Sure, everybody knows who Tyler Perry is NOW, but can I bring you back to a time when he was just starting to get mainstream recognition? The year was 2005, and I was a Junior in college. Back then, I was watching movies like Sin City (which is still one of the best comic book movies ever made), V for Vendetta, and Batman Begins. And honestly, I really didn’t have much interest in anything outside of the realm of comic book flicks. But then, who should I be introduced to but a tall Black man wearing a dress? Yep, you know who it is. This is my introduction to the hilarious Madea movies. (Image credit: Lions Gate Films)First, My Late Mother Said She Wanted All Of Us To See Diary Of A Mad Black Woman My late mother, bless her soul, never picked movies for us to watch. That said, she had a collection of DVDs as far as the eye could see. I likely acquired my love of movies from her (especially black and white movies, to which she was a massive fan).On one particular day, my mom called my name from downstairs (“Riicccchaard!”) and when I came to the banister, she told me to get dressed because she wanted to take us all to the movies. I definitely tilted my head to the side, because that wasn’t like Mom. So, I asked her what she wanted to see, and she said, “This new movie called Diary of a Mad Black Woman. And call your girlfriend. I want her to see it, too.”Now, my girlfriend at the time is now my wife. She’s also Filipino (we have two lovely mixed-race children together). I definitely didn’t think she would want to see a movie titled Diary of a Mad Black Woman. In fact, I didn’t know if I wanted to see a movie titled Diary of a Mad Black Woman. How wrong I was, though, on both fronts. (Image credit: Lions Gate Films)My Wife Was Surprised I Had Never Even Heard Of Madea, As She HadWhen I called my wife, I asked if she was free because my mom wanted to take us all to see a movie, but I didn’t tell her what it was at first. I merely asked if she was available. She said she was, and then asked, “What does your mom want to see?”I chuckled and said, “You might not want to come when I tell you. It’s called Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” and my wife said, “Oh, yeah. I really want to see that. Madea looks really funny.” Now, the first thing I said was, “Wait, you’ve heard of it?” And the second thing I said was, “Madea, as in like, Jason and Medea? The Greek tragedy?”To which my wife said, “What? No. Madea. You know. The Black guy who wears a dress.” My mind immediately leapt to Big Momma’s House, and when I asked if that’s what she meant, she said, “No. You know. The guy who did all those plays.” Now, you have to remember. Smartphones were around back then, but this was back when people didn’t immediately just grab for their phones to look something up. So, I just shrugged, asked my mom what time the movie was, and then told my wife. She said she’d meet us there. (Image credit: Lions Gate Films)When I Saw It, I Was Blown Away By How Funny It Was, And I've Been A Big Fan Ever SinceLong story short, Diary of a Mad Black Woman was hilarious. The film was a little preachy (Something I would become familiar with when watching Perry’s work), but the story and characters themselves were so funny that I instantly became a fan. My wife said she knew about Tyler Perry from her coworkers, as many of them were Black and had seen his plays. Consequently, later that year, my mom bought several of his plays on DVD, and I watched every one of them. Nowadays, when I think back, Perry was like the “Ernest of the 2000s,” but he’s also so much more than Madea. I look back fondly upon those days, because I got to hear my mom laugh. That said, I also look forward to the future, because Tyler Perry’s still around, and he’s still making great content for the fans.