This reviewer wishes he had Al Sharpton on speed dial.
"Big Momma's House 2" Review
Martin Lawrence- Malcolm Turner/Big Momma
Nia Long- Sherry Price
Emily Procter- Leah Fuller
Mark Moses- Tom Fuller
Zachary Levi- Kevin Keneally
Kat Dennings- Molly Fuller
Chloe Moretz- Carrie Fuller
Patrick Blanchard- Andrew Fuller
Directed by John Whitesell
Screenplay by Don Rhymer
Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox
Rated PG-13 for some sexual humor and a humorous drug reference
Runtime- 99 minutes
Website: http://www.bigmommashouse2.com/
John Cleese once said (and this reviewer is fairly certain that the great Mr. Cleese isn't the first to point it out) that when it comes to comedy, if people aren't laughing it isn't funny. In other words, it doesn't matter how many great witticisms you have, how many perfectly timed zingers or literary inside references you have, or how many expertly written fresh and hip and edgy scenes and skits and sketches you have, if the shmoes sitting in front of you aren't laughing, yahooing, ballywooping, or at least snickering, you're screwed. As Cleese said, comedy is brittle. It all depends. "Big Momma's House 2," the sequel to the 2000 flick where Martin Lawrence's FBI agent Malcolm Turner goes undercover as an old fat woman nicknamed "Big Momma" to get information, is one of those extremely brittle comedies that either works or it doesn't work. It makes you laugh or it doesn't. This reviewer laughed. He laughed often (he was also the only one in the theatre for this particular matinee).
"Big Momma's House 2" starts off with a murder at a dock. A man is shot and killed and pitched into the water. The seemingly random murder elicits the attention of the FBI. The dead man is tied in some way to a man named Fuller (Mark Moses) who the FBI believes is in cahoots with someone else (someone evil) who is creating a super computer worm virus thing that will allow anyone who has it to infiltrate the U.S government's sensitive intelligence computer systems. The FBI has to find out who Fuller is working with. They decide to set up an undercover operation where an agent will apply for (and hopefully get) a recently vacated nanny position in the Fuller home. In comes Malcolm Turner (Lawrence). He wants in on the investigation as he knew the murdered agent (it was Turner's first partner. And no, it's not Paul Giamatti. In fact, Paul doesn't reprise his role from the first flick at all. Paul is now wearing black knit caps and thick rimmed black glasses and always photographed in black and white with his hands under his chin. Paul has gone artist on us). Turner's superior says no way, Turner is a PR agent (Turner dresses up as a safety eagle mascot guy and goes to elementary schools to tell kids not to do unsafe things and then sets himself on fire by accident. Funny stuff). Turner asked for the new job because of his pregnant wife Sherry (the returning non-artist Nia Long). So that would seem to be it. Nope. Turner finds out about the nanny plan and decides to head off the planned undercover nanny and do it himself. Enter "Hattie Mae Pierce," Big Momma.
Lawrence's Big Momma entrance in the Fuller house is really where the yucks move quickly. You have the gargantuan Big Momma moving slowly, having breathing difficulties and not being able to sit on a small stool in the kitchen because, well, it's small. Next we meet the kids and their mother. The mother Leah Fuller (Emily Procter) introduces to her mute 3 foot son Andrew (Patrick Blanchard), who constantly jumps off the living room couch and the top bunk of his bed without getting hurt and who eats brillo pads from under the sink; Carrie (Chloe Moretz) the middle child, a shy dancer cheerleader wannabe who just wants to impress her dad so he'll spend more time with the family; and Molly (Kat Dennings, the girl who was recently the jail bait bang partner of Shane West on "ER") the oldest Fuller child, a pseudo Goth slacker hip and edgy misunderstood "It's society" teenager. Leah manages to keep her three children on a tight schedule of important activities that are supposed to give them all the necessary skills and experience to go far in life and maybe go to Harvard. There's a color coded chart for this and everything. Big Momma doesn't want to adhere to the schedule and would prefer to just do the surveillance. Nope on that count, too. Big Momma also has to do household chores while watching the kids. It's all quite burdensome, but Turner's cover cannot be blown. He must do what needs to be done. Will it work out?
And hilarity ensues.
The movie riffs off this nanny watching the kids thing and the surveillance thing, actually managing to keep a good balance between the two. The only lagging part (although it does have its share of laughs) is a Nia Long subplot where she thinks Malcolm is cheating. It's a great bit and would have made for a decent movie in and of itself, but as it is here it ends far too quickly. And you should ask yourself about the actual motivation of the whole sequence. This reviewer won't spoil the details but will ask the following: how didn't she know that Malcolm may have had a big thong left over from his previous movie assignment? Interesting question. Now that this reviewer thinks about it, that's probably why the whole sequence feels truncated. It's good for what it is (giving Long something to do while pregnant since she can't jump around and whatnot) but that's all it's there for.
Lawrence is quite good as the dual Turner and Big Momma. The physical comedy aspects, the voice, it all works. He seems more at ease here that perhaps we're all used to (this reviewer has always seen Lawrence as an amped up kind of guy. He seems to smile quite often, but it isn't because he's happy. It's because he's insane. Here it just seems he's content to be making a fortune playing an old woman in a fat suit). If they do decide to make a third one Lawrence will be welcomed back without question. Besides Lawrence and the somewhat underused Long, there are no other real standout performances. Blanchard's Andrew works well as the always in mischief mute little kid. Because he's always doing weird stuff he's memorable. Everyone else is basically a lame white person. Zachary Levi's dimwitted FBI agent and eventual Turner partner Kevin does add some befuddled straight man stupidity when he's moved into the story (he'll probably hang around for a sequel. This reviewer is pretty sure he won't pull a Giamatti unless he winds the lottery or marries Jessica Simpson). Basically, Lawrence has to carry the whole movie, and he does it. Without him, the movie wouldn't work. And if they make this into some kind of TV show down the road…
So, what else do we have in "BMH2?" What should you watch out for? Big Momma cleaning a house with a leaf blower, young rich kids learning to get their "stank" on, a wild Segway Scooter chase at the beach, a gratuitous "10" parody, a synagogue, Victoria's Secret models, a brief appearance by the legolicious Stacy Kiebler, a spa excursion with hot rocks and a mud cannonball (you'll get it), a little snarky fat kid computer hacker watched by the federal BI named Stewart (Josh Flitter), and a regional cheerleader meet with an unexpected expected guest. All of that among other stuff.
Now, should you see "Big Momma's House 2?" This reviewer will say yes, see it and laugh. But if you're not the least bit impressed by the trailers and previews, and if you're someone who has no sense of humor (you anti "Three Stooges" people know who you are) then you won't like it. It's that brittle. You won't laugh.
This reviewer just wants to end this review with two lines from the flick.
Big Momma: "I got Al Sharpton on speed dial."
Big Momma: "Where is it on the schedule where I get to drink a 40 and watch Dr Phil?"
Are they lame? Yeah. But they're still funny.
See it if you want.
The 411: “Big Momma’s House 2” is the well made and quite funny sequel to the 2000 flick where Martin Lawrence is an undercover FBI agent dressed up as a big fat woman. In the sequel Lawrence is back in the fat suit watching three weird kids whose father may be committing treason against America. It’s full of shtick and ludicrous riffs and plenty of physical comedy. If you didn’t like the first flick you won’t like this one. The Nia Long sequences are paid off too quickly, but that’s really the flick’s only flaw. Martin Lawrence manages to carry the weight of the story from beginning to end. It just wouldn’t work without him.
