User reviews

The film talks about the FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) , he's assigned to catch a ruthless bank robber and a recent prison escapee (Terrence Howard) . He suspect will be coming down to visit his ex-fiancee Sherry (Nia Long) and her child . The cop along with his colleague John (Paul Giamatti) set up a stakeout across from the home , and Turner posing as a woman , in order to investigate a case , who's known as a southern sweet ¨big momma¨, she is a severely overweight but bright old woman . This time he goes undercover , attempting to solve a case , and he becomes invoved with an unhappy mother , and his son . Disquising as a foul-mouthed Big Momma he must find the murderer before he finds them , along the way he has a lot of problems. It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings! This FBI agent is going undercover... and he's concealing more than a weapon.He's Deep Undercover. On June 2nd he's deep undercover.

This diverting movie expands from an original idea about woman's disguising , but Lawrence and the writers manage to pull it off rather impressively . The jokes are plentiful and is pretty entertaining , the plot doesn't allow for many quiet moments which Lawrence needs to balance out the slapdash . There are sporadic laughters , though too often humour is mined by scatological and toilet lines , but in this movie some gags are agreeable enough . It's a farce with the great master of disguise Lawrence when he takes a make up by make-up artist Greg Cannon and is transformed into fat grandma . The story is fun and interesting and the characters are genuine and sympathetic . Film is a Martin Lawrence recital , using a few tricks of disguise , carrying out complete transformations , as he makes acrobatics , stooges , tongue-twister and pull faces and grimaces . The picture is a vehicle Lawrence , he's a real show man and authentic farceur by impersonating the cantankerous Southern granny . Lawrence like his partner Eddie Murphy has plenty of experience with women costumes and various roles . He is well accompanied by a good cast mostly African-Americans , such as : Cedric the Entertainer , Octavia Spencer , Phyllis Applegate , Anthony Anderson , Philip Tan , Edwin Hodge , Aldis Hodge , among others . The film gets a nice cinematography by Michael O'Shea , and atmospheric score by Richard Gibbs . The motion picture was allrightly directed by Raja Gosnell ("Never Been Kissed", "Home Alone 3", "Scooby-Doo""Yours, Mine & Ours" , "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", ¨Smurfs¨ , ¨Smurfs¨) but he had nothing to do with the sequels , but the film cemented his reputation as a commercially successful director . If you like Lawrence's crazy acting , you'll enjoy this one.

The film ¨Big Momma's House¨ (2000) was an unexpected box office hit , earning about 174 million at the worldwide box office, and received two sequels of its own . Being followed by ¨Big Momma's House II¨ 2006 by John Whitesell , with Emily Procter , Mark Moses , Zachary Levi , Kat Dennings , Chloë Grace Moretz , Marisol Nichols and again a Martin Lawrence providing a recital in a sequel more amusing than previous film . And a third part in which Momma's got back-up , titled ¨Big mommas : Like fater like son¨ 2011 by John Whitesell with Martin Lawrence, Brandon T. Jackson, Jessica Lucas.

Big Momma's House is directed by Raja Gosnell, written by Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer, and stars Martin Lawrence, Paul Giamatti, Nia Long & Terrance Howard. Lawrence plays FBI Agent Malcolm Turner who goes undercover as "Big Momma" Hattie Mae Pierce (Ella Mitchell), so as to hopefully snare escaped convict Lester Vesco (Howard). "Big Momma" is the aunt of Vesco's ex-wife, Sherry (Long), who is on her way to "Big Momma's" to hide out after hearing of Lester's escape.

In spite of baffling critics-and not finding many casual film viewers willing to say they enjoyed it! the film was a surprise hit and opened as the number two movie in North America. It went on to gross over $117 million at the box office and subsequently ensured that a sequel would follow down the line (it arrived in 2006). The film isn't pretending to be anything other than the mindless comedy it is. If viewed on those terms then it can be enjoyed. Sure some of the gags are puerile, and Lawrence is an acquired taste, tho his energy and comedy timing are first rate here. But it does work to a degree. It's been done better in the likes of Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire, and the plot, with it's boorish romantic strand, is merely an excuse for "Big Momma" to get into daft scrapes. Yet the action is nicely staged and the pace of the piece never sags. There's also fun to be had in watching Giamatti & Howard looking like they just know they should be doing better stuff than this!.

