Movie Review:
   Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins

by: Krystle Merchant

This new comedy from Martin Lawrence (Big Momma’s House) finds him
playing RJ Stevens/Roscoe Jenkins, a man who left his southern family to
find stardom in Los Angeles. He changed his name, got a hit talk show, and
found someone to love – through his publicist. To celebrate his parents’
fiftieth wedding anniversary, RJ/Roscoe returns home and there faces the
secrets that he left behind.

RJ is a Dr. Phil-like host with a best-selling book called “The Team of Me.”
The concept is never actually explained, but the gist of it is that you should
only rely on yourself and not depend on anyone else. This philosophy
helped him win the heart of Survivor winner, Bianca (Joy Bryant, Honey), a
too-skinny vegan, who was introduced to him by his publicist after Bianca
was a guest on the show. Their love revolves around the fact that she has
reshaped his life using the Survivor motto, “Outwit. Outplay. Outlast.” This
does not fit so well with his Southern upbringing and neither does Bianca’s
snobby attitude. (Oh, RJ also has a son, Jamaal, but he’s more of an
emotional prop than an actual character.)

Once they fly to Roscoe’s home (insert airport jokes and gags here)  
everyone’s true colors come out. Roscoe didn’t go home for nine years
because of his relatives! His father, played by James Earl Jones, thinks he’s a
failure. His cousin Clyde, Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop), is his worst
enemy who challenges him and wins every time. His sister Betty (Mo’Nique,
The Parkers) listens in on his conversations, teases him, and beats him up.
His brother, played by Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile), just beats
him up. Other family members follow suit, pretty much making it a
miserable weekend - and viewing experience.

Are you wondering about the plot? So was I. Basically, Roscoe, Bianca, and
Jamaal go to the anniversary celebration weekend. Bianca is mean and
conniving, unlike the Jenkins clan who is just as mean but playful. Turns
out, Roscoe’s true love is his high school crush, Lucinda (Nicole Ari Parker,
Brown Sugar), who is everything Bianca isn’t (a nice, caring carnivore), and
is also possibly involved with Clyde. Everyone in the plot sticks to their one
sentence description and once all the characters are introduced, it ends
exactly like you think it will.

There are a lot of big names in Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, but the
script is dead and doesn’t give them anything to work with. The great
comedians in the film don’t get to deliver like they should. The laughs are
all stale and the gags have been done too many times to remember (think
skunk sprays). What could have maybe been a cute love story between
Lawrence and Parker is too watered down to make you root for it.

Though the film is rated PG-13, I was squirming and felt generally
uncomfortable because of the sheer number of sexual references. There are
entirely too many vulgar conversations and not enough actual comedy
gems! The language is just shy of an R rating, so if you’re going to see it, do
not take parents or little siblings along. It’s not a family movie, it’s not a
good Valentine’s Day romance, and sadly, you’ll only laugh out loud a
couple of times. Maybe Lawrence will have more luck in his movie, College
Road Trip with Raven Symone (That’s So Raven).