Big Momma's House

by Tom Meek

This reedy cop comedy/romance from Raja Gosnell has Martin Lawrence as intrepid FBI agent Malcolm Turner, who hides under layers of foam and other synthetic goo to become Big Momma, a cantankerous 400-pound Georgia peach with irritable-bowel syndrome. Malcolm's trying to nail a bad-ass bank robber (Terrence Howard) who used to go with Big Momma's estranged granddaughter, Sherry (Nia Long). Turns out Sherry unknowingly has her ex-flame's cash haul stored in her son's toy chest when she decides to visit Big Momma. Problem is, the real Big Momma has just left town unexpectedly, so to keep the stake-out going, Malcolm has to step in and impersonate her.

As endearing as Long's single mother is, this film's about Lawrence's comic high jinks. His tongue-tied lust for Sherry is uproarious, and the smackdown game of two-on-two ("Granny's got game!") against some playground punks is the film's crowning jewel. Beyond that, Big Momma's House is a Mrs. Doubtfire wanna-be. The romance between Sherry and Malcolm never takes hold, and even the humorous Anthony Anderson and Paul Giamatti, as goofy law-enforcement sidekicks, can't pull Momma beyond a smattering of snickers.