Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

A self-help guru and TV celebrity (Martin Lawrence) takes his trophy fiancée (Joy Bryant) home to Georgia for his parents’ 50th anniversary celebration, where all the old family rivalries and resentments boil to the surface. At least, that’s what the story would be if writer-director Malcolm D. Lee weren’t so obsessed with trash talk, fat jokes and offensive stereotypes. Alert viewers, desperate to salvage something from this time-waster, may be pleasantly surprised to notice that Lawrence actually gives a pretty good performance—impressive, given Lee’s ham-handed direction. As Lawrence’s parents, James Earl Jones and Margaret Avery comport themselves with dignity, and Michael Clarke Duncan has moments as his big brother. The same can’t be said for Mo’Nique’s obnoxious performance as his sister.