Big Momma's House

Plot

An FBI agent disguises himself as an old lady to protect a beautiful federal witness and her son.

Release Year: 2000

Rating: 4.8/10 (31,541 voted)

Critic's Score: 33/100

Director:
Raja Gosnell

Stars: Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Paul Giamatti

Storyline
FBI agent Malcolm Turner is known best for being a brilliant, master of disguise. Malcolm's latest assignment sends him to small-town Georgia, where he's assigned to trap a brutal bank robber (and a recent prison escapee) who they suspect will be coming down to visit his ex-girlfriend Sherry and her son. Malcolm sets up a stakeout across from the home of a larger-than-life southern matriarch known as Big Momma, who's about to be visited by Sherry. It's a simple plan, but there's one big problem: Unbeknownst to Sherry, Big Momma has unexpectedly left town. So Malcolm, decides to impersonate the cantankerous Southern granny. Using a few tricks of disguise, he completely transforms himself into Big Momma, even taking on the corpulent septuagenarian's everyday routine-from cooking soul food to delivering babies to "testifying" at the local church. In the mean time…

Writers: Darryl Quarles, Darryl Quarles

Cast:

Martin Lawrence
–

Malcolm Turner

Nia Long
–

Sherry Pierce

Paul Giamatti
–

John

Jascha Washington
–

Trent Pierce

Terrence Howard
–

Lester Vesco

(as Terrence Dashon Howard)

Anthony Anderson
–

Nolan

Ella Mitchell
–

Hattie Mae Pierce (Big Momma)

Carl Wright
–

Ben Rawley

Phyllis Applegate
–

Sadie

Starletta DuPois
–

Miss Patterson

Jessie Mae Holmes
–

Miss Other Patterson

Nicole Prescott
–

Lena

Octavia Spencer
–

Twila

(as Octavia L. Spencer)

Tichina Arnold
–

Ritha

Cedric the Entertainer
–

Reverend

Taglines:
He's Deep Undercover.

Release Date: 2 June 2000

Filming Locations: Chapman University – One University Drive, Orange, California, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $30,000,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $25,661,041
(USA)
(4 June 2000)
(2802 Screens)

Gross: $117,559,438
(USA)
(19 November 2000)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

Screenwriter Darryl Quarles came up with the idea for the name "Big Momma" because it was what the neighborhood kids used to call his own real life mother.

Goofs:

Continuity:
The microphone that (the real) Big Momma uses at the end of the movie switches back and forth between her right and left hands between shots.

Quotes:

Sherry:
[jumping into bed beside "Big Momma" during the storm]
I remember how it used to storm like this when I was a little girl. You would wrap your arms around me, and it felt like nothing in the world could ever hurt me.

Malcolm Turner:
[wrapping his arms around Sherry]
It feels so damn good.

Sherry:
[feeling a jab in her back from Malcolm's "arousal"]
Big Momma, what's that?

Malcolm Turner:
[pulls out a flashlight]
That's just my flashlight. The storm knocked out all the power so I had to get a big ol' flashlight.

Sherry:
[interrupting the conversation they were having when she feels another jab in the back]
Big Momma, is there another flashlight under there?

User Review

Not excellent, but often funny

Rating: 7/10

Martin Lawrence is often trusty in the world of comedy. Maybe I'm just
overcoming his awful "Blue Streak," but I felt this comedy–though saggy at
times–was quite funny. The premise is undoubtedly implausible. How's a
whole neighborhood going to believe that this undercover cop with a latex
body that looks somewhat like Big Momma is actually Big Momma? There's a
lot of disbelief to suspend. But the gags often worked and I can say I
laughed about 75 percent of the time. Some are predictable, like when Big
Momma takes a karate class and starts beating the teacher–played by Anthony
Anderson–to a pulp, but they still work due to the way they're handled.
And Lawrence turns in yet another fine comic performance, with a script that
could've used a rewrite but was nowhere near as bad as the crackerjack
script he had to work with in "Blue Streak." The talented comic helps keep
the movie togehter, with a little assistance from the supporting cast. Paul
Giamatti, who was great as Pig Vomit in the acclaimed "Private Parts," is
funny as Lawrence's partner. We also have "Me Myself and Irene's" Anthony
Anderson and Cedric the Entertainer.

The plot is chaotic, sometimes predictable, and becomes more and more
implausible by the minute but the comedy works and because of that we're
able to excuse the script's shortcomings. "Big Momma" doesn't deliver the
biggest laughs, but it's good, fun entertainment on a lonely weekday
afternoon.

My score: 7 (out of 10)