So my attempt at more serious reviews is stupid. I know. I thought I could make it work longer than just one film but nope, it’s not going to happen.

Why, you might ask? Because today we are going to talk about Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins!

Martin Lawrence, Cedric The Entertainer and a good bunch of other African American actors are in this film and they try to make a good comedy out of the classic “black sheep” family story. It works sometimes, but here…it just falls flat a lot of the times. While the overall message is somewhat endearing, the movie just doesn’t follow through all that well.

Here is a trailer for Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins now on dvd:

This movie has a simple premise. Roscoe Jenkins, a successful television host, is going home for the first time in 9 years. He meets up with his cousin, and rival, and rekindles a passion for his childhood sweetheart. However, before he can do anything he has to go through the welcoming committee hell bent on whipping him back into shape and showing him that no matter where he is, he’s still a “down south” boy.

The movie leans on pure physical comedy for the laughs, and at times they are hilarious. Mike Epps is hilarious as usual, and he doesn’t seem like he’s acting, more so he’s just reacting to whatever is going on. Martin Lawrence plays the same down and out character with bad judgment and gets beat up for the most part of this film.

James Earl Jones shows up as the father figure and while I appreciate the attempt to solidify a father role that is not completely goofy, he’s not that great in this film. He just is there and is getting a paycheck. Cedric and Martin prove that the two can put on a good show, and while this film seems twenty minutes too long, it manages to have enough spark to keep some parties interested in the tomfoolery. I wouldn’t recommend Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins to anyone that is not a huge fan of Martin Lawrence, because he just seems to be recurring his role in other comedies where he is the underdog learning a lesson.