's character never knew she had. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Michael Paseornek  Executive Producer 
Reuben Cannon  Producer 
Aaron Zigman  Composer (Music Score) 
Tyler Perry  Director 
Tyler Perry  Producer 
Tyler Perry  Screenwriter 
Angela Bassett  Actor 
Rick Fox  Actor 
Margaret Avery  Actor 
Frankie R. Faison  Actor 
Jennifer Lewis  Actor 
Lance Gross  Actor 
Sofía Vergara  Actor 
Lamman Rucker  Actor 
Tamela Mann  Actor 
David Mann  Actor 
Irma P. Hall  Actor 
Tyler Perry  Actor 
Phillip Van Lear  Actor 
LaVan Davis  Actor 
Mia Butler  Actor 
Wes Kennemore  Actor 
Mariana Tolbert  Actor 
Chloe Bailey  Actor 
Olumiji Olawumi  Actor 
Tory O. Davis  Actor 
Mark Russell Gray  Actor 
LaNisa Renee Frederick  Actor 
Jonathan Slocumb  Actor 
Robert C. Goodwin  Actor 
Allen Edge  Actor 
Keith Kupferer  Actor 
Jacqueline Williams  Actor 
Phil Ridarelli  Actor 
David Kronenwetter  Actor 
Roy McCrerey  Actor 
Shawn Shepard  Actor 
Tom Clark  Actor 
Tasia Grant  Actor 
Michael Cole  Actor 
Adrienne Reynolds  Actor 
Penny Slusher  Actor 

Country: USA