Forgettable juvenile fluff for sure, but likable enough; in that brain at the door-bucket of popcorn-way. 6/10

Why did I rent this movie? I don't really appreciate Martin Lawrence, not his old TV show nor his stand-up routine. But I did rent it nonetheless, fearing that I'd wasted my $2.99 after returning home.

My fears were ungrounded. This movie is actually funny, hysterically so in a few scenes. Not to mislead the reader, I have to state that this movie is nothing great; it's actually just a trifle. Just suspend all belief as Lawrence portrays an FBI agent who dons a fat-suit in order to impersonate the 350-pound aunt of the lovely young suspect Lawrence and his partner are tailing. Of course, no one, not even the aunt's suitor, can tell the difference. If you can get by this absurd premise, "Big Momma's House" contains some really rib-tickling slapstick. When Lawrence, while impersonating Big Mama, is required to mid-wife a birth...that scene alone is worth the $2.99.

Think of a Mrs. Doubtfire meets the Nutty Professor hybrid, with a smattering of Kindergarten Cop thrown in for good measure, and you've pretty much got Big Momma's House. Except the former three are all reasonable films, and, unfortunately, Big Momma's House just isn't.

When dangerous convict Howard Laster (Terrence Dashon) escapes from prison, undercover cop Malcolm (Martin Lawrence) is sent with fellow FBI agent John (Paul Giamatti) to track down Laster's ex-girlfriend Sherry (Nia Long), in the hope of luring the armed robber back in the direction of the slammer. This involves staking out the house of Sherry's Southern grandmother 'Big Momma', but when the latter leaves town Malcolm feels compelled to take on her guise, with the help of a few prosthetics and some extra padding. Things take a complicated turn, however, when Malcolm begins to fall for the beautiful, yet unknowing, Sherry.

The film bounds along like an enthusiastic dog, with the script acting as little more than a vehicle for Big Momma's 'hilarious' antics and various escapades. The action often degenerates into uninspired gross-out comedy and toilet humour as Big Momma stumbles from one rib-tickling predicament to the next, with Malcolm often only being saved by the former's reputation as a lovable and outlandish character. Big Momma attends a self-defence class. Big Momma has nasty moments on the toilet. Big Momma plays basketball. And Big Momma delivers a baby. Cue many moments of roll-in-the-aisles hilarity. Or not.

Unfortunately, convict Howard is soon forgotten as the film focuses almost solely on Lawrence, and seriously begins to grate as Big Momma's Southern screeches make up about 95% of the dialogue. The slowly developing romance between Malcolm and Sherry is also guaranteed to make audiences cringe with it's predictability.

Lawrence and Giamatti make the best of a bad job, although the audience are left wondering exactly why they took on the roles in the first place, whilst Dashon is convincing as Evil Criminal on the Loose. Predictably, all characters are shockingly two-dimensional, but to be fair, Big Momma's House does at least generate some laughs along the way.

It is difficult to see specifically who this film is aimed at, but there must be some attraction, judging by a high-grossing opening weekend in the States. However, non-existent plot and character development will ensure that many of the audience leave disappointed. Only to be seen by those who know what they're letting themselves in for.

Martin Lawrence is often trusty in the world of comedy. Maybe I'm just overcoming his awful "Blue Streak," but I felt this comedy--though saggy at times--was quite funny. The premise is undoubtedly implausible. How's a whole neighborhood going to believe that this undercover cop with a latex body that looks somewhat like Big Momma is actually Big Momma? There's a lot of disbelief to suspend. But the gags often worked and I can say I laughed about 75 percent of the time. Some are predictable, like when Big Momma takes a karate class and starts beating the teacher--played by Anthony Anderson--to a pulp, but they still work due to the way they're handled. And Lawrence turns in yet another fine comic performance, with a script that could've used a rewrite but was nowhere near as bad as the crackerjack script he had to work with in "Blue Streak." The talented comic helps keep the movie togehter, with a little assistance from the supporting cast. Paul Giamatti, who was great as Pig Vomit in the acclaimed "Private Parts," is funny as Lawrence's partner. We also have "Me Myself and Irene's" Anthony Anderson and Cedric the Entertainer.

