LIONSGATE FILMS

Boo!

“Boo! A Madea Halloween” is

the worst comedy of 2016, thus far.
No other movie of the genre, not
even Melissa McCarthy’s godawful
career nadir, “The
Boss,” has featured
such
a
staggering

lack of laughter, such
unlikeable
charac-

ters and such an idi-
otic story. No other
movie of any genre,
short of “Norm of the
North,” has turned
a runtime of less
than two hours into
such a cross for its viewers to bear.
Whether it’s in its comedy, horror
homages or writing, “Boo!” fails on
every level.

The nonsense begins quickly. No

sooner have the poorly animated
opening credits ended than direc-
tor/producer/writer/star/co-star
Tyler Perry (“Diary of a Mad Black
Woman”) treats us to a scene of
the bro-iest frat bros to ever bro
declaring they will have the best
Halloween party in history with
the passion that some Bond villains
have declared they will destroy
the world. This seems at first like
it’s setup for something, but as the
scene drags on it never crosses the
line into funny, and it’s immediately
clear what’s missing: a punchline.

It should be the easiest part of

a comedy; even if one of the char-
acters spouts “Your mom!” or even
farts, there’s a punchline. The joke,
even if it’s bad, has an ending. Perry

seems to think jokes work differ-
ently. Scene after endless scene
shows him apparently under the
impression that if his characters
just sit and talk for long enough,
then by the law of averages, some-
body is eventually bound to laugh.
In the absence of anything funny,

though,
nobody

laughs, and so the
film labors on.

This could have

worked if the char-
acters
themselves

were
funny,
but

for characters that
Perry
has
been

working with for,
in some cases, 25
years, they’re argu-

ably the worst part of the movie.
Brian (Perry) is a pushover who has
no personality besides being a push-
over to his daughter, Tiffany (Dia-
mond White, “The Lion Guard”),
who takes every “rebellious daugh-
ter” cliché in the book to such an
insane degree that it’s exhausting
to watch. Enter Madea (also Perry)
and co., who advocates for physical
abuse and illegal scare tactics, one
of which they eventually end up
using. Again, some of this could be
funny, but again, there’s no punch-
line. Instead, viewers are left with
several scenes of unlikable charac-
ters debating how best to deal with
an unlikable man’s unlikable daugh-
ter.

Still, the marketing promised

that “Boo!” would be a tribute to
horror, and once again, this is an
innately funny concept, taking
Perry’s most insane creation and
pitting her against other crazy

characters. It has the potential to
be great horror-comedy and a brief
but welcome departure from the
tone of the series. That potential is
completely and utterly squandered
by the 10-minute “horror” section
of the movie which amounts to the
several pranks explained away in a
later scene which includes the line
“We hacked the faucets.”

Since “Boo!” doesn’t work in

any way a movie wshould, its only
distinctly memorable parts are
the moments where it encroaches
on “So Bad It’s Good” territory.
There are not one, but two scenes
in which the characters huddle
together and say “Now here’s what
we’re gonna do…” before the cam-
era pans away and what sounds like
a public domain soundtrack swells
like a “Scooby-Doo” cartoon from
the 1960s. Multiple shots are out
of focus. In a baffling cameo, Tyga
shows up and does a show for about
20 people. It could be hilarious, but
at a certain point, the lack of effort
displayed in these moments just
becomes frustrating instead.

Eventually, mercifully, as Madea

celebrates having psychologically
tortured a teenager into compla-
cency, the credits roll. The audience
leaves, undeniably changed, for
“Boo!” works on one level: it is the
ultimate endurance test. Every
moment that the inane dialogue
doesn’t drive the viewer to insanity
is a victory. Every “joke” that goes
on for 10 minutes but doesn’t have a
punchline is a red badge of courage.
“Boo!” is genuinely flooring in just
how atrocious it is, worth the price
of admission only for those willing
to test their mettle.

Humanizing ‘The Whale’

JEREMIAH VANDERHELM

For the Daily

Basement Arts play depicts a 600-pound man facing mortality

F

“Boo! A Madea

Halloween”

Rave & Quality 16

Lionsgate Films

COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW

Unfunny Madea entry an utter mess

FILM REVIEW

6A — Monday, October 31, 2016
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

A 600-pound man sits on his

couch. He has just found out he
will likely die within the week.
This is a story about severing ties
with loved ones
and a man’s desire
to gain forgiveness
— as long as death
doesn’t catch him
first.

