Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming channels Beyoncé in the mid-credits scene. Perry brings his iconic matriarch character Madea out of retirement in his second feature film with Netflix. It’s also the 12th film to feature Madea and her surrounding cast of stock characters like Mr. Brown and her daughter Cora, played by real-life married couple David and Tamela Mann. A Madea Homecoming is based on Perry’s 2019 stage play A Madea Farewell, which was originally slated to be his final time playing the character that made him famous. Now, Perry has brought back the beloved grandmother figure, citing his audience’s need for laughter following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Madea’s big return introduces her great-grandson Tim (Brandon Black), who is graduating from college. The family is getting together to celebrate Tim, who shows up with his roommate Davi (Isha Blaaker), a student from Ireland. Davi also happens to be the great-nephew of Agnes Brown (Brendan O’Carroll), a character from the Irish sitcom Mrs. Brown’s Boys who, like Madea, is a matriarch played by a male comedian. Like most films in the Madea franchise, the story follows a troubled member of Madea’s family, usually a granddaughter or niece, who is struggling in some way but finds love in an unlikely place. In this case, her granddaughter Laura (Gabrielle Dennis), who was a teen mother, falls in love with her son Tim’s roommate Davi, who is 12 years her junior.
Because the movie is centered around a college graduation, homecoming is a big theme, which is where the Beyoncé reference comes in. At “Historically Black Colleges and Universities”, known as HBCUs, homecoming is a big deal for students and alumni and can be a week-long celebration with parties, concerts, and events leading up to the big game. During the credits of A Madea Homecoming, Perry highlights the importance of the HBCU homecoming by parodying another tribute to these events: Beyoncé’s Homecoming. In a dream sequence at the end of the film, Madea imagines herself as Beyonce, singing and dancing to a screaming crowd of festivalgoers. The most obvious reference that Perry is making is the shared title of both films, but Perry’s Madea also directly copies many of the moments from Beyoncé’s concert film.
Beyoncé’s Homecoming is a concert film that features her 2018 Coachella performance as well as behind-the-scenes moments with the pop icon. Beychella, as it came to be known, was a huge moment for Queen Bey and became a pop culture phenomenon in the summer of 2019, after the Homecoming film debuted on Netflix. Beyoncé herself fashioned her performance after an HBCU halftime show, featuring a full marching band and steppers to back her up. Perry recreated everything from the Beychella set, even dressing Madea in a Greek letter hoodie and denim shorts, similar to the costumes Beyoncé wore on stage in Homecoming.
Those hoodies are themselves a reference to similar paraphernalia worn by the brothers and sisters of the 9 Black Greek Letter Organizations, known as the “Divine 9”. These sororities and fraternities are a huge part of African American college culture. Perry’s version of the outfit features an “M” for Madea on the front of the hoodie, similar to the design on the front of Beyoncé’s. Perry also performs a similar setlist to the one from Beychella, including a Madea cover of Beyoncé’s hit song “Drunk in Love”. The entire “Machella” performance was approved by Beyoncé, and according to Perry, the pop icon found the parody hilarious.
A Madea Homecoming was the perfect place to send up Beyoncé’s Coachella performance because of the HBCU homecoming themes that both share. The “Machella” scenes are a way for Tyler Perry to pay homage to Beyoncé, referencing the shared names of their Netflix specials. Perry’s “Machella” is a fun stinger for Madea’s return to the screen.
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