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Big Momma's House 2

I watched “Big Momma’s House 2” on a slow weeknight. Then I watched it again a few weeks later, only this time I used the scene select button to fast-forward through the film in five-minute increments, catching about 30 seconds of each scene. The results: the exact same film, except the second viewing saved 100 minutes of my life.

The sequel to Martin Lawrence’s wildly successful “Big Momma’s House” contains a few funny scenes, unknown supporting actors (who don’t even do a very good job) and absolutely nothing original, even for a formulaic slapstick comedy. The concept of “Big Momma,” which is a pale comparison to Eddie Murphy’s similar getup in “The Nutty Professor,” is believable and entertaining for one film. But after the original, it becomes redundant and a clear studio cop-out. I believe Lawrence is capable of better material, even if he isn’t as talented as other leading comedy men. Why the studio couldn’t have pasted the basic plot outline of this film onto a different character and time frame, I don’t know. I guarantee it would have generated the same box office, or at the very least made it seem less obvious that the studio just wants your money.

This time around, Lawrence’s character Malcolm, a.k.a Big Momma tries to stop terrorists from obtaining a computer worm capable of unlocking American secrets. The father of the family whom Big Momma becomes the nanny for creates the worm. The children learn from Big Momma, who turns a dull, uninspired family into living, breathing human beings. The Goth-girl learns to tone things down, the bullied one becomes popular, even the mute baby learns how to speak, all due to Big Momma. How touching. And the case gets solved without a hitch. This is all done through stale dialogue, action sequences and bad jokes that border on ridiculous. Even the scenes that are intrinsically supposed to be funny, like when Big Momma goes to the spa with the mother, are overdone and predictable for even the most clueless viewer.

If you watch “Big Momma’s House 2” with your family, your children or younger siblings they will probably laugh at most of the jokes. And if you want to read a book, talk to someone on the phone, or knit a small sweater in the meantime, you won’t miss much. And I’m sure your kids won’t even know you’re not paying attention. You’ll be able to spurt out the entire plot at the film’s end without batting an eye, and forget it a few minutes later.

Written by: Jason Villemez

Reviewers Rating: 4
Reader's Rating: 7.67
Reader's Votes: 3

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