Revisiting 'The Honeymooners'
This film version of the TV sitcom takes viewers beyond the walls of the Kramden apartment - but definitely not to the moon.
By STEVE PERSALL
Published June 9, 2005
Unlike most movies digging up television's past, The Honeymooners has reason to exist. Jackie Gleason's 1955 sitcom is more historical than hysterical in modern times; a nostalgic treasure for older viewers, and a TV Land antique to the young people who buy most of today's movie tickets.
The formula Gleason perfected - flawed hero, devoted spouse, wacky neighbors and weekly calamities - has been repeated ad nauseam. The comedy is dated, tamer than many folks will tolerate today. Without a remake in tune with contemporary tastes, The Honeymooners would be little more than an amusing museum piece.
The new version of The Honeymooners isn't much better than a rerun of the original, but it is in color (and of color, with a largely African-American cast) and takes us beyond the walls of Ralph and Alice Kramden's apartment. We even take a few detours into Ed Norton's sewers, while his wife Trixie and Alice have jobs outside their homes. Rather than spend the entire time on one of Ralph's get-rich-quick schemes, four screenwriters pile up the same number of potential moneymakers for these working class stiffs.
Who knows? The movie may spark a revival of interest in Gleason's show, which would be the best revenge for purists grumbling about anyone remaking it into a movie.
Cedric the Entertainer steps into Gleason's shoes as Ralph, driving a city bus around New York and singing disco hits into the public address system. Director John Schultz immediately pulls off a nice surprise, showing Ralph and Alice's first meeting, with Gleason's catch phrase "to the moon, Alice" becoming a player's pickup line rather than a physical threat. Alice (Gabrielle Union) has dreams of a comfy home. Ralph wants to make them come true.
Six years later, they're stuck in that cramped apartment, with Ed (Mike Epps) regularly taking the fire escape route to visit with dumb riddles and ideas. Alice and Trixie (a sexier version, thanks to Regina Hall) are waiters, and overhear an old woman's plan to sell her duplex to a shady developer (Eric Stoltz). All the Kramdens and Nortons need is $20,000 to buy their dream home together.
Getting that money is the crux of The Honeymooners, as it usually was with Gleason's version. One thing you can say about Schultz: He knows and respects the past. Nothing in The Honeymooners sullies the original's reputation. A few risque lines sneak into the mix, but that's what updates are expected to do today. Most jokes are based on conventional slapstick, slow burns and Ralph's lack of anger management.
Cedric the Entertainer doesn't imitate Gleason except by adding a bit more growl to his voice. Epps could use a lot more of Art Carney's limber, exaggerated humor; his chances to evoke Ed's persnickety nervousness, playing pool and a piano, fall flat. Union and Hall are limp presences compared to supporting players John Leguizamo as a dog track hustler and Carol Woods as Alice's mother. Four writers couldn't find many solid jokes, but Leguizamo's improvisational skills and Woods' glare fill some gaps.
Fans of Gleason's show expect any remake of The Honeymooners to dive into the sewers. Hipper audiences expect comics such as Cedric and Epps to take them to the moon. The results are somewhere in between, where eventually neither side will care.
The HoneymoonersGrade: C
Director: John Schultz
Cast: Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall, Eric Stoltz, John Leguizamo, Carol Woods, Jon Polito
Screenplay: Barry W. Blaustein, Danny Jacobson, Don Rhymer, David Sheffield, based on the CBS sitcom
Rating: PG-13; mild profanity, brief crude and suggestive humor
Running time: 90 min.