Dr. R.J. Stevens is a successful television personality with his own talk show and a stunning fiancée in reality-series star Bianca Kittles. They’re the epitome of a successful Hollywood couple, though his 10-year-old son might disagree. With some reluctance, R.J. agrees to return to his hometown to help celebrate his parent’s 50^th anniversary. Despite his fame elsewhere, to his family and old friends he’s just the same old Roscoe Jenkins, and that’s the last person R.J. wants to be. He’s determined to demonstrate that he’s no longer the awkward boy they all remember. It’s going to prove to be a harder task than he thought in director Malcolm D. Lee’s Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins.

There’s a lot of talent on tap for this movie. The cast is a who’s-who list that includes Martin Lawrence in the title role, Cedric the Entertainer, Mo’Nique, Mike Epps, Michael Clarke Duncan, and James Earl Jones just to name a few. Clearly, talent isn’t an issue here. No, it’s the uneven story and at times less-than-funny comedy that combine to sink Roscoe Jenkins.

It’s not all bad mind you; at times the humor is pretty good. But those times are too far apart and in between are too many jokes and pratfalls that fail to amuse. The pace is too frenetic, as if the decision were made to fire off jokes as fast as possible in the hopes that some would stick. It’s a strategy I suppose, but it didn’t work for me. The end result is a comedy that is only occasionally humorous and winds up wasting the talent at hand. If you just have to see it based on the cast, I recommend you wait for the DVD release.

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins is rated PG-13 for “crude and sexual content, language and some drug references.” I find the rating a little surprising, I would have guessed it was rated R before I checked. I suppose the lack of any nudity allowed them to dodge the stricter rating but honestly, the crudity alone makes me suggest that it might not be appropriate for younger teens.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Michael attended a promotional screening of Welcome Home.