This
weekend,

Basement
Arts

presents
Samuel

D. Hunter’s “The
Whale,” a story of
a morbidly obese
man, Charlie, who
has spent the past few years eating
his way to death. After a warning
that his time is running out, he
works to mend his broken family
relationships and redeem himself
in his final days.

In 2012, the play first appeared

off-Broadway
by
Playwrights

Horizons at the Peter J. Sharp
Theatre. It later earned the Lucille
Lortel Award for Best Play in 2013.

“It’s about someone who is

dying, recognizes he is dying
and is fighting to redeem himself
before it happens,” said director
Madeline Rouverol, a senior in the
School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
“It’s a character whose journey is
all about self-redemption.”

The dynamic cast of “The

Whale” offers many different
types of personalities to the story.
Charlie, played by SMTD senior
Luke Jackson, wants to reconnect
with his daughter Ellie, played
by SMTD senior Kay Kelley, but
recognizes she is full of rage and
bitterness towards him. Charlie’s
fears extend beyond his initial
shock of dying and move into a
new realm as he considers how he
will be remembered if he doesn’t
fix these relationships. Ultimately,

he cannot accept dying in a
dishonorable way.

“Through this willful self-

negligence, he is eating himself to
death,” Rouverol said. “In a lot of
ways, he is not attached to being
alive anymore.”

Liz, played by SMTD senior

Emma Boyden, is
one
of
Charlie’s

best friends and
provides a lot of
support for him,
both as a nurse and
as a friend. Tensions
arise
between

Liz’s
professed

atheism and the
Mormonism
of

another character,
Elder
Thomas.

Played by SMTD sophomore Liam
Allen, Elder Thomas hopes to
guide Charlie toward a “spiritual”
saving, whereas Liz just thinks he
needs medical care.

“You end up finding out that

she (Liz) used to be a Mormon
and she left the church,” Rouverol
said. “You also find out that Elder
Thomas is questioning his own
faith, so saving Charlie is almost
a means for him to solidify his
beliefs.”

Of course, the heart of this story

is found in Charlie himself, who
in many ways isn’t your typical
protagonist.

“Charlie
is
a
fascinating

character. I don’t think I’ve ever
seen a play or film or piece of art
that humanizes a morbidly obese
person the way this play does,”
Rouverol said.

Jackson said he has spent a lot

of time thinking about how to play
such a unique and challenging
role, especially with such physical
limits. Rouverol and Jackson have
discussed the need to push past
the initial interpretation of Charlie
as the “gentle giant” and see him
as a character who is fighting for
purpose and forgiveness.

“It’s not like the only thing

this man ever did was become
obese,” Jackson said. “There is an
obligation and a responsibility to
respect when that aspect of one’s
life truly dominates both how they
live their life and how their life is
viewed through society.”

Many of the scenes in the

play are written in a simple,
conversational
way,
though

Rouverol said she wants to make
sure the simplicity of the script
does not take away from the
meaning behind each moment.

“If we didn’t remind ourselves

of the kind of ticking clock of his
life, these scenes could be seen as
casual,” Rouverol said. “I’ve been
trying to get them to keep in mind
the urgency and the stakes. He
could die in five minutes, he could
die in a day or he could die in an
hour.”

Cast members said they were

surprised by how many personal
connections they could make
with the play and their characters,
even though at first they thought
Charlie’s condition was something
they
could
easily
distance

themselves from.

“There are so many points of

connection that people can have
with this play and it’s important
for people to look at plays that look
directly at mortality,” Rouverol
said. “I think it’s something
college-aged students want to
pretend doesn’t exist, but it’s
important to look at it and consider
what really matters in the end.”

“The Whale” illuminates the

theme of finding beauty from
simplicity — quotidian details
hold much more value when
considering how short life is — and
Rouverol has directed her cast
towards discovering this truth.

“That’s what I love about the

play,” Rouverol said. “Everyday
moments are put into a bizarre
perspective when you’re looking
death in the face.”

BAILEY KADIAN

Daily Arts Writer

The Whale

Thurs. at 7 p.m.
& 11 p.m., Fri. at
8 p.m. & 11 p.m.

Walgreen Drama
Center Studio One

Free