“Big Momma’s House 2” (20th Century Fox)
Happiness Is An actor In A Fat Suit
Once upon a time Martin Lawrence was on the fast track to major movie stardom. Then a series of so-so movies, some incidents in his personal life, and a general cooling off from his fans left his career in the doldrums. His one big hit in the past few years was “Big Momma’s House,” so how better to revitalize his career than by making a “Big Momma” sequel.
“Big Momma’s House 2” is not as good as the original but it still has enough laughs to get Lawrence some needed attention. In the film Lawrence recreates his role of FBI Agent Malcolm Turner. Malcolm is now married to Sherry (Nia Long) and they are expecting their first child. In deference to Sherry, Martin is no longer a field agent but is working in the PR section of the FBI.
One day Malcolm learns one of his fellow agents has been killed in the field. He decides to take some time off from the Bureau and investigate the case his friend was working on. He doesn’t tell Sherry what he is doing but explains his absence by saying he is attending a safety convention in Phoenix.
Donning his “Big Momma” getup, he applies for and gets a position as a Nanny for the family of a man (Mark Moses) who is suspected of being involved in the criminal group that killed the Agent. Big Momma insinuates himself into the good graces of the woman of the house (Emily Proctor) and takes care of the couple’s three children.
It isn’t long before Momma is up to her huge neck in action situations, as well as some personally embarrassing ones. Through it all she keeps her eyes on the goal of capturing the killers, and you can bet she/he does everything necessary to achieve it.
The laughs all flow from “Momma’s” actions and the reactions of those around her. The whole situation is too much over the top for believability but it is fun just the same. The problem is that there are lulls in the action and the humor that bring the film to a halt.
Lawrence is good as Momma and Malcolm but he seems to be underplaying both roles at times. It isn’t that he walks through the parts, but he doesn’t race through them either. Proctor and Moses are no help in the acting department, while the kids are cute but not standouts.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
There will certainly be an audience for this warmed over “Momma” action but those expecting a film on the level of the original will go away disappointed. Big Momma is bigger than ever but the laughs in her film aren’t.
I scored “Big Momma’s House 2” a little 5 out of 10.
