Tyler Perry aims for laughs and joys with 'Madea'

Tyler Perry wears many hats — producer, actor, director, screenwriter — but he might be best known for the wig he wears as Mabel "Madea" Simmons, who has been to jail, taken over Christmas and delighted audiences as the voice of reason and recklessness in films and plays since 1999.

Now, she's taking on Halloween in "Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween."

With this latest film in his franchise, Perry has one request: "Everybody take a breath and just laugh," he said.

"So much is going on in this country, we just need to laugh."

The movie finds Madea watching over her nephew Brian's teenage daughter, Tiffany, on Halloween, which Tiffany intends to celebrate at a frat party. In addition to demented clowns and zombies, we get a scene in which Madea dances to rapper Tyga's 2012 hit "Rack City," despite trying to fight the urge. (Tyga appears as himself.)

Perry attended a preview screening of the movie. He kept a low profile, sitting off to the side, watching the crowd take it all in.

"I've seen it a million times, but this was my second time seeing it with an audience," he said.

He said Madea connects with people because she's relatable.

"People have this grandmother in their lives," he said. "She told the truth, she wasn't politically correct, she said what was on her mind, and people just loved her."

There's no question she's been marketable, too. "Madea Goes to Jail," Perry's biggest hit, raked in more than $90 million at the box office. "Madea's Witness Protection" and "Madea's Family Reunion" brought in about $65 million apiece.

But critics have long contended that she and characters of her ilk perpetuate damaging caricatures of black people — the "coonery and buffoonery" that Spike Lee memorably called out Perry for in 2009. (They've since made peace.)

"What critics were saying," Perry said, "was that there's a section of our culture today that does not deserve to have their story told."

"Here's the thing you have to understand: I have a goal," he said. "My goal was own enough product — own all of your stuff, build a brand — and be able to effectively change that."

As a retrospective in Forbes magazine last year noted, marquee stars like Idris Elba, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson and countless others "have all put in time in the Tyler Perry universe."

"One-fourth of all diversity in Hollywood is attributed to me," Perry said.

Perry knows that some critics say he should also diversify his storytelling, but he's fine with it as is. He said he was proud to be part of a broader balance that now includes programming like Ava DuVernay's "Queen Sugar" and his prime-time show "The Haves and the Have Nots."

Perry is also a proud father. At the mention of his son, Aman, he whipped out his phone and started flipping through photos of the 2-year-old.

"When they look at my work," he said, "I want them to say, 'He left us with joy, he hired us, he made us believe in ourselves, and he changed Hollywood.' "