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'Big Momma's House 2': Strictly for fans of Martin Lawrence

By BOB LONGINO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

If you like big booties, you're going to love "Big Momma's House 2."

All flabby in his female fat suit and exploding out of a tight, yellow one-piece swimsuit, Martin Lawrence cavorts across a beach like Bo Derek in "10," though Big Momma's slo-mo trot includes a full-on derriere shot that'll make moviegoers drop their popcorn.

20th Century Fox

'Big Momma's House 2'

The verdict: A big, fat clichéd comedy, but Martin Lawrence sells some of it with his bankable manic humor.

Director: John P. Whitesell
Starring: Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Zachary Levi, Emily Procter, Mark Moses
Run time: 99 minutes
Release date: Jan. 27, 2006
Rating: PG-13 for some sexual humor and a humorous drug reference.
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Sure, the joke's old. Ancient even. And so is just about every fat joke in this movie. The plot doesn't hold much interest either. It involves some sort of Internet worm, international espionage and nameless thugs with guns who, somehow, could all intertwine to make the United States susceptible to terrorism.

But "Big Momma" also means Martin Lawrence. And if you're the kind of filmgoer who connects with his manic antics, this is the kind of infectious comedy that can make you believe your movie money has been sufficiently spent.

As an undercover FBI agent, Lawrence is as funny here as in most of his movies. Well, maybe not quite as bust-a-gut as in the "Bad Boys" films with Will Smith, but certainly more of a slam dunk than 2005's basketball court air ball "Rebound."

In "Big Momma 2" we get Lawrence's Big Momma posing as a nanny. Which means, through contrived plot devices he's going to end up cavorting with scantily clad Victoria's Secret models at a day spa, shaking his booty with a troupe of little-girl cheerleaders and trading fisticuffs with sneering, gun-toting baddies.

He also gets in several good one-liners. As Big Momma gasps at a peg board loaded with duties to be done in the nanny job, Lawrence deadpans, "Which peg says it's time for me to drink a 40 and watch 'Dr. Phil'?"

There's nobody in the movie to care one whit about except Lawrence. Nobody else is interesting, funny or worth noting. That's especially sad considering Nia Long (from the original "Big Momma's House") is playing his pregnant wife. Here, she's reduced to a nagging bore easily persuaded by an "I'm sorry" gift of flowers.

Back at the beach, there is a chase scene during which Lawrence accidentally removes the bikini tops of two women. (Trust me, you have to see it to understand how it's plausible.) It suggests that in the expected "unrated" DVD version, those disrobed women might not be cupping their hands across their chests.

If anything, "Big Momma's House 2" does one thing: prime audiences for another smart-mouthed, fat-suited prima donna coming just around the corner — Tyler Perry in "Madea's Family Reunion," debuting Feb. 24.