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Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008) Universal Pictures 1 hr. 54 mins. Starring: Martin Lawrence, James Earl Jones, Margaret Avery, Joy Bryant, Cedric the Entertainer, Mo’Nique, Mike Epps, Nicole Ari Parker, Michael Clarke Duncan, Damani Roberts, Brook Lyons, Liz Mikel, Louis C.K. Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee MPAA Rating: PG-13 Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins Rating:  
E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG Writer-director Malcolm D. Lee’s bouncy yet banal dysfunctional domestic comedy Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins will undoubtedly plants a few guilty pleasure grins on faces willing to see yet another rabble-rousing family unit melt under the pressure of off-kilter shenanigans. Lee does have the “3-B” formulaic foundation in tact: black, boisterous and broad. Unlike Lee’s nostalgically poignant drama Roll Bounce, the sophisticated and warm The Best Man or the hip and funny Undercover Brother, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins feels like a rudimentary retread of previously outrageous “black attack” farces. Needlessly cluttered, unfocused and pointless, Lee’s misguided and manufactured mockery is certainly something that one wouldn’t catch his more famous filmmaking cousin Spike delving into with intentional vigor. It’s no shocking revelation that star Martin Lawrence continues his gimmicky obsession with plus-sized punchlines (his Big Momma replacement is now in the form of the pretty, perceptive poundage presence of sassy actress/comedienne Mo’Nique). Thankfully, the buffoonery is equally spread amongst the who’s who of cartoonish caricatures that Lee has conceived so clumsily to the point that Mo’Nique’s hefty honey is the genuine soul and heart of this mimicking mess. The lazy sight gags, mawkish displays of uneven melodrama, an immense and distracting cast wallowing in faceless jocularity—all are shamelessly thrown together like a bland-tasting salad. The so-called “life lessons” are saccharine-coated given the flippancy of the spotty scripting. Whatever semblance of off-balance emotional heft that Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins brings to the table may be hidden behind the constant barrage of flatulence, animal-oriented high jinks, familial bickering and other assorted playful platitudes. Lawrence plays R.J. Stevens (known to his loved ones as Roscoe Jenkins), a sleazy talk show host and successful self-help guru who’s scheduled to return to his estranged family’s Georgia compound to help celebrate his parents’ (James Earl Jones and Margaret Avery) union. Basically, this is a Southern-style family gathering and R.J.’s return is going to be a tough sell—he’s been away for nearly a decade and must return to the scene of so many anguishing memories. Predictably, facing hoards of relatives with so many colorful personalities will be a challenging task for the impatient R.J. to cope with diplomatically. Armed with the company of his spotlight-loving girlfriend Bianca (Joy Bryant) who once won the long-running reality show Survivor, R.J. has to confront domestic issues that are unresolved. In particular, he must deal with the estrangement from his only son Jamaal (Damani Roberts). Along the way, the routine guffaws are set up with all the precision of a nervous one-legged man tap dancing in a sensitive minefield. Naturally, R.J.’s childhood dirty laundry is aired much to the dismay of the celebrated talking head. Among the nerve-racking personalities that R.J. tangles with regularly are bulky and bombastic Betty (Mo’Nique), his sister. Also, there is devious brother Reggie (Mike Epps) as well as an annoyingly competitive cousin named Clyde (Cedric the Entertainer). As expected, R.J. reunited with the love of his life—the obligatory woman that “got away” in the person of the exquisite Lucinda (Nicole Ari Parker). The worn out physicality of Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins is just as jittery as the transparent theme of family unity. Lee’s pedestrian direction staggers along as this romp weaves in and out of its meandering material. The comedic timing is set to a broken watch as the countless characters fight to deliver impishly funny one-liners that land in oblivion. With the talented performers involved in this languishing laugher you’d think that the movie would incorporate some sense of coherent irreverence. Instead, Welcome Home stocks up on a combination of stilted sentimentality and roguish ridiculing. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been seen nor done in other soulful slapstick showcases before. There’s a spiritual element somewhere embedded in Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins that is looking to seep through but Lee and his cavalcade of cut-ups never allow this revelation to absorb the nonsensical naughtiness that persists. The withering mayhem is tedious and exhausting as we try to shift through the sheer monotony of this baseless bunch. Overall, Lee’s numbing narrative needs a convincing slap of creativity...much like an enthusiastic slapping that Mo’Nique applies upside the hollow head of Lawrence’s titular termite. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Frank Ochieng © TheWorldJournal.com |
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