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

