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.
Perry clearly knows what his fans like, and he gives it to them -- by the shovelful. But for those not so tuned to his talents, Madea Goes to Jail is two excruciating hours of hard time.
If the movie is a mess, it's a purposeful mess, cannily, if not artfully, pushing all the right buttons to ensure Perry will be back for another round.
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.
