Maxine's Baby: The Tyler Perry Story

I never knew Tayler's journey and it was so moving to hear it. Going from such struggle in New Orleans growing up to owning his very own studio.

It's always incredible to see the journey of ordinary people who go on to achieve such great things.

I will almost certainly watch this again and with friends. His love for his mother reminds me of mine and the name of the show is just perfect.

Don't usually write reviews for shows/ movies but this one I had to. This has made my Sunday and I would encourage everyone to go and watch it .

I hope to one day visit the studio in Atlanta to see physically the great things that can be achieved.

A current documentary airing on Amazon Prime regarding our favorite Madea performer, one Tyler Perry. Tracing his hard scrabble roots in New Orleans where he was in an abusive home (getting beaten by his father on the regular) but after finding a calling somewhat in the church where he could exercise his comedic muscles much to the chagrin of his pastor, he then wrote a stage play where he used his own money to stage it to widespread ignorance since practically no one showed up to see it. W/this outcome, Perry still maintained to push forward but not until he decided to put the show on in Atlanta did he finally gain traction w/the people which would become his bread & butter; a large black audience who would occasionally go to mainstream theatrical productions but found in Perry's a safe space for the type of characters they were more familiar & comfortable with. From this success, he decided to mount the same play but now as a film w/him playing his signature character, Madea, which struck a chord w/the viewing public creating a financial windfall for the production which Perry would replicate w/many of his subsequent releases. With the money coming in, Perry decided to flex his finances & build studios in vacant buildings finding it was not enough so setting his sights on an abandoned army base, the die was cast w/Perry buying the property thereby opening up the first black owned film studio complex (even naming some of the buildings after some current & past luminaries like Halle Berry, Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, Sidney Poitier, Oprah Winfrey, et al). Not shying away from the criticism that's dogged his career of his creations pandering to the lowest common denominator (something I myself have said when asked), Perry has embraced what his critics call his shortcomings & used them as strengths. A good doc to be sure but still feeling a bit like it was made inhouse where the Kool-aid was not only served but drank on repeat.

"Maxine's Baby: The Tyler Perry Story" is a great "rags to riches" success story, but only a cursory analysis of Perry's body of work. Co-directed by. Gelila Bekele, Perry's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child, the film rarely scratches below the surface of his life and career. People who are familiar with Tyler Perry probably already know about his difficult childhood and how he clawed his way into an industry that didn't really want him. Throughout the film, there are ample self-congratulatory comments by either Perry or his supporters that present opinions as fact and therefore not worthy of discussion. For example, the fact that several of his films opened at number one at the box office is synonymous with quality and/or commercial success, when in fact that is not always the case. Many films that open at number one are both critical and commercial failures, while films that never hit number one can often be huge successes. The little time spent on Perry's critics is limited to familiar soundbites that largely dismiss them as either elites, "haters" or "dream killers." At the same time, Perry's criticism of others is given a forum where his opinions are presented as fact with no interest in presenting an opposing point of view. In short, "Maxine's Baby," will probably appeal to his fans and maybe a few others that appreciate his business sense, but does little win over the unconverted.

Baby first of all let me say I don't play bout my Uncle Tyla. Second, I loved the documentary. I truly did. I just finished watching it for the second time. I've seen the critical reviews and I kind of agree with their points about the biopic not going into too much depth. With that being said, oh well! Tyler Perry aint gotta go into depth, he don't owe us that. Today's climate makes people feel entitled to an explanation on people's lives. If someone close to someone dies, social media demands a long drawn out post and obvious sadness to validate that person's grief. I did find out a few things I didn't know. I remember him loosely describing the inspiration behind the Madea character but this story gave me a full understanding of how that character came about. It culminated beautifully to explain exactly where his pain came from and exactly how and why he manifested it the way he did. Of all that Tyler Perry has gave in inspiration, a voice to our community, opportunity, film making, a platform, his studio, to name a few. He don't owe us a thing else. He's well deserving of everything great that has come his way and everything that's left to come. I've not seen every show but I've always loved and respected him for doing them because I understood his vision and, like him, could see the bigger picture. This documentary, like a lot of his other work may not be to everyone's satisfaction or expectations but his fans will continue to support him and I don't think he mad at that. I liked it so much I made this account to write a review. Don't play with my uncle tyla! :)

Maxine's Baby: The Tyler Perry Story is a beautiful movie. This documentary is so inspiring with lessons on the importance of forgiveness, faith and perseverance. And I learned so much about Tyler Perry!

The movie reveals the childhood trauma that Tyler Perry went through and shows how he became the most successful African American filmmaker we all know. It's also a tribute to his late mother, Maxine, hence the title of the movie.

According to co-directors Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz, this movie took ten years to make. I had no idea what Tyler went through as a child because he had a pretty private life, so it was incredible to learn more about him and see how strong he is. We already know about his success, but in this documentary, we get to see all the challenges he faced. It highlights many aspects of his life like his faith, his abusive father, his previous studios, the start of his famous character Madea and the impact he had on the movie industry. Something else that is interesting that I learned about from this film is that Tyler Perry's newest studio is on an old confederate army base in Atlanta, which really makes this movie come full circle. The beauty of this rich documentary is that it provides so many different points of views from so many different people and perspectives. We hear from his supporters, his haters, his family, and his friends, such as Oprah Winfrey, Ozzie Areu, Gayle King and Ari Emanuel. In addition to hearing from all of these people, the movie also uncovers never-before-seen videos of Maxine Perry, Tyler's mom, which is really special since she has passed away and she's the movie's namesake.

The film's message is all about forgiveness. Even after all the abuse, Tyler was able to forgive and move on from his trauma, which really allowed him to grow. Be aware that this movie deals with abuse, has a few graphic images and also some profanity.

I give Maxine's Baby: The Tyler Perry Story 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. It releases on Prime Video on November 17, 2023. By Katherine S., KIDS FIRST!