How old is Tyler Perry’s spitfire matron Madea? Her age isn’t specified (I’d say she’s in her mid-70s), but whatever it is she’s that many years young. She has a sneaky-dog irascibility that won’t quit. And Tyler Perry can’t quit her. He had hinted that “A Madea Family Funeral,” in 2019, might be the last Madea outing. But the pandemic changed his mind. I say that with or without it, Perry would have returned to Madea, because she’s more than his greatest hit — she’s his unleashed id, the character he’s addicted to playing because she expresses so many of his angels and demons.
Of course, she’s also an eternal crowd-pleaser. The first Tyler Perry movie, “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” (which included an appearance by Madea), was released 17 years ago today. At the time, he’d already been doing Madea onstage for years. But Madea, as a character,…
