Review: Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son

Reviews

College Road Trip

Another Martin Lawrence shtick

By TOM MEEK | March 12, 2008

2.0 Stars

College Road Trip

Every time I go to see a Martin Lawrence movie, I keep thinking, when are they going to finally pull the plug? His shtick hasn’t changed since his ’90s TV show. And yet, after each dreadful entry, I exit relieved that my abysmal expectations have not been met. Same here. Lawrence’s James Porter is a controlling father and Illinois police chief who has his baton so far up his ass he won’t let his daughter (Raven-Symoné) go to the school of her choice (Georgetown) because it’s too wild and too far from home. Some wait-list magic happens, James relents, and father and daughter hit almost every cliché en route to DC. Director Roger Kumble shows surprising confidence with the claptrap premise, but it’s Raven-Symoné’s funkadelic karaoke bit on an Asian tour bus, a cute pig, and Donny Osmond as a nut-job dad that make this trip bearable. 83 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Chestnut Hill + suburbs

Related: Big Momma’s House 2, Review: Death at a Funeral, Carnival of the absurd, More

Topics: Reviews , Celebrity News, Entertainment, Martin Lawrence, More

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