An entertainer at heart, Tyler Perry also has a lot of the preacher and social reformer in him. These three instincts clash in Madea's Family Reunion, the follow-up to last year's Diary of a Mad Black Woman. The Christian and the social crusader win out -- and therefore moviegoers lose.

Perry pulled off a minor miracle when his unheralded debut film, which he wrote and starred in, surprised prognosticators and defied poor reviews by winning the box office its opening week. Diary was a messy if unique mix of harsh melodrama, boisterous comedy, and Bible-thumping.

After being cruelly dumped by her husband on their wedding anniversary, the heroine's thirst for revenge was ultimately tempered by her faith, the love of a good man, and her outrageous grandmother's support. Hackneyed in parts and clumsily plotted, it had a winsome zeal that allowed you to forgive its sins. 

Madea's Family Reunion, also based on one of Perry's gospel-circuit stage plays and featuring his signature character -- the oversized matriarch known to all as Madea, has some of the same flaws yet lacks the novelty factor. It's even less cohesive, more earnest and not as funny. Part of the problem may be that Perry took over directorial duties and, presumably urged on by distributor Lions Gate, turned it around too quickly. 

The story fundamentals are the same. Two Atlanta sisters, Madea's relations, are having man problems. One is engaged to a wealthy banker (Blair Underwood) who beats her. The second, scorned by her wicked gold-digging mom, is raising her two children under Madea's roof. Wary of men, she's courted by a handsome bus driver with an artistic streak and a kid. Meanwhile, a judge makes Madea, forever on the wrong side of the law, take in a foster child.

The title suggests a comedy starring Eddie Murphy or Martin Lawrence in drag, and the sluggish picture could use a big serving of raucous humor. Perry's concern with the evil men do to African-American women, and the often nasty realities of the male-female dynamic chases away most of the levity. 

In addition to writing, directing, and producing, he again takes on three roles. He plays the zaftig life coach Madea, with her pendulous boobs, colorful dresses and lovably feisty demeanor; Madea's flatulent, pervy brother Joe; and Joe's mild-mannered lawyer son, Brian, a pillar of normalcy and responsibility.

Madea's problem-solving recipe involves first and foremost violence. Her answer to an abusive man involves hot grits and a cast iron skillet. And she's not above taking a belt to her foster child or slapping a school bus bully.  "I'm a thug. I shot Tupac," she announces at one point.

She relishes verbal assaults almost as much as physical confrontation. Madea is a master of the verbal slap-down, quick to unleash a barrage of insults and teasing jabs. Unfortunately they aren't as funny as they were in the first movie. As she's quick to point out to the judge, Madea can also be a paragon of practical motherly virtues -- feeding, sheltering and clothing anyone in need and dispensing sage advice such as: "It ain't what people call you, it's what you answer to."

When these aren't enough, Perry falls back on his Christianity. Here he summons Maya Angelou, Cicely Tyson, and other senior African-American ladies when things boil over at the reunion. In front of a slave cabin, they sing a spiritual and give a sermon urging everyone to behave and recall their shared history and faith.

Perry's world-view is generous and not overly pious. He wants to envelope multiple truths under Madea's ample skirts. They just don't blend naturally into a single movie. He can be admired as a vital African-American voice dedicated to rescuing and empowering men and women through his art. It's possible to admire the message and the messenger but not the cinematic vehicle. 

(Released by Lions Gate Films and rated "PG-13" for mature thematic material, domestic violence, sex and drug references.)