22 Reviews

9 out of 10 people found this review helpful:
A real fun movie ;->

I love pretty much anything that Mo'nique is in and anything Martin is in. To see them here together was a real treat. This movie is fun and enjoyable and sure it's corny and silly in some parts, but you can't take it too seriously. The cast is great (Nicole Ari Parker, James Earl Jones, Cedric the Entertainer, Joy Bryant etc) and the story fun.
Roscoe has moved across the country to get away from his family and is a talk show host out in LA. He goes back home to visit when it's his parents' 50th anniversary. It's there that we see exactly how zany his family really are and why he left in the first place. It's hilarious and yet we do also see him accept his family as they are too.
It's not Oscar material for sure, but it's a great movie for light entertainment with a terrific cast that will surely make you laugh. It's enjoyable and I really liked this one.

9 out of 13 people found this review helpful:
Pretty Pathetic

Martin Lawrence used to be on the cutting edge of comedy. What happened? He continues to make bad film after bad film this included. What looks like a family reunion becomes more of a sad commentary on american famalies. Martin lawrence is not cut out for this type of film. he looks so out of place and his character is more annoying than the other ones designed to be annoying. Put martin Lawrence in the adam sandler category. someone who is funny at times but has zero acting ability. stay away from this film youll be glad you did

6 out of 9 people found this review helpful:
"Where did we go wrong with that boy?"

RJ Stevens (Martin Lawrence) is the host of an irreverent and raunchy talk show in the sun-soaked state of California, and is engaged to "Survivor" contestant Bianca Kittles (Joy Bryant). One day, he recieves a phone call from his old parents (Margaret Avery, James Earl Jones), who ask him to come over for their 50th wedding anniversary. With them and his son Jamaal (Damani Roberts) goading him to go, he takes his clan to the Deep South, where old wounds are open, and a crush from the past (Nicole Ari Parker) returns to make RJ question if his glamorous life defines who he is.

I think "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins" can be compared to Amanda Bynes films: they're really good, but they'll probably appeal to certain audiences and turn off the rest. It's also Martin Lawrence still looking for that "Get Out of Jail" card to apologize for the recent crap he shoved in our faces since the disastrous "Big Momma's House 2". And Malcolm D. Lee, brother of Spike Lee and the birth parent of the blaxploitation spoof/homage "Undercover Brother", is behind the lens. For me, I find the film to be immensely entertaining in a year that began with a couple of crappy films (J-horror films) and underwhelmingly overlooked gems (the new Rambo). And I can always live with that.

The film has been compared to the works of Tyler Perry, someone who makes the most headache-inducing films that African-Americans don't deserve, but see anyway. Here, Lee is looking to really go for broke with an impressive ensemble of comedians including Mike Epps (underwhelmingly underrated), Cedric the Entertainer (coming off the worst film of last year, "Code Name: The Cleaner"), and Mo'Nique (I won't go any further), while bringing in already successful actors like Michael Clarke Duncan (further sharpening his comedy skills post-"Talledega Nights" - who could forget the outtakes!), Margaret Avery (another student of the Ruby Dee school for lovable grandmothers) and James Earl Jones (always a pleasant appearance) to round out the cast.

With that list, how does the film fare? Oh, it's a funny one. While not a gut-buster (some scenes - including a race between RJ and Clyde - seem to drag on), there are a slew of funny scenes. Lee still hones his satirical vision from "UB", and sends up the talk circuit with a no-good cheater (newcomer - I think - Affion Crockett). When he moves on to the meat and bones of the film - the family reunion/anniversary - the film becomes a mixture of Adam Sandler-type schenanigans and urban sitcom wisecracks. That's not to say it's unfunny. You can thank scene stealers like Mo'Nique and Mike Epps for that job (ugh, the bathroom scene is priceless).

It all boils down to Lawrence, however. Still looking to get critics back on his graces after being dissed during the "Black Knight"-"BMH2" era, the comic actor decides to tone it down and play a humbled loser. That allows him to achieve good chemistry between all his co-stars, including a welcome appearance from Nicole Ari Parker, someone who hasn't been seen since the Anthony Anderson disaster, "King's Ransom" (three years were worth it, I might add).

The only problem with the film is its need to grow a heart while being a jovial walk in the park. It's no surprise, since Lee tried his hand at a coming-of-age film ("Roll Bounce"), but someone should've gave him a copy of "Old School", which maintained its funny bone the whole way through. It sort of causes "Welcome Home" to trip a bit, but doesn't derail the film completely. Compared to the recent crop of cruddy urban films released before, this brings back a bit of scrappy charm and respect that black or white audiences can enjoy.

6 out of 13 people found this review helpful:
I won't take Roscoe Jenkins home with me.

When I first saw the trailer for "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins," I thought it was going to be a great movie. I was ready for another nice, family get together romantic comedies after seeing "Dan In Real Life." After all, who wouldn't want to see a nice family get together romantic comedy. But I actually realized now that I was extremely wrong.

What the @$!% happened to Martin Lawrence? Sorry for the foul language back there, but what the hell happened to him? Wasn't he a really funny guy? He was terrible in "National Security" but turned out his brilliance in the original "Big Momma's House" movie. Yes, he had his moments in the sequel, but I couldn't stand "Big Momma's House 2," and I just happened to have thought the original "Big Momma's House" was so much better.

"Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" actually proves that Martin Lawrence lost its edge and he was funny once. Sure, the movie is a great concept, but there's nothing you can expect from Martin Lawrence in his extremely ridiculous movie.

The film follows RJ Stevens whose a popular talk-show host and his fiance Bianca want to win a game of Survivor. Yet RJ Stevens and his fiance and son start to spend a four day weekend at his familys' place. Things start to go all wrong and off handy, but everything tries to shake up a bit. You know. Don't get me wrong. I did like the story, but everything else about the movie fails.

I couldn't really stand "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins." Maybe, I couldn't stand it at all. You have gotten Martin Lawrence in the film, but you also get good performances that go horribly wrong from Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, James Earl Jones and Monique. Monique's disgusting thing in the shower to Mike Epps was even left out from the film.

Another thing that I couldn't stand about the film were the jokes. From the trailer, they did seem funny, but when I watched the movie, I realized that the jokes were forced. Taking things from "Meet the Parents." Taking a spoof storyline out of "Dan In Real Life" and "The Family Stone" and even forcing things from a scene from "Toy Story" and forcing most things from "Meatballs." There were a couple of original jokes that were just so-so, but overall the movie just gets wasted everytime it crumbles and cracks.

Yes let Roscoe Jenkins go home. But you know what, I won't take him to my home. I'd just drop him off at his place and leave him there. OK! Now I'm exaggerating. I would rather have my own family resemble "Dan In Real Life" than in this one, because this one just doesn't give me a resemblance.

6 out of 7 people found this review helpful:
Over educated people make me sick

To the above reviewer, yes the film may not be great, and you may not think it was funny or whatever, but your comparing it to a movie that has nothing in common with this film. Dan In Real Life???? Are you serious? Martin Lawrence along with several other African American comedians have always made films like this, they have nothing to do with Romance, and warm family comedy. They are suppose to relate to a certain audience and that is it. If you expect too much from an actor, or a trailer....... You will be dissapointed every time. I agree Martin has lost his edge a bit, but he has been doing it for a long time now, and I believe he will be just fine in years to come. If you are a Martin fan, buy the movie, if not do not buy it, it is not going to appeal to you.