Okay where do I start? People often accuse Tyler Perry’s movies of being modern day black minstrel shows due to the ugly, broad, stereotyped characters and themes. I am willing to bet that these same people will cut him some slack once they see Malcolm D. Lee’s Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins. I would think that with such a wide range of talents in the cast (Martin Lawrence, Cedric The Entertainer, Mike Epps, James Earl Jones, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mo’Nique and Nicole Ari Parker) you would have a semi-decent movie with some comedic highlights. Well, you would think but what I got was an appalling mess of a story that seemed to be the bootleg of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins is a story about a loser from the country who finds his niche in television as a talk show host. After finding his dream wife in a woman named Bianca Kittles (Joy Bryant) he is invited to his parent’s family reunion. Having always skipped out on homecomings due to his estranged relationship with family, Roscoe (now called RJ) decides to use the opportunity to garner ratings. When he returns home and eats the pork ribs of big brother Otis (Michael Clarke Duncan) and is reminded of his roots, he is prompted to remember what is really important in his life.
The only thing I found funny in this movie was Mike Epps. The humor is childish, racially insensitive and embarrassingly unfunny. As a long time fan of Martin Lawrence, this movie really drove it home to me that his star has long passed. The flow of the dialogue was odd and it seemed as if the comedians were vying for screen time to do their thing. Mo’Nique dominates the movie as the fat, horny, incest-driven sister of Roscoe named Betty. Cedric the Entertainer is kept to a minimum (probably not at his wanting) as Betty goes on and on about orgasms, wanting to be with Clyde (Cedric) and how people should respect her kitchen.
Thinking that I was being too critical of it all, I tried to lighten up until I realized that I hated every single character (sans poppa Jenkins… who could hate Darth Vader?) I tried my best to get into the spirit of the family reunion but after seeing a poodle go “cowgirl” on a bigger dog I sighed and hung my head in defeat. It is such a mess, the beautiful Nicole Ari Parker plays Roscoe’s high school crush named Lucinda. She is pretty much a dumb country girl who wants to marry a good man (rolls eyes). Her most memorable line to me was when she noted that she had gone to college, not for an education or a possible career mind you, but to find a man. Awesome.
You would be well advised to stay far away from this movie, unless you find the comedy of Mike Epps worth it (for the 15 minutes of screen time he has) or if you are a Mo’Nique fan. This could have worked out to be a really funny movie with some heart to it, had they cared about the writing outside of getting a horde of popular talent and hoping that it would plant asses in the theater seats. I never like to be this critical of anything but I would have to be paid in order to sit through that mess again. A special kudos goes out to Joy Bryant who plays RJ’s survivor ball and chain, she was deliciously hate-able in the role
Written by Greg Dragon – who has written 365 reviews on Spicy Movie Dogs.
Cinephile and opinion writer, Greg Dragon has been a fan of movies since the 80's when Kung Fu theater was all the rage and Roger Moore was James Bond. As an opinion writer that has reviewed Box Office releases on a number of prominent websites, Greg is the founder and lead critic of Spicy Movie Dogs.
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