The plot is chaotic, sometimes predictable, and becomes more and more implausible by the minute but the comedy works and because of that we're able to excuse the script's shortcomings. "Big Momma" doesn't deliver the biggest laughs, but it's good, fun entertainment on a lonely weekday afternoon.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

Martin Lawrence goes undercover in a suburb of Georgia as an overweight southern grandmother in "Big Momma's House". It's up there with "Black Knight" and "Blue Streak" as a ridiculous, predictable and stupid yet charmingly funny Martin Lawrence vehicle. Some of the dialog is almost non-sensical and seems to rely on Martin Lawrence's improvisational, uh... skills. Of course, why nobody recognizes that their friend/mother (Big Momma) is being impersonated horribly, I don't know. But that sort of adds to the movie I guess.

The story here doesn't matter that much. Really, it doesn't. Paul Giamatti plays the signature goofy white partner, who occasionally gets pushed around by the neighborhood locals to much comedic success (it is actually pretty funny, if predictable, like everything else here). Nia Long reprises her typical role as the love interest, and then a bunch of goofy physical stunts are taken from "Mrs. Doubtfire" and given a slightly different flair -- playing on southern black stereotypes (deep fried home cooking, going to church, etc.).

This movie is cheesy and ridiculous. I don't think you even need to watch the whole thing, nor watch it twice (though there is a sequel, and seeing that would basically be watching this movie twice). But for what it is, it's pretty goofy and entertaining.

4.5

I loved "Big Momma's House" way back when it first came out & watched it alot on video, i already liked Martin Lawrence in Blue Streak & Bad Boys so seeing him play another Cop type of role in another big Comedy was exciting to me, & i have always loved Cop Films or the Buddy-cop genre.

Now, most films i loved as a kid or in my younger days i still genuinely love now & hold them dear to my heart or have deep Nostalgia for but with "Big Momma's House" i now find it a little too stupid & too silly now, but hey IT'S supposed to be isn't it. Martin Lawrence gives a very energetic performance & can be funny (not on an Eddie Murphy level) as he plays an FBI agent who goes deep undercover as a popular southern Big Momma to try & locate a running witness (Nia Long) to a big crime. The scenery is lovely with its summertime glow & the small town cosiness that those little Southern towns have. This is like a silly, goofy & rubbery mix of Stakeout meets The Nutty Professor, not as good as those films but still lots of fun. Terrence Howard plays the bad guy of the piece & Paul Giamatti plays Martin's fun FBI partner.

Anyway a few laughs are still there & there is a fun, frantic comedy energy present, & Martin is always good fun.

If you enjoy silly comedies like: The Nutty Professor films & Norbit then the Big Momma's House films will be right up your street.

When you have a movie with a title like "Big Momma's House", you shouldn't expect high art. I certainly wasn't, but sometimes that's okay - sometimes you just want an excuse to laugh.

Still, I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed with what they did here. The fault lies with the screenplay. For starters, it is not exactly original. While I wouldn't call this movie a blatant rip-off of "Stakeout", in several regards it's too close to that earlier movie for its own good. Speaking of familiar, another problem I had was that too many of the gags involving Lawrence as the cross-dressing FBI agent I had more or less seen in other movies before. Plus, the movie devotes far too much time to this than fleshing out the story - if what's here could be considered a story.

On the positive side, the movie is filled with energy, both in front of and behind the camera. There's enough energy that some viewers not wanting to think while watching a movie might find the enterprise enjoyable enough. If that sounds like you, you'll probably find this movie adequate. If you want more nutrition in your cinematic diet, look elsewhere.

If Eddie Murphy can get into a latex fat suit and be funny.

Martin Lawrence said: Hold my beer.

