...this is not a family reunion I would want to visit each and every year.
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Once upon a time, people laughed at Martin Lawrence films and they were entertained by the comedic actor. That time lasted somewhere between the 1994 film "You So Crazy" and "Big Momma´s House" in 2000. "Black Knight" and "National Security" killed any momentum Lawrence had during the early parts of the new Millennium and aside from sequels to his earlier popular films; the actor has struggled in recent years and has been relegated to making films such as "College Road Trip" and "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins." It is a shame that Martin Lawrence has fallen from grace, I´ve always enjoyed him as an entertainer and a comedian and felt he was the perfect comedic partner for bigger named stars such as Eddie Murphy and Will Smith.
Director Malcolm D. Lee earned some props with the funny and underappreciated 2002 film "Undercover Brother." That film was a complete riot and I´ve always secretly wanted a sequel. That was his only successful venture after the modest 1999 hit "The Best Man." With "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins," Lee pieced together the best cast he has had the opportunity to work with. Martin Lawrence, Mike Epps, Cedric the Entertainer and Michael Clarke Duncan are joined by the legendary James Earl Jones to provide a solid ensemble cast of comedians and dramatic actors. With the story written by Lee and decent advertising, "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins" managed to pull in over $40 million in box office receipts, but with a poor rating of 3.2 on the Internet Movie Database and low scores on aggregate sites, the film is flawed.
The problem with "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins" is how its star is portrayed. Martin Lawrence is an actor that has been a likable personality and this film tows the line of showing the character of Roscoe Jenkins as being only borderline likable with enough character flaws and personality quirks that the audience is left struggling as to whether or not to care about the main character. With the situations the character is thrust into, it becomes increasingly difficult to care much about what happens with Roscoe. His kin, aside from James Earl Jones, are hardly likable as well. Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps are both cast in poor light as well in their characters and you really have to feel bad about Papa Jenkins (James Earl Jones) and Mamma Jenkins (Margaret Avery) having to suffer through such insufferable children.
The essential plot is that Roscoe Jenkins (Lawrence) becomes engaged to a hot rising star, Bianca Kittles (Joy Bryant), who has found success by winning a season of "Survivor" (I absolutely loathe "Survivor" and feel the show is responsible for the demise of television). Bianca is a driven and success-hungry woman and Roscoe is skeptical on coming home with his son Jamaal (Damani Roberts) and fiancée to see his family and celebrate the wedding anniversary of his parents. His family includes brother Otis (Michael Clarke Duncan), Betty (Mo´Nique), Reggie (Mike Epps) and cousin Clyde (Cedric the Entertainer). Clyde has long been a rival of Roscoe´s and lost his early love Lucinda (Nicole Ari Parker) to Clyde and has never let this loss down.
As the film moves along, the focus centers on the romantic love triangle between Roscoe, Bianca and Lucinda as the television star known as Dr. RJ Stevens must come to terms with who he really loves. It also centers on the long-running and harsh rivalry between Clyde and Roscoe and the relationship he has with his father. It becomes apparent that Roscoe and Clyde competed for the attention of Roscoe Sr. and this caused a lot of strife between the boys that has only festered and become stronger as they grew into their adulthood. "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins" soon tries to tell stories of morality and moves away from a comedic tone that would have perhaps saved the film.
Another issue I found with "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins" is the film´s attempts to stick to a PG-13 rating. There are just a few films out there that visibly struggle and suffer by being forced to adhere to a more family-friendly rating and "Roscoe Jenkins" is one such film. Sex is a common topic in the film and one of the earlier sequences involves Roscoe and Bianca engaged in rough sex. A later scene features two dogs getting busy with the smaller female dog ´on top.´ Language is mild. The film toys with the audience and tries its damndest to appeal to an adult audience, but it is neutered enough that the comedy is lost because of being watered down. This is definitely a film that could have been saved with a couple ´F-Bombs´
I tried hard to like "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins." I enjoy seeing Michael Clarke Duncan in a comedic role and have typically enjoyed Martin Lawrence. However, the film is flawed enough that it didn´t quite seem as funny as it should have been and watching the movie was like watching a welterweight fight where the boxers are holding their punches and not letting the hard hits land. The presence of Mo´Nique made the film a little difficult to watch at times, but the rest of the cast was either not given the proper material to excel or their characters were improperly portrayed as not being as likable as characters need to be for an audience to fully embrace a film. "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins" has its moments, but at the end of the day this is not a family reunion I would want to visit each and every year.
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