Blu-Ray Reviews: BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE 1 & 2 Seriously?!

What a travesty: Big Momma's House and its sequel are finally available on Blu-Ray and we don't have a take-over on the site devoted to the release?! Okay, so that's a bit sharp, but really- who looks at the list of newly available blu-rays and picks either of these terrible "comedies" as essential purchases? Nope, thought not...

At what point in their careers did Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence think it was a good move to become Rob Schneider copy-cats? Both men built careers on the back of exceptional stand-up comedy potential, with some reasonable early film choices, and while Lawrence's rap sheet doesn't include as many hits as Murphy's, there are the odd exceptions where he showed exactly what once made him a hot comic property.

I have a huge problem with any film that uses only the word 'Outrageous' as its fundamental selling point. It just doesn't push my buttons to think there are films being made to the lowest common denominator in such a manner- but I actually thought the original Big Momma's House commendably swerved such a problem, even despite the obvious potential to be dragged down. Perhaps it is because of Mrs Doubtfire veteran Raja Gosnell (who directs the first Big Momma), that the comedy involving big fake breasts isn't the centre-piece around which the rest of the film is made (as it sadly is in the second and third instalments). When those moments do rear their ugly heads in the original, they are clothed in the comparative finery of some much more clever humour, so we can forgive and even enjoy them. That cannot as easily be said of the follow-up, which like Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo reduces the entertainment to the silliest, most grotesque moments, dialling up the sick humour and dialling down everything else, including the acting.

And the sad fact is the further you get into the franchise, the more "outrageous" the films get to the detriment of every traditional filmic technique. Just as the only excuse for The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps was as another chance to get Eddie Murphy gurning his way through 90 plus minutes in a selection of fat suits (which not many people needed), Big Momma's House 2 was only optioned as an opportunity for Martin Lawrence to play a disgustingly inappropriate, obese woman (and has a nude scene in the third for God's sake). Think about that for a minute- is that what films have come to?

No-one needs me to tell them how good or bad the Big Momma's House franchise is. It's there for all to see, and the reaction to the third instalment's announcement speaks for itself. But these bloated franchises will continue as long as there is a need for brainless seat-fillers. And as long as Martin Lawrence needs to put food on his table. I just don't understand why an actor- even one who hasn't made a good film since Bad Boys 2 (and that is a comparative stretch when it's weighed up next to the original) would reduce himself to such an anti-talent role. Nothing about Big Momma's House screams acting performance, and by donning the fat suit over and over, he is doing himself no favours. There is nothing of Lawrence's former raw comic spirit in their, it's just a guy in a "hilarious" fat suit, and no matter what he brings to the role, the role is far more about that fucking suit than anything else.

The question is- does anybody really need them on blu-ray? Of course not. And this doubt is coming from not just a collector, but a completist who seeks to get his grubby little mitts on every film possible. Even I would swerve the sequel- and really, since I own the original on DVD, that blu-ray transfer just doesn't inspire any excitement in me.

Quality

Do we need to see these films in high-definition? The question actually goes beyond my initial apathy for the franchise, since it is one of those creations that requires the audience fully subscribes to the magic of costume and effects. If we are not convinced of Martin Lawrence as Big Momma, even while knowing that he is a guy in a prosthetic suit, how are we to believe that his fellow characters could make the same suspension of belief? The problem is that prosthetics and heavy make-up are occasionally shown up quite badly when the quality of the transfer is dialled up (just look at Back to the Future), so it is out of the tradition of this review that I suggest that the transfer retains that magic reasonably well. Other than that, there isn't much to dazzle: the standards are fine, with colours looking good, if a little over-saturated in parts, and black levels are good, though there is little to show them off in either film.

Extras

Just what you would expect really- a pair of obligatory commentaries that aren't hugely insightful but which tick along reasonably nicely. The other assembled bits and pieces are just what you'd expect from such a comedy project, with Outtakes (which have the odd obviously staged example thrown in for good measure) and some Deleted Scenes that clearly found their best-suited place on the cutting room floor almost without exception.

Big Momma's House

Feature Commentary by Director Raja Gosnell and Producer David T. Friendly Deleted Scenes with Optional Director's Commentary Building Big Momma€™s House Makeup Test Outtakes/Blooper Reel Music Videos: "Bounce It With Me" by Lil' Bow Wow and "I've Got To Have It" by Jermaine Dupri featuring Nas & Monica

Big Momma's House 2

Feature Commentary by Director John Whitesell, Producer David T. Friendly, and Actor Zachary Levi Deleted and Extended Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director John Whitesell and Actor Zachary Levi Big Momma's Secrets Featurette Big Momma's House 1 & 2 were released on Blu-ray yesterday.