Martin Lawrence revisits Eddie Murphy’s ‘The Nutty Professor’ with a ‘Tootsie’ role. [PG-13]
By: Kam Williams
Original, no. Entertaining, yes. Big Momma’s House is a cross-dressing comedy which will certainly find its audience in lovers of the drag genre.
Martin Lawrence, the rich man’s Eddie Murphy, rips a hem right out of his mentor’s girdle to keep us in stitches as an overweight granny with an overactive mouth. Like Mr. Murphy in The Nutty Professor I and II, Mr. Lawrence plays several characters, including an FBI agent and an aged Asian dog dealer. Directed by Raja Gosnell (Home Alone 3), Big Momma’s House co-stars Nia Long (recently of the horrid Held Up) as Sherry, Big Momma’s prodigal granddaughter on the run from the law.
Rounding out the talented cast, which pumps considerable energy into the "been there, done that" storyline, are the Oscar-overlooked Terrence Howard (The Best Man), funny fat man Anthony Anderson (Romeo Must Die) and character actor Paul Giamatti (Private Parts and Saving Private Ryan), son of the late baseball commissioner, Bart.
While Big Momma’s flabalanche of silicone make-up undoubtedly conjures up comparisons to Eddie Murphy’s fatso Klumps, the plot here is actually more like Tootsie where transvestite Dustin Hoffman harbored a secret crush on gal pal Jessica Lange. So, while the fat jokes get old after 10 minutes, what holds this picture together is the slow-developing love story between an FBI agent and his suspect-turned-sweetheart.
At our point of departure, Lester (Mr. Howard), a brutal bank robber, escapes from prison. The authorities expect him to contact his ex-girlfriend, Sherry. Single mom Sherry just happens to be headed south with her young son Trent (Jascha Washington) to visit the grandmother (Ella Mitchell), whom she, quite conveniently, hasn’t seen since childhood.
FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Mr. Lawrence), a fast-talking, slow-change artist is assigned to stake out grandma’s house with his bumbling, bug-eyed partner, John (Mr. Giamatti). They set up shop in the house across the street, taking note of the senior citizen’s activities. But when the real grandma unexpectedly leaves town, Malcolm seizes on the idea of transforming himself into Big Momma in order to keep the closest of tabs on Sherry after her arrival.
The ghoulish makeover doesn’t fool the audience for a second, but Sherry and son move in, unaware of anything amiss about their next of kin. Then, Malcolm soon discovers that there’s a lot more to impersonating a sassy, 70-year-old than gobs of make-up. And he suddenly has every opportunity to act a fool: cooking, delivering a baby, testifying in church, even innocently cuddling in bed.
With Sherry’s ex-con, ex-lover Lester closing in, Malcolm discovers her to be more of an unwilling victim than an unindicted co-conspirator in the bank robbery. Allegiances shift just in time for the big showdown, which is swiftly followed by a bigger revelation and a biggest romantic resolution. I couldn’t have just spoiled a thing for those of you with a sixth grader’s sense of humor who know that getting there is half the fun.
Rated PG-13 for surprisingly strong language, sexual situations and slapstick violence.
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