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Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

In this fish our of water tale, writer/director Malcolm D. Lee cooked up this Martin Lawrence vehicle that almost overcomes its built in cliches. Lawrence plays a successful talk show phenomenon, RJ Stevens who is engaged to drop dead gorgeous TV star, Bianca (Joy Bryant) and has forgotten his humble small town Georgia roots. One day, he gets a request from his parents Papa and Mamma Jenkins (James Earl Jones & Margaret Avery) to come home for their 50th Wedding anniversary.
After picking up his 10-year old son and fiancee, Roscoe flies back to his Dry Springs, Georgia home, where he is still considered a small town boy, and treated like he never left home. For Roscoe, his inauspicious homecoming is humiliating and confirms his rationale for leaving home. However, his family will not let him put on any airs, and he reverts back to his youth when his siblings and cousin picked on him. For Roscoe, it’s a reality check from his TV-star image.
Lee’s screenplay smacks of African-American exploitation, creating the usual urban family stereotypes living in a small Georgia town. The film gave Lawrence the chance to do his low level shtick, mostly prat falls and slap-stick. Admittedly, some of it is funny, only because the cast are veteran actors and pull off better than average performances. Michael Clarke Duncan plays Roscoe’s boisterous cousin, Otis, who loves getting Roscoe in a headlock. Cedric the Entertainer is up to his funny tricks as Clyde, and Nicole Ari Parker portrays Lucinda, Roscoe’s ex-girlfriend. And of course, what reunion comedy would be complete without a loud-mouthed full figured sister, Betty (Mo’Nique). She almost saves the production with her risque comedy.
Yes, this picture is the same we’ve seen before and it goes for the knee-jerk laugh, which comes easy to Lawrence and the cast. At home, Roscoe gets no respect for his heady accomplishments, so he has to navigate the treachery of his relatives overbearing behavior. Soon, Roscoe is the family clown, who upsets every celebration. His uptown fiancee, Bianca is definitely out of place in this loud playful family of cut-ups.
The scenario is patently predicable schlock with Lawrence expected to bail out the production with his classic crazy bits. However, Lawrence has done this shtick to death, and after the first few prat falls, it gets tedious, losing its comedic appeal. Still, Lawrence can be funny in a nutty kind of way. I caught myself laughing even when I didn’t think the bits were that funny. The truth is: Lawrence appeals to the slap-stick comedic side of everyone–like the Three Stooges’ style of nonsense. “Pop, on the head.” You can’t help but laugh, even though you think it’s stupid.
It’s funny to see such a distinguished actor as James Earl Jones doing a comedy. Hey, a man needs to work and for him it’s a gas to do this type of easy role. So much is expected of icons that, for them, it’s a pleasure just to do something that is fun, and not complicated. The same can be said for Margaret Avery, who has distinguished herself in many high quality television and film productions like The Color Purple.
Overall, this is a medium cool comedy that rises slightly above its mediocre script. Everyone can relate to kooky relatives who don’t respect another’s accomplishments. And like Roscoe’s family, the average person dreads going home to see the family for the same reasons that plagued Roscoe. It can be downright embarrassing but it can also humble the returning star, and let him know that he is not as important as he thinks he is. Amen to that.