Martin Lawrence and Anthony Anderson in Big Momma's House.

First of all there is not one original scene in Big Momma's House. This is pure formula, part buddy movie, part chick flick with an overworked mistaken identity/cross dressing theme. Still this film manages to offer a decent amount of chuckles. Due almost entirely to Martin Lawrence who puts so much infectious glee into the character of Big Momma that 'she' becomes another person entirely; like Hoffman in Tootsie and Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire.

He plays basketball, attends a self defense class for old ladies and testifies in church. The fact that Lawrence takes these played out situations, makes them funny, and then imbues them with real emotion is rather remarkable.

One line worth repeating comes in the final scene. Martin's character (no longer in drag) must convince Nia Long's character, in front of the entire church congregation, that he should be forgiven for his deception. He starts with 'Doesn't the bible say to be yourself'.

'No,' someone says. 'That was Tupac'.

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Martin Lawrence in Big Momma's House.

Some Like It Hot, Tootsie, Victor/Victoria and Mrs. Doubtfire all did the cross dressing bit a whole lot better than Big Momma's House. The reason? They had a plot. Big Momma's House just has situations for Martin Lawrence to ham it up.

Lawrence plays an FBI agent who goes undercover to find an escaped convict. He ends up in a woman's defense class for no other reason than an attempt at a few cheap laughs you see coming a mile away. He plays basketball, like Robin Williams played soccer in Mrs. Doubtfire. He ends up in bed with a beautiful girl just like Jack Lemmon did with Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot. As Patrick wrote, there is little originality here.

I also agree with Patrick that the one bright spot this movie has is Martin Lawrence. He is a good actor and a great comedian. His performance as Big Momma is the only original thing in this otherwise worn out genre.

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