Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
*
Martin Lawrence, James Earl Jones, Margaret Avery, Joy Bryant, Cedric the Entertainer, Nicole Ari Parker, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mike Epps, Mo’Nique
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Rated PG-13
Opens Friday
Martin Lawrence stars as the successful host of a sleazy talk show, engaged to a Survivor winner (Joy Bryant). They visit his Southern family, the source for a lot of unsolved childhood anguish. Funny people abound, such as Cedric the Entertainer, Mo’Nique and Mike Epps, but their antics can’t save this lazy, bloated, stupid affair. Writer-director Malcolm D. Lee sets up all the typical jokes with no skill or timing, and his attempts at heartfelt drama flop; in fact, his camera seems to have trouble even following any kind of physical movement. This is the type of thing his cousin Spike has railed against for years.