Big Momma's House (2000)

I tried to like this movie. I really tried. Wait, that's not true. The truth is that I really WANTED to like this movie, but it was just so awful and there was nothing good about it. It was so bad I'm surprised I made it through the whole movie without turning it off. I should get an award for that. It's the only award kind of award this movie should have.And now I hear they made a SEQUEL to this? Are you kidding me? Don't watch it. It's not worth your time. I'm not even sure why I gave it a two star rating. I should change it to a one. Anyway, I'm sure there are worse movies out there, but right now, off the top of my head, I can't think of any.The jokes aren't funny. The story isn't fun. The characters aren't fun. All of the above are irritating. I admit I was never a big Martin Lawrence fan, but he's even worse than usual in this. It makes his role in Bad Boys look good, and that's saying something.

So this is a black version of Mrs Doubtfire 7 years later with then-on form funny-man Martin Lawrence in a crime-type intrigue rather than purely family related like the aforementioned Robin Williams starring comedy.Two major concerns: if you're going to be a copycat of another film in spirit, you might as well make it really funny to compensate for stealing the idea. This isn't very funny. You could be very lenient and willing to laugh but it just isn't there as the creators focused more on the plot - which is functional but not impressive in any way.The second thing is flaws like introducing Martin Lawrence's character (FBI, not Big Momma) way too hastily into that female lead character's life and her kid's. It's a major fault with Hollywood comedies, that they'll produce by the numbers disposable comedy and sell it like buns at the bakery, and don't focus nearly enough attention on story structure and development of characters' relationships, so this is just ridiculously rushed and completely completely fictional even in the part that's supposed to be realistic.It's not boring to watch, but way too rushed and facile.A generous 3/10.

Once upon a time I did enjoy this film but not I have to ask myself what was I thinking watching this film?It goes to show how some comedy films actually look better on paper but this film didn't get the message because it has everything that should be ashamed of itself for.Well they try to have a serious plot with Terrence Howard playing the main villain and Martin Lawrence playing the protagonist however the film script really should have been review before ever getting a green light.Well I have to give it some decent points for trying to be creative the film just miss it mark. Some of the jokes in this film are just not that funny and it should have never been mention on film.The acting in this film is just about normal and it's hard to really say he gave a good performance or not but the film just look better on paper all together.I would say watch it if you're curious but other than that it's just not strong to get on DVDI give Big Momma's House an 5 out of 10

