Movie Review by Almiro Jorge
Starring: Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall
Director: John Schultz
Ralph Kramden (Cedric the Entertainer) is just another bus driver with a dream to become rich and get out from behind the steering wheel. His ambitious get-rich projects always seem to fail before they even hit the street. His beautiful wife Alice (Gabrielle Union), swept off her feet on the night they met, entertains his aspirations until he starts delving into their savings with nonsensical ideas.
Ed Norton (Mike Epps) and his wife Trixie (Regina Hall), which works with Alice, live upstairs from the Kramdens in the crummy apartment building. With the arrival of an opportunity to buy a property for the two families to share, they decide to save a few extra dollars for a couple of weeks. Unknowingly to Alice, Ralph uses up the rest of their savings in yet another venture. This leads to the usual feud and re-evaluation of their relationship.
Based on a TV series with the same name in the 50’s, THE HONEYMOONERS must have used an outdated screenplay with the same jokes as its original counterpart. With the obvious resemblance of Cedric the Entertainer to the original’s Jackie Gleeson we can see why they totally missed the spot in attempting to revive the successful show.
To be fair to the characters, the whole cast does their part. Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps create new characters for Kramden and Norton, instead of imitating Gleason and Carney. As ever, John Leguizamo offers a fine portrayal as Dodge, a scheming con artist. Leguizamo has a natural talent to make audiences laugh and he certainly doesn’t fail here.
Unfortunately the performances don’t do enough to pull this one out of the sinking ship. The script lacks resourcefulness. It just about lacks everything else too. It ends up feeling like just another bad comedy, and unfortunately this time director, John Schultz, made the mistake of choosing a TV family favourite to do it with – this makes it personal to those who loved the show. Ultimately it is just a bad homage to a half-century old classic.
So, if you have never watched the original and you want a sporadic laugh, you could consider watching this if there is nothing better to watch.
