Trailer for... 'Big Momma's House 3'

Because it clearly needs to be a trilogy, Martin Lawrence is back for the third Big Momma's House. Actually titled Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, it unites Lawrence with Brandon T. Jackson so they both can dress in drag. Because we all know that, while one actor in drag is funny, two is hilarious. I mean, who doesn't remember White Chicks? And we all know Martin Lawrence is just prepping us for him to team up with Jamie Foxx, when they unite Sheneneh and Wanda.

Seriously, did we need a third one? Did we even need a second, or first one? I'm guessing Lawrence just needs work, or doesn't want to be forgotten.

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Yeah, 'Bad Boys 3' Is A Strong Probably

Will Smith has been laying low lately, but he's getting his franchise on again soon, signing up for Men in Black 3, which now has a Memorial Day 2012 release date, and according to Jerry Bruckheimer, Bad Boys 3, as well.

Talking to Coming Soon, ostensibly about Prince of Persia, Bruckheimer gave a soft confirmation of what's been rumored here and there for a few months, and what Martin Lawrence more or less admitted during press rounds for Death at a Funeral, that everybody would be back to complete the trilogy. Ever the producer, Bruckheimer stopped short of going all in, but how many of his projects don't get made? "It's a wish and a hope and a dream," he said of the threequel. "We've been working on a screenplay, which is excellent. It's an idea Will gave us, so hopefully, it will come to fruition; we would love it to."

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Movie Review - 'Death at a Funeral'

Death At A Funeral Starring Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, and James Marsden Directed by Neil LaBute Rated R

Let's suppose you were going to make a farce, excuse me -- remake a farce. There are certainly directors who can do this sort of thing well, but instead, you hire Neil LaBute, best known for a couple caustic social dramas about a decade ago (In the Company of Men, Your Friends and Neighbors), but a director who has remake experience. Unfortunately, that remake is The Wicker Man. The good news, if there is any, is that LaBute has experience in the theatre, so he should have a knack for keeping the farce on its very specific case. He should have. But he doesn't. It's hard to blame LaBute for Death at a Funeral, but his presence here is a microcosm of what's gone wrong with this nearly identical remake of a blisteringly funny 2007 British film. The original was extraordinarily specific on the page and on the screen. It was well-cast and never, not once, slowed down. The English just do farcical comedy better than the rest of the world. In the remake, LaBute has the original writer, Dean Craig, and sets about to essentially recreate the first film with a different cast. Well, mostly different. What's the point of doing what seems like a shot-by-shot remake so soon after the original, which is better, anyway? It really doesn't matter outside of the small audience that saw Frank Oz' Funeral, and maybe that is the point: What better film to remake as closely as possible than a movie nobody saw the first time? On its own merits, the new Death at a Funeral tries, and then tries to hard. Because a British comedy will necessarily have different laughs at different times than an American remake, some things here are too broad for what surrounds them, and that's saying something. Is it funny? Sure, quite funny at times. But more than that, it's just messy.

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Trailer - The Remake of 'Death at a Funeral'

Death at a Funeral is one of the best British farces in a long time. Please rent it. When I heard they were remaking it, and that the "they" involved the movie-murdering talents of Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence, I was deeply concerned. Oh, Rock's very funny...just not in movies.

My concern is assuaged somewhat by the first trailer for the new version of Death at a Funeral. It looks as similar to the original as it can, right down to casting Peter Dinklage to reprise his role as what can only be deemed "the worst-case scenario." Of course, worst-case scenarios are how British farces butter their bread, which is one reason I wasn't sure what we'd be getting here. But the trailer is pretty entertaining, all things considered. Rock and Lawrence are joined by Tracy Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Danny Glover, and James Marsden. Check it out:

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Ugh: A Sheneneh Movie

The first reason to keep your distance is Martin Lawrence. The second reason is that it involves Sheneneh. The third reason is that Jamie Foxx will also be in drag. The fourth reason? Anytime "because it's a Screen Gems movie" isn't in the top three reasons to stay away, it's reason enough.

Yep, bottomfeeding studio Screen Gems will release a film tentatively titled Sheneneh and Wanda, starring Lawrence and Foxx as their female alter egos, made famous when each was apparently very busy ripping off Flip Wilson. But why this and why now? Variety says it was a one-off that spiraled wildly out of control:

"The project originated as a parody of a movie trailer for a film called Skank Robbers, which Foxx and Lawrence made for the BET Awards. The reaction was strong enough that the duo decided to turn the concept into a real film."

OK, but isn't premature to call this a "real film"?

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