By Brian Marder
Story
She's a hip-hoppin', be-boppin', mean ol' nanny who whips a mean stew and your butt for not doing your homework—and now she's back! Alas, we don't speak of the
Mrs. Doubtfire sequel, but rather that of Big Momma, a.k.a. FBI Agent Malcolm Turner (
Martin Lawrence). Agent Warner has cut ties with the FBI at the behest of Sherry (
Nia Long)—who, as you no doubt recall, is the granddaughter of the real Big Momma—since she's pregnant with Malcolm's baby. But wouldn't you know that he gets sucked back in after a former colleague is killed. Posing as Big Momma, he's hired as a nanny to a suburban family, the deadbeat dad of which is involved in the murder and a crime plot. She does it all—cooks, cleans, dances and even runs down bad guys, but it's a race against time to stop the potential national security crisis. That is, a race against the film's (mercifully) short running time.
Acting
Although
Lawrence's resume includes some of the dregs of comedy, it's hard to argue that he is truly blessed when it comes to physical comedy and comedic timing. He continues both trends here, this time without the help of
the breakthrough actors of the past two years,
Paul Giamatti and
Terrence Howard, who, yes, both starred in the first
Big Momma's House. That means
Lawrence's urban mania is truly on its own, and absurd and juvenile as the film may be, even film snobs can't hold back a few laughs at his Big Momma outlandishness.
Longreturns for no more than a select few scenes and to provide a minor conflict in the story. The notable newcomer is
CSI's
Emily Procter, as the sterile mother who hires Big Momma. She does a serviceable job as a suburban Petite Momma. Might she be the next
Giamatti or
Howard to bolt to bigger and better things in time for the next sequel? No.
Direction
Big Momma's House 2 is right up director
John Whitesell's alley. He's the guy behind such misses—though not necessarily financially—as
Malibu's Most Wanted and
See Spot Run, and he's right at home here.
Whitesell doesn't hold back in (literally and figuratively) pulling the robe off Big Momma, but he clearly knows that nothing is to interrupt
Lawrence's antics, not even the thin story line. Aside from that, he knows quite well how to execute thinly veiled rip-offs of the aforementioned
Mrs. Doubtfire, as well as countless other hidden-motive comedies (i.e.
Kindergarten Cop,
Houseguest, et al). Because while the main guise is the Big Momma fat suit,
Whitesell parades the film about as a feel-good/family flick.