Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (2008)

O Masterpiece
O Excellent
O Rental
X OK
O Mediocrity
O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / February 20, 2008

The biggest problem with “Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins” is that it wears out its welcome. The 114-minute runtime might as well be three hours, thanks to the last 15 minutes. Granted, “Welcome Home” is funnier than I expected, but still not as funny as Martin Lawrence has been in the past. If you’re a non-believer of Lawrence’s abilities, see “Blue Streak” (1999), one of his best movies.

In “Welcome Home,” Martin Lawrence is somewhat reined in as R.J. (Roscoe Jenkins) Stevens. Because his role has a sad undercurrent, in many scenes he’s the straight man. (“Straight man” in the comedic sense.) This miscalculation also occurs in “Daddy Day Camp” (2007), a lesser movie whose very similar story line made the same mistake by putting Cuba Gooding Jr. on the bench instead of in the game.

R.J. Stevens is the successful talk show host for “Access Hollywood,” a television program that appears to be a hybrid mix between Oprah and Jerry Springer. Stevens is also the author of a motivational, self-help book titled “Team of Me.” And last but not least, Stevens is engaged to Bianca Kittles (Joy Bryant), a recent winner of the hit reality TV show “Survivor.”

Just when life seems like it couldn’t be better for Stevens, his parents call and invite him to come back home to Dry Springs, Georgia, to enjoy a four-day family reunion celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. It’s been nine years since Stevens has been home, and he has his reasons for that.

To name a few, the fancy Hollywood man incurs the ferocity of family scrutiny, including several physical scuffles. Also, Stevens has always sought approval and validation, particularly from his father, but has never received it. However, most of his grief comes from a fierce, competitive rivalry with his cousin, Clyde (Cedric the Entertainer), whom he blames for losing the girl of his dreams, the love of his life, Lucinda (Nicole Ari Parker).

Now, I pause a moment from the plot summary to point out that Lucinda’s introduction is one of the great Hollywood entrances in the history of cinema. It’s true! Though it’s a standard convention for the first glimpse of “the pretty girl,” Parker’s first scene ranks up there with the moment we first see Harry Lime (Orson Welles) in “The Third Man” (1949).

As you might have guessed, the festivities of the family reunion, such as the barbecue, the softball game, the fish fry and the obstacle course provide a backdrop for the feuding cousins to compete, while a not-so-ideal fiancée and an old flame simmer on the sidelines.

“Welcome Back, Roscoe Jenkins” has a solid cast, from James Earl Jones as Papa Jenkins, to Michael Clarke Duncan as Sheriff Otis, Roscoe’s brother. But the funniest actor is easily Mike Epps as cousin Reggie; he even steals the show from Martin Lawrence.

There are, however, “unpleasantries,” such as Betty, played by Mo’Nique. As a contrast to Nicole Ari Parker’s entrance, Mo’Nique’s character is initially the most over-the-top, overdone, overbearing affliction of film since Jar Jar Binks. “Saw 19” should feature Betty and Jar Jar in a room together as its gruesome curtain-raiser. Another misfortune found in “Welcome Home” is an overboard, rough sex scene, which is the most ridiculous of its kind since “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” (2006). Oh, and there’s even a parallel rough sex scene to match involving two dogs. … Hilarious, just like whoopi cushions are hilarious.

You know, we’ve seen “Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins” before. In fact, it was just last year, except it was cast with white people: “Mr. Woodcock.” Seann William Scott leaves home and a bunch of bad memories behind and becomes a famous self-help book author. But when he must return to his home town again, he’s forced to face his ugly memories, which, in this movie come in the form of Billy Bob Thornton or Mr. Woodcock, his abusive gym teacher. If you’re itching to see this story played out, “Welcome Home” is the better of the two.

Although it’s utterly irrelevant now, since it was omitted from the movie altogether, there was something about the trailer that bothered me: Because Lawrence plays a talk show host, another character makes a joke about him being a male Oprah or “Op-bro.” Get it? … Who wrote that? Isn’t it obvious that “Bro-prah” works better? Maybe that slipped through during the writers’ strike.

I don’t know why I care, but a few things were omitted from the trailer, including the Nell Carter shower reference. The revised scene, as it is in the movie, is strained and cumbersome and doesn’t work nearly as well. Nevertheless, an unkind but funny Forest Whitaker impersonation compensates for the deletion.

As for you Martin Lawrence fans, there’s good news: Though I have my doubts, he’s got another crack at bringing us an even funnier movie with his upcoming “College Road Trip,” which is scheduled for release on March 7.

One final note: “Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins” has some additional footage during the credits, but it’s not worth sticking around for. When the credits roll, you can roll. Buhlee-dat!

Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Martin Lawrence / James Earl Jones / Cedric the Entertainer
Comedy 114 min.
MPAA: PG-13 (for crude and sexual content, language and some drug references)

U.S. Release Date: February 8, 2008
Copyright 2008: 240