Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Produced by Scott Stuber
Mary Parent
Charles Castaldi
Written by Malcolm D. Lee
Starring Martin Lawrence
Margaret Avery
Joy Bryant
Louis C.K.
Michael Clarke Duncan
Mike Epps
Mo'Nique Hicks
Nicole Ari Parker
with Cedric the Entertainer
and James Earl Jones
Music by David Newman
Cinematography Greg Gardiner
Editing by George Bowers
Paul Millspaugh
Studio Runteldat Entertainment
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) February 8, 2008
Running time 114 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $27.5 million
Box office $43,607,627

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins is a 2008 American comedy film written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film features an all star cast featuring: Martin Lawrence, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mike Epps, Mo'Nique, Cedric the Entertainer, Louis CK and James Earl Jones.

Contents

Plot

Dr. R.J. (Roscoe) Stevens (Martin Lawrence) is a talk show sensation who has shirked his simple Southern past and the awkward boy he used to be to dispense "You can do it" advice to millions of adoring fans. With reality TV series Survivor winner Bianca Kittles (Joy Bryant) on his arm and loads of cash in his pocket, there’s nothing he feels he hasn’t achieved.

When his parents request that he come home for their 50th wedding anniversary, R.J. packs up his 10-year-old son Jamal (Damani Roberts) and his fiancée Bianca and heads back to his sleepy Southern hometown. Ready to impress his down home kin with how much he’s changed, RJ will prove he’s not the walking disaster they used to pick on. When they arrive in Georgia, he is first greeted by his cousin Reggie (who asks him for $300 to buy some ice for the family barbecue). Roscoe heads to his family's home, greeted by his parents, Roscoe Sr. and Mama Jenkins. Roscoe's cousin, Clyde, visits the family as well, and the two remain competitive as they did years before. Traveling with Clyde is Lucinda, Roscoe's love interest from his past.

While staying with his family, Roscoe endures a lot of self-humiliation (such as getting sprayed by a skunk while sleeping). On the day of his parent's anniversary, the whole family gathers for the traditional obstacle course of the Jenkins family. Roscoe is determined to win against Clyde, and the two become even more competitive. While climbing over a wall with ropes, Roscoe begins to help his son over, but Bianca tells him to leave him, and he does (shocking his parents). Roscoe and Clyde race to the finish line, and Roscoe comes out the victor. Bianca cheers for him, but the rest of his family has become very upset with him. Jamal refuses to go near his father, and Roscoe Sr. chastises his son for his actions. Roscoe tells his father that even though Clyde's father died, he (Roscoe) felt he lost his father as well, because he felt that his father favored Clyde over him. This hurts his father's feelings. As his father walks away, Clyde walks up to Roscoe and tells him that he would never have tried to take his place. He tries to shake Roscoe's hand to make amends, but Bianca tells Clyde to back off. Roscoe decides to leave for home. Before leaving, his mother reminds him that his family still loves him. As they are driving to the airport, Bianca suggests to him that he shouldn't invite his family to their wedding, to which he seemingly agrees. This upsets Jamal, who, despite that Bianca wanting him to get on board "Team of me", proudly says that he's a Jenkins. Roscoe begins to agree with Bianca, who continues to say mean things about his family. As they pull into the airport, Roscoe dumps Bianca (having pretended to agree with her),and thanks her for finally letting him see her true colors. Bianca angrily gets out of the car, feeling humiliated by Roscoe and Jamal. As they pull away from the airport, he pulls the rope holding her bags on top of the car, dumping them into the airport driveway. Roscoe and Jamal, along with Bianca's pet Pomeranian who turned against her owner and joined the Jenkins, head back to the family home.

During the anniversary celebration, Clyde cries during his speech for Mama and Papa Jenkins, admitting that he cared a lot about Roscoe. Roscoe suddenly appears, apologizes to his family, and congratulates his parents' 50th anniversary. Both he and his father make amends with each other, and then Roscoe goes over to Lucinda and asks her for a dance. After the celebration, the family watches the anniversary on a hi-def television, while Roscoe and Lucinda make love with each other,but find a nasty surprise. During the credits, Roscoe is seen interviewing his family on his show, renamed The Roscoe Jenkins Show interviewing the Jenkins clan.

Cast

Production

The movie was filmed in Minden, Louisiana, near Shreveport.

Box office

In its opening weekend at the North American box office, the film grossed $16.2 million USD, opening at #2 behind Fool's Gold. Produced at a budget of US$35 million, the movie has an international total of $43,364,610 as of July 25, 2008.

Critical reception

The film received negative reception from critics. As of February 19, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 24% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 78 reviews.[1] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 48 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.[2]

Home release

The film was released on DVD June 17, 2008 and in the UK May 30, 2008.[3]

References

External links