'Big Momma' thin on quality

By STEVE PERSALL

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 2, 2000

If human beings couldn't be obese, sexually aroused or suffering diarrhea, there wouldn't be any jokes stored in Big Momma's House. There must be more to comedy than a big booty.

Martin Lawrence lets latex makeup and a fat suit do all his dirty work, which isn't as dirty as usual to maintain a more profitable PG-13 rating. Lawrence plays Malcolm, an FBI agent tracking an escaped felon by impersonating a rotund, elderly woman, looking like TV weatherman Al Roker in drag.

Cross-dressing is a time-honored tradition in comedy, but Lawrence misses the point. The fun comes from watching men cope with female problems -- usually other males -- they never considered before. The dress is the set-up. Becoming a better man by playing a woman is the key to great punch lines. Just ask Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire.

Lawrence blows raspberries at women instead of kisses. Especially plus-sized women. Once Malcolm's charade begins, the movie is a sluggish progression of acts that overweight women typically don't attempt; slamming basketballs, freak-dancing at church and beating up a self-defense class bully. No sense of affection, just an insulting get-a-load-of-this-load attitude.

If women aren't grossly overweight, they must be meddlers like Big Momma's baking buddies or pushovers for the wrong man, like the barely noticed villain's girlfriend, Sherry (Nia Long). They're all too dense to notice the overnight switch from the real Big Momma (Ella Mitchell) to Malcolm's sloppy disguise. At least her amorous gentleman caller has bad vision for an alibi.

The crime angle exists as a time-padding excuse for standard romance between Malcolm and Sherry. It also introduces the film's token white guy (Paul Giamatti), an FBI agent assigned to wit control. "Action" is defined as a few karate kicks Jackie Chan could perform in his sleep. Probably while watching this movie.

Director Raja Gosnell plays this one-line pitch without any noticeable inspiration. He simply allows Lawrence to waddle wherever he wishes while R&B tunes cover for the script's verbal deficiencies. Gosnell gets his best laughs from showing the real Big Momma making a noisy, odorous deposit in a toilet, then displaying ample rear nudity while Malcolm makes funny faces. Gosnell's own momma must be so proud.

'Big Momma's House'

Grade: D

Director: Raja Gosnell

Cast: Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Paul Giamatti, Ella Mitchell, Terrence Howard, Jascha Washington

Screenplay: Darryl Quarles, Don Rhymer

Rating: PG-13; profanity, sexual situations, violence, nudity

Running time: 98 min.