In Big Momma's House he plays Malcolm a FBI agent and a master of disguise.

When Lester Vesco (Terrence Howard) a bank robber escapes prison. Malcolm and his partner John (Paul Giamatti) figure he will hook up with ex girlfriend and the mother of his child Sherry Pierce. She worked in the bank that Lester robbed and she might had colluded with him.

Malcolm disguises himself as Sherry's estranged grandmother, Hattie Mae Pierce. He hopes she will confess of her involvement to the robbery as the money was never recovered.

Big Mamma is the big woman in the local neighbourhood. She is the midwife, she attracts lecherous old men, some of her neighbours are jealous of her and Malcolm falls for Sherry.

Big Momma's House is a low brow action comedy. It was a box office hit but it is a silly one joke movie having to rely on lavatorial humour for some of the funny bits.

Surprisingly the film now features two Oscar nominees and one Oscar winner as Octavia Spencer has a small role.

Basically I saw Big Momma's House as Martin Lawrence trying to move into the comedy world of Eddie Murphy. I think Eddie is still considered the king among comedy actors, or at least in the upper tier along with Jim Carrey and Robin Williams. Lawrence has had some success in the past, but nothing to match Eddie Murphy, so when a script comes along that allows Lawrence to jump into a big body suit and become a large, elderly woman, he jumps at the chance.

The straight forward plot is that Lawrence plays FBI agent Malcolm Turner who is tracking a dangerous escaped convict named Lester. The FBI figures that Lester is going to go straight to his ex-girlfriend Sherry (Nia Long) since she was a suspect in a robbery he pulled off couple years ago, but it was something they couldn't prove. Sherry heads to Big Momma's house, and when Big Momma unexpectedly goes off to a friend's house for a couple of weeks, Malcolm becomes Big Momma. And of course along the way, Malcolm also meets Sherry as himself, and starts to fall in love with her. Good guys win, Bad guys lose, and Love survives the day. It's not like this is a story we haven't seen a thousand times before.

So of course the big draw to this film is the chance to see Martin Lawrence dress up and act like an elderly woman. Which of course was one of the best scenes in The Nutty Professor when Eddie Murphy dressed up like his entire family. So seeing something like this isn't new, and on top of that, Lawrence is going to have to try and outdo Murphy in order for people to see this movie as funny. And personally, I think he fell short. First off, I can't believe that Big Momma could live in a small town for her entire life, and then all of a sudden have Martin Lawrence play her, and no one notices. Not her best friends, not her lover, not her grandchild, no one. All of a sudden a woman who has to run to the bathroom every five minutes can play basketball in the park? And no one says anything? Come on... On top of that, while I do enjoy Martin Lawrence (especially in his best film, Blue Streak), he can't hold a candle to Eddie Murphy. Most of the humor from this movie came from a toilet scene, and sexual humor dealing with a flashlight in bed. And there were some continuity errors I spotted as well. First there was duct tape, and then there wasn't. He goes to bed with a moustache, and wakes up without one. The comedic scenes were too few and far between to make this movie funny. The plot wasn't going to help pick it up, as it was something, like I said earlier, we've all seen before. And even if I try not to compare Lawrence to Murphy, I still don't think the movie was that good, and I didn't think Lawrence's portrayal of a large, elderly woman came off that well.

On the other hand, the supporting cast was pretty good. Nia Long looking spectacular in the stock role of the "woman". Paul Giamatti in the stock role of "the partner" was funny in a been there done that type of role. Terrence Howard as Lester the convict was dutifully scary. And of course Ella Mitchell as the original Big Momma was a lot funnier than Martin Lawrence as Big Momma. And I'm not saying Lawrence was bad necessarily, just that the movie itself wasn't written all that well, and there really wasn't a whole lot Lawrence could do as Big Momma. There wasn't enough of a story for him to let loose and go crazy. Seeing a large, elderly woman play basketball and do karate is only funny for a couple of seconds. So overall I thought Big Momma's House was just an OK movie. It had some funny scenes, the cast was good, but the story was nothing special and in the end that hurt the comedic value of the film.

