Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (DVD)

In retrospect, I was maybe a bit too hard on the Martin Lawrence comedy Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins when I originally reviewed it back at the beginning of February. At that time, I commented that watching it was "akin to two hours of being beaten over the head with a rubber chicken peppered with razor blades," and while I don't want to take out the part about the fake feathered poultry item I might be now inclined to rescind the latter portion of that statement.

However, just because I am willing to remove the razor doesn't mean this far too sitcom-like comedy is worth either the time or the effort to search it out on DVD. It's not the worst thing I've seen this year, some of it actually kind of hit me as funny this time around and while I can't promise more than a laugh or two, undiscriminating viewers rumbling around late night cable a few months from now could do a heck of lot worse.

The plot is simple. Noted talk show host and self-help guru Roscoe "RJ" Stevens (Lawrence) returns home to Atlanta for his parents Mama Jenkins (Margaret Avery) and Papa Jenkins' (James Earl Jones) fiftieth wedding anniversary after a nine year absence living in California as a talk show host. Bringing with him his recent "Survivor" winner fiancé Bianca (Joy Bryant), the television sensation discovers his large extended family is just as raucous and as crazed as ever, especially after his ultra competitive cousin Clyde (Cedric the Entertainer) arrives with his former childhood love Lucinda (Nicole Ari Parker) in tow.

The usual stupid shenanigans ensue, none of which I feel remotely inclined to go through. Pity, because writer/director Malcolm D. Lee made two underrated (and somewhat priceless) little gems with 1999's The Best Man and 2005's Roll Bounce. This time out he wastes a cast of strong talent so strong, so winning, it's almost beyond belief. Everyone involved looks lost and bored. While just about all of them has a moment to call their own, none of them do anything with it that could elevate this Tyler Perry-wannabe into something memorable or worthwhile.

On the plus side, Lawrence is nowhere near as oft-putting or annoying as he usually is, while Parker has an intoxicating smile which could put an uptight Ebenezer Scrooge at ease. There are also some nice, quiet scenes with Avery that border on the poignantly emotional, hinting at the warm-hearted and endearing comedic family drama that could have been had the director not dropped the ball straight into the gutter of reckless depravity and pointless sexual innuendo.

As for Universal's DVD, I couldn't quite make it all the way through Lee's audio commentary. Lee is almost too full of himself to realize he somehow forgot how to craft a cohesive narrative. There is also the usual assortment of Deleted and Extended Scenes, a rather pointless Alternate Opening and a collection of truly odious Outtakes which made me kind of want to shoot myself. As for the featurettes, I admit I didn't watch them, because while Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins is not nearly as bad as it could be, it's still an unwelcome visitor I couldn't wait to be rid of.