Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Destination Wedding (2025)

Of all the adventures and misadventures that Madea has experienced – think Madea goes to Jail (2009), A Madea Christmas (2013), A Madea Family Funeral (2019), and Tyler Perry’s a Madea Homecoming (2022) – the latest theme seems perfectly suitable for some Madea-sized antics. Madea’s (played by a padded, cross-dressed, and aged Tyler Perry) special brand of loud, uncouth wisdom seems like a natural foil for comedy overseas. So, Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Destination Wedding (2025) is ripe for family-filled scenarios that are disastrous or disaster adjacent.

At the heart of the film is the wedding of Madea’s grandniece Tiffany (the radiant Diamond White, formerly of the daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful) who is engaged to a handsome yet overly confident, dismissive, and arrogant young man named Zavier (Xavier Smalls) who greets his male elders, whether Tiffany’s father Brian (also played to Perry) or her elder relatives with “niggas”. Come again?

Along for the plane ride (in economy) to the luxury resort in the Bahamas, is Mr. Brown (David Mann), Cora (Tamela J. Mann), Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis), and of course Madea and her foul-mouthed and crass brother Joe, grandfather of the bride (also played by a padded and aged Perry).

The scenic Atlantis Paradise Island Resort is the setting for a special type of tropical Madea family mayhem. During a water slide scene after Mr. Brown and Tiffany’s little brother BJ (Jermaine Harris) have argued about taking the steep plunge, they encounter Madea, Cora, and Aunt Bam at the bottom. When Brown encourages Madea to try the slide next, saying she’s gonna win a prize, she quips “What? A trip to heaven?,” before adding hilariously, “I ain’t been through a tube that little since I was born.”

Meanwhile, the underhanded Joe is off gambling in the casino on his son’s dime, unbeknownst to Brian who is preoccupied by his loss of influence over his children. You see Brian found out about his daughter’s fiancé mere weeks before the wedding and does not want to look cheap in comparison to his conniving ex-wife and her wealthy husband. So, as one does to save face, a humiliated Brian reluctantly charges multiple rooms at the luxury Bahamian resort on his debit card, not comprehending that the hotel staff is advising his relatives that they can charge all kinds of crazy things to their rooms (meaning to Brian). So, while financial ruin may be coming for Brian, another disappointment seems just as likely.

You see, his daughter, the bride has given up all her responsibilities and choices to her mother Debrah (Taja V. Simpson) from not inviting her friends to the wedding to letting Debrah choose her wedding dress. Sadly, and suspiciously, it’s Debrah who seems to want the wedding much more than Tiffany.

A keen-eyed Madea has of course been suspicious from the jump wondering, aloud of course, if Tiffany is motivated by an unexpected pregnancy and reassuring her, that if she is, that it’s not a reason to rush into a marriage. So, it’s Madea to the rescue when, in the casino with Aunt Bam, she overhears Tiffany’s stepfather Dennis (Brandon Sutton) on the phone confirming that the divorce is going through and that he intends to set up the children (meaning Tiffany and BJ) with one million dollars each when they go to college or get married. Ding, ding, ding!  Madea now understands why Debrah has taken the reins of her daughter’s seemingly ill-fated wedding, money!

So, when Brian happens upon Zavier in an argument with the beautiful Kaja (Walnette Carrington) outside of the disco where his bachelor party is taking place, he believes he is witnessing a lovers’ quarrel. But what he comes to find out is that he was witnessing a mother’s plea to be a part of her son’s wedding, a son whom she has repeatedly failed, in much the same way as Debrah and Tiffany.

But will Brian’s heart-to-heart with Zavier push him to drop his macho veneer and speak from the heart about his love for Tiffany? It’s clear that’s what Brian needs to feel comfortable entrusting his daughter’s future to a man who, up until now, has been invested in portraying more thug-life than future husband vibes.

With the versatile Perry playing three roles, and a scenario brimming with comedic promise, Madea’s Destination Wedding held a lot of potential. However, too many scenes feel carelessly unscripted and rambling without giving Madea and the other characters, enough structure to shine. Unfortunately, then, the film feels lazy in too many places. However, if you are looking for a joyful distraction and a humorous escape with memorable characters, colourful wardrobe, and breathtaking settings, this comedy may be right up your alley.