Old school fun. Action. A movie you can watch on a Friday night for a laugh.

Looking at how this movie looked in advertising, part of me wanted to avoid it. However, years later I gave it the benefit of the doubt, and while it is an uneven film it is nowhere near as bad as it could have been. The story is briskly paced, but rather predictable and thin in places and some scenes do feel a little rushed. There are some funny lines and gags, but also ones that rely on gross-out humour and come across as uninspired. The characters can have a tendency to be irritating and also to be stereotyped. However, the movie does look good with striking locations and the filming is more than decent, and there is an energetic soundtrack. In the dialogue and gags that work, they are actually quite funny. The direction is better than average, as are the performances. Martin Lawrence seems to be really enjoying himself, and it was nice to see Paul Giamatti in support. In conclusion, not great but not bad either. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Big Momma's House By Dean Kish

Martin Lawrence stars in his second Hollywood vehicle but can his film overcome the comparisons to an `Eddie Murphy comedy' or `the black Mrs. Doubtfire'. Lawrence stars as undercover FBI agent Malcolm Turner, who is trying to capture a nasty prison escapee and bank robber before he can escape with the money. While tracking the con, Turner discovers the bank robber's girlfriend is leaving the abusive con and fleeing to her grandmother's (or Big Momma) house. After assembling a stakeout outside of the grandmother's house, Turner discovers that the grandmother is leaving for a trip. Panicking Turner assumes the role of Big Momma and greets her arriving grand-daughter. Big Momma has a lot of problems. Lawrence tries his very best to try to make the material funny. It's sometimes sad to see such a talented man so lost in such an ugly script. Why did Hollywood place this poor actor in this so obviously unfunny project? I can remember the 1980's and the huge success of Eddie Murphy but what made Eddie so successful was that the scripts accented his unique comedic talents. In recent years, the subtler Murphy has found success with the `Nutty Professor' and `Dr Dolittle' but they have never recaptured the magic of his earlier works. I believe the key problem with `Big Momma' is the script and that it can't seem to bring out the comedy trapped in Lawrence. Also the main comedic elements in this film are things we have seen countless times before. Some of the elements are the fat jokes, the man in the woman clothes gags and the dashing around as the main star tries to assume two identities at the same time. Some scenes are a direct rip-off of Mrs. Doubtfire with a black theme tucked in. During the cooking scene, I was waiting for Lawrence's huge fake breasts to catch fire but they never did and neither did the humor. Maybe within this film there are some elements that will appeal to some audiences but for me I found the whole experience very trying. (1 of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

A lot of people have slammed Big Momma's House,but,appreciated on it's own levels,it's fairly enjoyable.There are some inventive laughs in the plot,Martin Lawrence is an effective comic performer as he had proved before in the excellent Bad Boys,although perhaps a little too crude and self styled in places.The plot seems a bit stretched out as well,but overall,this is much more engaging and funny than the awful Nutty Professor.**

I will admit it up front, I really dislike Martin Lawerence, I think despite his comedic appeal, his act is normally hateful. But a couple friends told me that they kinda enjoyed Big Mama's House, so I figured that I should give it a chance. I sometimes like these kind of movies, I especially enjoyed White Chicks, and Big Mama's House seemed simular, so in some ways I guess that I was kinda excited, maybe it was stupid humor that only a few would get or not want to admit that they liked, but I was wrong.

Malcom is a FBI agent who is investigating a deadly convict on the run, this convict might be paying a visit to an old girlfriend and their son. The girlfriend decides to go visit Big Mama, her grandmother, but when Big Mama leaves town unexpectidly, Malcom disguises himself as Big Mama and convinces the girl and the whole town that he is her. But he is falling for the girl in the mean time and has to keep his act up as her loving grandmother without going too far.

Sometimes stupid, stereotypical, and offensive, I can understand why this movie isn't well received by most. It isn't well acted and it is completely predictable, this is better than most Martin Lawerence films I've seen, but that's not saying much. I'm not sure if I'd recommend this movie to anyone, but who knows? Someone might actually enjoy this movie, good luck, pal.

