A Madea Family Funeral is a 2019 African American comedy film written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry. It is the eleventh installment of the Madea cinematic universe, and stars Perry in several roles, including as the titular character, as well as Cassi Davis and Patrice Lovely. The plot follows Madea and her friends as they must set up an unexpected funeral during a family get-together in Maxine, Georgia.
The film was released in the United States on March 1, 2019. The film received generally negative reviews from critics but grossed $75.8 million worldwide. This is the last film from Tyler Perry to be released by Lionsgate, with Paramount Pictures and Netflix taking over distribution of future Perry films via his deal with ViacomCBS. Though A Madea Family Funeral was originally intended to be the final film in the series, a sequel titled A Madea Homecoming was released in 2022.
Plot
In Maxine, Georgia, A.J. (Courtney Burrell), Jesse (Rome Flynn), and Sylvia (Ciera Payton) are planning a surprise party to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of their parents Vianne (Jen Harper) and Anthony (Derek Morgan) with the assistance of A.J.'s wife, Carol (KJ Smith). Madea (Tyler Perry), Joe (Tyler Perry), Brian (Tyler Perry), Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis), and Hattie (Patrice Lovely) travel to the backwoods of Georgia for the anniversary party. Also in attendance for the anniversary party is Madea and Joe's brother Heathrow (Tyler Perry). On the way, they deal with a manic, rude police officer (Joel Rush) which they are surprised when he acts nice all of a sudden.
At last, they get to their hotel—and catch Anthony in a sex act with Renee (Quin Walters), Vianne's best friend, while A.J. is in the next room with Jesse's fiancée Gia (Aeriél Miranda). Anthony suffers a heart attack from sex with Renee, and Brian tries to resuscitate him, after which he is rushed to the hospital. Anthony's family is informed of the incident and meets up with Brian's group. As Vianne praises Brian for trying his best to resuscitate Anthony, a doctor (Selena Anduze) informs the entire group that Anthony is dead.
A.J. and Madea's group keep the exact cause of death a secret from the rest of the family. Renee and A.J. blackmail each other to keep their secrets hidden and A.J. blames Renee for his father's affair and death. But Renee responds saying "I'm not the one [to be played with]."
Vianne asks Madea to plan Anthony's funeral and says she wants to have it in two days, which makes everyone suspicious. The undertaker (Aryeh-Or) at the funeral gives Madea, Bam, and Hattie a creepy vibe as he informs them that Anthony died smiling and that the casket can't close because of Anthony's erection. At the funeral, presided over by Madea, non-family members are made to sit on one side of the room, but the area is filled with numerous mistresses from Anthony's, visibly upsetting Vianne. The service lasts for hours until the casket abruptly opens (for the aforementioned reason) causing everyone to leave in a panic.
At the repast, a drunk A.J. reveals Anthony and Renee's affair. Renee then exposes A.J.'s affair with Gia as she gets kicked out of the house. This makes a heartbroken Carol to decide to leave him. A.J. and Jesse fight and Vianne tearfully reveals that she knows that Anthony has been unfaithful for years. Despite this, she only stayed with him to protect her family, and is choosing to live for herself from now on. When A.J. scolds her for being weak, she retaliates by saying he's just a boy and spiteful to others, forcing him to own up to what his actions and what they did to those around.
In the morning, Madea gets A.J. to apologize and try reconciling with Carol. Despite forgiving A.J., Carol refuses to stay with him claiming she wants to live freely. Vianne happily wishes the family luck as she leaves for Las Vegas with Roy (Mike Tyson), revealing that she was also having an affair while noting that Roy should've been their father. Madea, Bam, Hattie, and Carol then take their leave, so that A.J., Sylvia, and Jesse can sort out their issues.