Roscoe Jenkins works best when it aims lowest.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
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Reviews Counted:78
Fresh:19
Rotten:59
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins has moments of comic inspiration -- and long stretches of overdone slapstick.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for crude and sexual content, language and some drug references.
Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Feb 8, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $42,168,445
Synopsis: Actor-comedian Martin Lawrence (BAD BOYS, BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE) aims for the heartstrings and funny bones in WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS, a raucous helping of family soul food. Lawrence plays R.J.... Actor-comedian Martin Lawrence (BAD BOYS, BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE) aims for the heartstrings and funny bones in WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS, a raucous helping of family soul food. Lawrence plays R.J. Stevens (in truth, Roscoe Steven Jenkins), a Hollywood self-help sensation whose fame has netted him a reality television star fiancée (Joy Bryant) while simultaneously alienating his young son. Having been away from his family for nine years, prodigal son R.J. returns to Georgia to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of his parents (James Earl Jones and Margaret Avery). Upon his arrival, R.J. is given a rude awakening by his none-too-impressed siblings (Mike Epps, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Mo'Nique). R.J. must also contend with his ultra-competitive cousin Clyde (Cedric the Entertainer), the family's presumptive "golden boy" and a long-time rival who stole the affections of R.J.'s childhood sweetheart, Lucinda (Nicole Ari Parker). As the celebration weekend rolls on, R.J.'s craving for his father's respect and an inflated sense of self threaten family harmony and his opportunity to reconnect with Lucinda, and--worst of all--his relationship with his own son. Lawrence makes Roscoe a genuinely sympathetic foil to the comedic antics of Mo'Nique and Epps, both of whom are given room to riff by director Malcom D. Lee (UNDERCOVER BROTHER, ROLL BOUNCE). Frequently bawdy but thoroughly entertaining, WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS is also a warmhearted reminder that you are where you come from, and that when searching for yourself no one can put you straight better than a loving family. [More]
Starring: Martin Lawrence, Margaret Avery, Joy Bryant, Louis C.K.
Starring: Martin Lawrence, Margaret Avery, Joy Bryant, Louis C.K., Michael Clarke Duncan, Mike Epps, Mo'Nique, Nicole Ari Parker, Cedric the Entertainer, James Earl Jones
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Screenwriter: Malcolm D. Lee
Producer: Scott Stuber, Mary Parent, Charles Castaldi
Composer: David Newman
Studio: Universal Pictures
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Reviews for Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
...this isn't Thomas Wolfe, but the cycle of rejection and reconciliation does feel a little like a gloss on You Can't Go Home Again
Truth be told, everyone and everything about Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins is pretty unlikable.
It’s capable at times of real subtlety and warmth and humanity, but not confident enough in itself to stay away from fart jokes or empty acts of sassiness for very long.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins leans too heavily on bruising slapstick for easy laughs, with Lawrence absorbing blows from most of his family members, when mosquitoes and skunks aren't getting in on the action.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins imagines slapstick farce as feel-good dramedy, which is to say, it's an unhappy (and largely unfunny) marriage of two movie types that don't really go together.
Noisy, scattershot Martin Lawrence comedy has a promising setup, and then simply stops trying.
The internecine clash depicted between coastal elites and down-home folk goes beyond race to address universal themes about culture and family, so it’s more than a guilty pleasure like sweet tea.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins is [Lawrence's] latest starring vehicle and yet another that drowns any comedic talents he once had with a cliché plot and hollow character arcs.
Seriously, do you have to laugh at rib jokes? Do you really? All right, if that's what you want, don't worry. Hollywood will keep making these movies as long as you continue to support them.
It's a cynical attempt to plunder your wallet with broad buffoonery you can see for free on TV.
A few laughs and a lot of hyperbolic shtick make this a little better than formulaic before the standard-issue resolution.
There are a lot of outrageous, raunchy, and insulting comments from caricatured family members, but, surprisingly, considering that most of them are played by stand-up comics, very few actual jokes.
Writer/director Malcolm D. Lee delivers a relatable comedy that drops viewers off in this family that just happens to be African-American.
If Lee had actually directed his performers ... Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins probably would have been a better movie. But frantic flailing isn't consistent forward motion.
Funny people abound, such as Cedric the Entertainer, Mo'Nique, Mike Epps, etc., but their antics can't save this lazy, bloated, stupid affair.
Uninspired sitcom about a man visiting home to a family that disrespected him as a youth.
For all the comedians, there just aren't enough jokes unless you are shooting for the revolting variety.
The movie ditches clever for crass: Mo'nique and Mike Epps, as opportunistic cousin Reggie, provide most of the downhome and dirty entendres. Less 'nique would have fixed much of what ails this movie.
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