2/10

I was in my early teens when this was released ten years ago, and I never heard of it at the time. In early 2006, I went to the theatre while this movie's sequel, "Big Momma's House 2", was playing, but since I had never seen the original by this point and could see that the sequel was widely hated, it was obviously not the movie I was going to see. Instead, I went to see "The Matador" on that particular trip to the movie theatre. It took me over four years after that to get around to watching the original "Big Momma's House", and just before seeing it, I had low expectations, thinking it would probably be a very unfunny comedy, even if it wasn't absolutely terrible. However, while it's unsurprisingly not that great, I did laugh.

Malcolm Turner is an FBI agent who is very skilled in disguising himself for undercover operations. After it is announced that a murderer and robber named Lester Vesco has just escaped from prison, where he was serving his life sentence, Malcolm and fellow FBI agent John Maxwell are sent to catch him. The FBI believes that the criminal's ex-girlfriend, Sherry Pierce, was also involved in criminal activity, but they haven't been able to prove it. Malcolm and John go to the neighbourhood in Georgia where Sherry's morbidly obese grandmother, Hattie Mae Pierce (a.k.a. Big Momma) lives, and begin to spy on her. Sherry is on her way to her grandmother's house with her son, Trent, but before they arrive, Big Momma leaves town unexpectedly, so Malcolm decides to pose as the feisty elderly woman! He takes on her lifestyle while trying to get the truth from Sherry, and also finds himself falling for the criminal's ex-girlfriend!

Before it is announced that Lester has escaped from prison and Malcolm and John go to spy on Big Momma's house, the film begins with the two FBI agents busting a dog fight, and I guess parts of this sequence are somewhat funny, but no more than that. The film continues to be mostly straight-faced after this, as we learn about the escaped prisoner, the two agents are sent on their mission, and Malcolm disguises himself as Big Momma. The early part where Malcolm has to hide in the shower while Big Momma defecates is memorable, but not in a good way. For a while, it didn't seem like I would be able to give "Big Momma's House" a rating higher than 5/10. I frequently snickered, but it didn't look like I would ever find any BIG laughs in the film. However, that eventually changed. While it's still not that consistent later on, it certainly can be funny with the things Malcolm has to do while in disguise, including a baby delivery. The scene with Sherry seeing Malcolm as himself and the FBI agent claiming to be a handyman is also a really funny part. The story and characters can also be interesting.

This 2000 release is definitely not generally considered one of the great modern-day comedies, and after seeing it, I can understand why, but I've seen much worse excuses for comedy. I wouldn't have been too surprised if I had thought "Big Momma's House" was really lame when I watched it, but while I'm sure many people think it is, I can't say I do. It is uneven, but sometimes funny. Also, there isn't nearly as much juvenile toilet humour in the movie as that one defecation scene suggests! Martin Lawrence plays the lead role here. I haven't seen him in any other film and have only seen a bit of his stand-up comedy, so I'm not that familiar with his work, but think he does a pretty good job with his performance here. This film is a little cheesy and doesn't have the most original plot, and more thought could have been put into the ending as well, but if you want a silly, raunchy comedy, this particular one might work, at least in some parts.

It was an interesting movie. I watched it as a kid.

I tried to like this movie. I really tried. Wait, that's not true. The truth is that I really WANTED to like this movie, but it was just so awful and there was nothing good about it. It was so bad I'm surprised I made it through the whole movie without turning it off. I should get an award for that. It's the only award kind of award this movie should have.

And now I hear they made a SEQUEL to this? Are you kidding me? Don't watch it. It's not worth your time. I'm not even sure why I gave it a two star rating. I should change it to a one. Anyway, I'm sure there are worse movies out there, but right now, off the top of my head, I can't think of any.

The jokes aren't funny. The story isn't fun. The characters aren't fun. All of the above are irritating. I admit I was never a big Martin Lawrence fan, but he's even worse than usual in this. It makes his role in Bad Boys look good, and that's saying something.

