Interview with Kharisma McIlwaine
I love this time of year, the holidays! People tend to be a little nicer and smile a bit more, we get a few much needed breaks from work, there is a lot
more food to go around, and last but certainly not least we get to spend more time with our families. Personally, I have the most fun during the holidays
at family gatherings.
I can always expect laughter from the craziness that ensues when a room full of people with the same genetic composition come together under one roof for
fellowship. When I think of family gatherings, and comedy on the big screen there is only one name that comes to mind, Madea. Tyler Perry takes us on
another adventure in the world of Madea in the comedic holiday film A Madea Christmas.
A Madea Christmas starts with Madea being her normal boisterous self in full Mrs. Claus gear working in a nearby department store. Let’s just say Madea’s
opposition to authority leads to a very short employment and an exit with a bang! After Madea’s termination from the position her niece Eileen, played by
Anna Maria Horsford requests that her Aunt Madea accompany her on a road trip to Alabama.
The catalyst for the road trip is Eileen’s daughter Lacy, played by Tika Sumpter and her decision to stay on the farm instead of coming home to visit her
mother.
I always find it interesting watching a film where the audience is waiting for the poop to hit the fan. We know a few things that Eileen doesn’t. What
Eileen doesn’t know is that Lacy is now a married woman, and she is married to a man who happens to be white. For many that would be no big deal, but due
to Eileen’s past experience, interracial dating has been deemed as extremely taboo.
The drama explodes on screen as Lacy and her husband Connor, played Eric Lively, try to protect Eileen, an overbearing mother with weak heart from the
truth. The biggest of these lies is that Connor is the farm hand helping Lacy maintain her farm. The truth is that the two love birds moved back to
Connor’s family farm after college to prevent the farm from going into bankruptcy.
The tension and laughs are amplified when Connor’s eccentric parents Kim, played by Kathy Najimy, and Buddy, played by Larry the Cable Guy arrive to spend
Christmas with Connor and Lacy at the farm. The laughs start and don’t stop as we see Lacy, Connor, Kim and Buddy try to keep up the charade while Madea
fans the flames to an explosion just waiting to happen. I had the pleasure of sitting down to talk with the beautiful and talented Tika Sumpter to discuss
Lacy’s character and dilemma.
Tika expressed a great deal of enthusiasm about working on this film. “My God it’s so fun, I feel like it’s going to play every year. It’s the gift that
keeps on giving. It’s fun, it’s lighthearted, it’s about family accepting each other, and standing up for yourself. There are so many lessons in the movie,
and it’s Madea! It’s funny, and silly and it’s like let’s laugh… let’s just take our families and laugh.”
As the interview continued Tika and I shared some additional stories about family members that bring Madea to mind. Tika revealed “My mom is a version of
Madea (said with a laugh). She’s smaller, she basically looks like me you know, but she tells it like it is… she’s so funny! So yeah she’s Madea! My
friends all ask “Where is your mother we want to crack up” and I’m like Oh God no! I need to leave her home.” (said with infectious laughter)
Throughout life we see our relationships with our parents evolve as we move into adulthood. In the film we see Lacy’s struggle to be bold with a mother who
has transposed her will over her daughter for her entire life. Tika gave me some insight on Lacy’s struggle for assertiveness and her apprehension to
telling her mother the truth. “I think when you know somebody so well and you know their struggle, you feel like you’re trying to protect them but you’re
really not… you’re hurting them really.
But I think she (Lacy) knew her mother and she knew the story that her mother told her, so it was even harder!
And he’s a white dude and she (Eileen) was expecting me to marry a black dude my whole life! Then you’re in a town, a very small town where you get these
looks sometimes, and you’re uncomfortable there. So she’s still trying to be comfortable in her own skin in a town that she’s not from while still trying
to love.” Eventually Lacy and her husband Connor find a way to maintain their kindness without allowing others to take advantage of them, which is a
delicate balance.
Being young, beautiful and talented with undeniable poise and presence are wonderful gifts to have, but Tika can also add working with two of the biggest
industry pioneers in the world to that list, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. Tika shared what it was like working with Tyler Perry in A Madea Christmas.
“Madea Christmas was the first time we worked together.
It was before I actually took the job for “The Haves and The Have Nots.” You just want to strive. You feel like you can do a lot in this world, career wise
you definitely feel like the sky is the limit and you feel like you want to create. Whether you like it or not he creates his own paths and he’s successful
at it. You can’t deny that, numbers don’t lie! I’m just excited to be on board and that I’m working with him and he’s apart of my life. He’s my friend
now.”
Tika went on to share how difficult it was to stay in character on set. “When the camera wasn’t on me I felt so bad for the people the camera was on
because I was like (She slapped the table and held her stomach while laughing) and I was trying to be there for them. I was such a bad actor at that moment
because I wasn’t there for them I was laughing! But it was hilarious; Kathy, Jimmy, Larry The Cable Guy and then Tyler… come on now! That was probably
one of the most joyful sets I’ve ever been on!”
We finished the interview with Tika sharing her hopes for what people will take with them from the film. “I really just want people to have a good time!
It’s a fun lighthearted movie. I just want people to laugh. And really I want them to take away accepting people for exactly who they are.”
In addition to the laughs and all star cast we get a big dose of some pertinent life issues. The film addresses the notion of people being interested in
taking religion out of the holidays, interracial dating, fighting stereotypes across the board, balancing life and desires when those desires may upset
loved ones, accepting our loved ones without contingencies, and the importance of character vs. appearance.
The film is a combination of chemistry, family, laughs, love, and brilliantly inappropriate one-liners. I thoroughly enjoyed A Madea Christmas and would
encourage everyone to take their families to partake in the festive fun! A Madea Christmas is in theaters nationwide this Friday, December 13th.
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