J. Edgar Hoover would spin in his grave if he saw how the Federal Bureau of Investigation nabs their nemesis in director Raja Gosnell's "Big Mama's House." This boisterous but barely original drag comedy thriller casts comedian Martin Lawrence as a streetwise, gung ho FBI agent who disguises himself as a rambunctious 325-pound African-American grandmother in Georgia so he can capture an escaped murderer out to recover $2-million in missing loot from a bank robbery. Although not nearly as exciting as "Blue Streak," "Big Momma's House" is a hundred times funnier. When Martin Lawrence transforms himself with prosthetics and padding into obese grandmother Hattie May Pierce, "Big Momma's House" makes up for all its lapses in logic with loads (and lards) of laughter.When Sherry Pierce (Nia Long of "Soul Food") learns that her deadly ex-boyfriend, convicted bank robber Lester Vesco (suave Terrence Howard of "Pride"), has bluffed his way out of prison and is on the prowl, she packs up her young son Trent (Jascha Washington of "Three Strikes"), and they leave Los Angeles. Lester wants to retrieve the $2-million in cash that he stole from the bank. The authorities have suspected for a long time that Sherry may have helped him, but because they never found the loot they have left her alone. Meanwhile, the FBI has anticipated Sherry's move to contact her grandmother in Cartersville, Georgia, so they dispatch agents Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) and his white partner John (Paul Giamatti of "Sideways") to set up an around-the-clock surveillance on Hattie May Pierce (Ella Mitchell of "Lord Shango"). Just as Sherry rolls into town, Hattie May rolls out to tend a sick friend. Desperately, afraid they will lose their only chance to catch Lester, Malcolm mimics Big Momma on the phone and encourages Sherry to visit her. Feverishly, Malcolm and John whip together an unconvincing replica of Hattie May that Malcolm wears to hoodwink the gullible Sherry.Martin Lawrence is the whole show in "Big Momma's House." If you love Lawrence (toned to a PG-13 rating), you'll laugh your ribs raw at his amusing antics. Most of "Big Momma's" humor springs from her rotund physique. The bathroom humor may offend some, but the scene where Malcolm's Hattie May delivers a baby with Cisco and a toilet plunger is alone worth watching. "Big Momma" proves that a crowd-pleasing comedy need not bow to logic. Hattie May on the basketball court trouncing two tough street kids at hoops; defeating a bumbling self-defense instructor; and give a sermon in church is funny but not for a moment believable. Martin Lawrence's energetic performance (as Martin again) overshadows these glaring mistakes."Never Been Kissed" director Raja Gosnell milks "Big Momma's House" strictly for laughs. Some scenes will split your sides if you aren't careful. Gosnell refuses to indulge himself on the action scenes. Further, he gives short shrift to Terrence Howard's felonious escapee. Howard hovers on the periphery but never makes a deep impression. Although the Feds classify Lester as a cold-blooded killer, he spares a rent-a-cop's life. Repeatedly, Lester embraces adversaries with uncharacteristic charity. As a result, "Big Momma" emerges as a slick, sympathetic, one dimensional screwball comedy with only the stretch marks of serious drama. No antagonism burns like a fuse between Lester and Malcolm, and their showdown brawl is absurdly brief. Ostensibly, since this lackluster villain poses a minimal threat to either heroine or hero, the film lacks any dramatic catharsis. At best, as a director, Gosnell is efficient; at worst, he is a hack. Happily, he keeps this formulaic fracas moving at a brisk clip and confines it to a trim 97 minutes.The romance between Malcolm and Sherry sputters until he dons latex thighs and flour sack breasts. They make a generic couple, and their romance seems like supplemental fodder to flesh. Of course, while it adds depth, the filmmakers fail to make something out of it. Moreover, Malcolm breaks character, showing an interest in Sherry. John warns Malcolm that he is treading thin ice in his dealings with Sherry. For somebody who refused to be tied-down to a family, Malcolm appears hell-bent on courting Sherry and impressing Trent. Naturally, since Malcolm loves Sherry, any doubts in anybody's mind about the issue of Sherry's guilt should disappear. Any relationship with a character other than "Big Momma," however, takes second place, so Malcolm lusts after Sherry in disguise. Sounds rather perverted, doesn't it? The flashlight scene in bed between them (prominently featured in the film's trailers) gets a chuckle.Clearly, scenarists Darryl ("Soldier Boyz") Quarles and Don Rhymer derived inspiration for "Big Momma's House" from cross-dressing cinematic classics, such as "Chris Columbus' "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993), Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot" (1959), and Sydney Pollack's "Toostie" (1982) as well as romantic shoot'em ups like John Badham's "Stakeout" (1987) and F. Gary Gray's "Set It Off" (1996). Like the Richard Dreyfuss cop in "Stakeout," Malcolm is determined to help Sherry, even if it intrudes on his ethics. Sherry's relationship with a notorious bank robber recalls a similar conflict in Vivica A. Fox's relationship with a bank robber and her subsequent firing in "Set It Off." Sadly, despite the best efforts of Quarles and Rhymer, "Big Momma's House" amounts to little more than a series of cleverly staged vignettes a la Flip Wilson's Geraldine of Lawrence dodging into and out of character as a mammoth matriarch. Quarles and Rhymer stretch "Big Momma" beyond the bounds of anybody's credibility to accommodate some of the most absurd premises. A blind man could easily distinguish Martin's Hattie May from Ella Mitchell's Hattie May. Ella is bigger than Martin. Essentially, the filmmakers ask us to believe that Big Momma's lifelong friends would not be able to spot an imposter on the spot.Again, if you hate Martin Lawrence, don't enter "Big Momma's House." Despite all of the obvious narrative flaws, especially in its flaky logic, Martin Lawrence's wide-eyed, rude humor and his prosthetic posturings redeem this crime comedy.