The biggest problem with Big Momma's house is that you can often see just how funny it should be, but the cast and crew are not able to sustain the occasional hilarious parts with any consistency.

It doesn't seem to help that Big Momma's House wants to be more than a comedy. Writers Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer shoot for a combination of a crime comedy ala Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and a romantic comedy. But the core comedy is absurdist, while the mostly serious crime stuff is so underwritten that it would be better absent, and the somewhat serious rom-com stuff is so generic and predictable that it has all the surprise of attending Mass.

To me, the comedy being absurdist is a plus, but it doesn't mesh well with other modes. It's ridiculous, of course, that Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) is trying to pass himself off as "Big Momma" Hattie Mae Pierce (Ella Mitchell). That's a large part of what makes it funny. However, director Raja Gosnell's decision to play the rest of the cast as mostly deadpan is a strange one. It leads the viewer to take the film in a more realist mode, but if you're doing that, you keep asking yourself why anyone else would believe that Turner is actually Big Momma. Gosnell should have gone for another approach during the Turner as Big Momma scenes. It's not that they're never funny, but too often the deadpan interaction breaks the humor.

However, the deadpan attitude works wonders when Mitchell is Big Momma. Mitchell is a fantastic here as a comic actress and especially Paul Giamatti as John is hilarious interacting with her. Once those too-brief scenes ended, I was wishing they wouldn't have, and when they reappeared again at the end, it made me more fully realize how much better they were. A whole film could have and should have been written around Mitchell as Big Momma with Giamatti and Lawrence interacting with her and beautiful co-star Nia Long via some other story.

Even with these problems, Big Momma is an enjoyable film. My wife enjoyed it even more than I did, we're looking forward to watching Big Momma's House 2, and we'll certainly watch this again in the future. But it's a case of moments of brilliance poking through so that you see just how much better it could have been.

There are days when I just want to lash out at Hollywood and scream, "why!! Why in God's name, why do you make movies like this?!?!" I don't follow through because I already know the painful answer. Movies like this have a target audience who pay their good, hard-earned (in most cases anyway) money to see what they want to... oh, the hell with it! It's terrible!! My God, don't you people see how bad all of this is?! Can't you see it? Can't you? It's no use.

This was a surprisingly good comedy, despite the predictability of it and the typically-sappy Hollywood ending. Nevertheless, this film has a bunch of laugh- out-loud scenes and jokes and Martin Lawrence is a likable guy. He has the ability to make us laugh just by making goofy faces. His best were when he was trapped in the bathroom behind the shower curtain when the real "Big Momma" (Ella Mitchell) was taking a dump a few feet away! The looks of Lawrence's face during that period were hilarious!

Lawrence eventually dresses as a big fat woman and provides laughs doing so. Ever since the early days of television and Milton Berle, people have laughed at men dressing up imitating women. Pretending to be a 300-pound woman makes it even funnier.

Throw in a pretty female lead (Nia Long) and a little drama to go along with the yuks and it winds up being a decent movie.

BIG MAMMA'S HOUSE / (2000) **1/2 out of ****

"Big Mamma's House" offers exactly what you would expect in a comedy featuring Martin Lawrence dressing up as an old, grossly obese granny; this is a one-joke movie in which an undercover cop disguises himself as Big Mamma and participates in things we anticipate Big Mamma normally would not do. There are some big laughs involved with the size of the title character, as well as her with breasts, attitude, sexuality, and ignorance, but there are also some obvious audience pleasers that feel contrived. Although the make-up effects are astonishing and amusing, there are no surprises found within this material. We have already seen this film's punch line in better parodies like "Some Like It Hot," "Tootsie," and "Mrs. Doubtfire." This movie is predictable, over-enthusiastic, and does not take off with its ideas.

Martin Lawrence stars as a cop named Malcolm, who, with his partner John (Paul Giamatti), is assigned to investigate the jail bust of a convicted criminal named Laster (Terrence Dashon Howard). They suspect the murderer is after his ex-girlfriend, Sherry (Nia Long), and her son Trent (Jascha Washington), who may unknowingly own the stolen loot of a bank heist years ago. Sherry is somewhat aware of the danger she may be in, thus moves immediately to her relative's house, whom everyone calls Big Mamma (Ella Mitchell). Before Sherry arrives, however, Big Mamma leaves town for an engagement. John and Malcolm see potential involved with Big Mamma, thus they determine that having Malcolm go undercover as this character might originate information on Sherry's involvement with Laster's criminal actions.

