Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas is not your typical holiday flick, but many moviegoers will likely find its wacky humor appealing this season—especially fans of the Madea film series. In this outrageous yuletide comedy, Mabel “Madea” Simmons reluctantly agrees to accompany a friend on a surprise visit to see her daughter, who lives in a small rural community. The town is preparing for its annual Christmas carnival. But Madea and her friend are in for a surprise when secrets are uncovered and relationships are tested.

In addition to Perry, who stars in the title role, the cast features One Tree Hill’s Chad Michael Murray; Alicia Witt, whose recent work includes episodes of The Mentalist; Taylor McPherson (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire); and Kathy Najimy (Step Up 3D). Other familiar faces that pop up in the movie are Larry the Cable Guy and Lisa Whelchel.

In the film’s trailer (below), Madea proves to be the worst, and possibly the funniest, excuse ever for a mall Santa. Dressed as Mrs. Claus, she explains that Santa himself is on lock-down, dishing out wisecracks as children sit on her lap and tell her what they want for Christmas. She’s clearly not in the holiday spirit.

As in previous Madea pictures, Perry not only stars as the scrappy, tough talking matriarch, he also wrote, directed and co-produced the film, which was based on his stage play, A Madea Christmas. This is the first of Perry’s 17 films to feature a holiday theme.

Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas premieres Dec. 13, 2013.

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