Martin Lawrence, reprising his "Blue Streak" character, is perfect for the fast talking Mamma in which he disguises himself. The actor is in nearly every scene and is basically what the movie structures upon: one excessive comic situation after another featuring the concealed Malcolm participating in activities from karate class to a joyful church service and from the kitchen baking goodies to sleeping with the unknowing Sherry. Lawrence makes the movie succeed to the level that it does, however, his high spirits and willing energy only carry the film so far. It is only a matter of time before he wares out his welcome and becomes the only thing holding the story together.

The film does not stay focused on the plot of Laster attempting to reach Sherry; if a comedy makes the misconception to take its plot seriously, then it requires consistence. Here, although the setup contains potential, the only tension involved is when Sherry will discover her Big Mamma is an undercover cop. Essentially the movie's story is just an excuse to have Martin Lawrence play a funny character who does funny things.

The film's director is Raja Gosnell, whose "Never Been Kissed" and "Home Alone 3" provided trifling laughs, just like "Big Mamma's House" does. In this film, he and screenwriters Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer attempt to do too much with too little like developing a romantic subplot that feels trite and predictable. No matter how much make-up or covering the filmmakers provide for their characters, beyond an occasional laugh there is simply nothing new here.

Hey look people, Martin Lawrence is wearing a dress! Isn't that funny? Hey look, there is Martin Lawrence wearing a different dress, isn't that still funny? That seems to be the continuing running gag in the new film staring Martin Lawrence titled, BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE. A film that tries to pull off the same male dressed as female jokes that we've seen before in TOOTSIE, SOME LIKE IT HOT, and MRS. DOUBTFIRE. Lawrence plays Malcolm Turner, a federal agent who is after a escaped convict, Lester (Terrence Howard), who is looking for his ex-girlfriend Sherry (Nia Long) who might or might not have the $2 million dollars that he stole during a robbery. Before you can say, STAKEOUT, Malcolm and his partner John (Paul Giamatti), travel to Georgia to watch over the house that belongs to one Big Momma (Ella Mitchell), hoping that Sherry will show up to see her big grandmother. When Big Momma makes a unexpected departure, Malcolm decides to play Big Momma so he can help capture Lester. The plot to this film is as routine as Lawrence's last film, BLUE STREAK. And like BLUE STREAK, it also has another element missing, humor. The jokes in this film are so predictable and lame. And to get the 12 year olds in the theater laughing, they also include some more left over potty jokes from READY TO RUMBLE, which were just as stupid in that film. And to get the audience groaning, they have a shot showing Big Momma's behind. Why they did that, I still don't know? Lawrence use to be funny on his t.v. show and in the movie BAD BOYS. Here, he's just playing the same role, Martin Lawrence, just this time he's dressed up as a woman. When Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy dress up as women, they at least add some personality to their disguises, and make their fictional character seem real. With Lawrence, it's just good ol' Martin wearing a wig and dress. And character actor Paul Giamatti is wasted playing the bumbling partner of Lawrence. Giamatti has been in some excellent films like PRIVATE PARTS, NEGOTATITOR, and MAN ON THE MOON, among many others. Why is he in this film, I still do not know. And Nia Long is also wasted playing the girl who notices the little differences in big momma, but just shrugges them off. What's bad about this movie, everything. There are no jokes, ripped off plot, stereo typed characters and stereo typed situations that the average movie audience has seen a dozen times already. I guess the people who never seen classic drag films like SOME LIKE IT HOT and TOOTSIE, would enjoy this. But for those who love and enjoy those films, will pity the filmmakers of this film. There is one good thing I can say about BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE, it will keep BATTLEFIELD EARTH company for one of the worst movies of the summer. * (out of five)