Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son Blu-ray Review

The Blu-ray presentation of "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" boasts a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that offers a bright and colorful visual experience, showcasing the vibrant costume design and lively set pieces. The film, shot on 35mm, retains its natural grain structure, adding to its rich, filmic texture. Key scenes display excellent clarity with details such as the nubby texture of Big Momma's terrycloth bathrobe and the resolution of the actors' hair and faces standing out prominently. The transfer avoids common issues like edge enhancement and compression artifacts, ensuring a smooth viewing experience with no noticeable banding, excess noise, or macroblocking.

However, the video presentation does have a distinctively boosted contrast look, designed to amplify the cartoony feel of this slapstick comedy. This effect is most notable in scenes where Big Momma's red dress appears almost eye-burningly bright, creating a stark contrast with the rest of the picture. Despite this exaggerated brightness, black levels remain inky and deep, with excellent shadow delineation that adds depth to the overall image. Fine detail reproduction is so precise that it occasionally betrays the prosthetic makeup worn by the actors, making lines around chins and mouths more noticeable than ideal.

Overall, while "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" offers an eye-catching and technically proficient video transfer, it does come with some visual quirks that may distract discerning viewers.

The audio presentation of "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" on Blu-Ray, featuring a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, provides a predominantly focused and clear sound design despite its restrained nature. As with many comedies, the emphasis is primarily on dialogue, which is consistently clean and intelligible with no significant fluctuations in volume or clarity issues. Surround channels are rarely used but do introduce some ambience in certain scenes, such as the background chatter in a school cafeteria. The majority of the audio is anchored in the front and center channels, ensuring that dialogue remains prominent and easy to follow.

Nonetheless, the sound mix does incorporate some notable elements that enhance the overall viewing experience. During action sequences such as gunfights and car chases, sound effects are dynamically rendered, with effective panning of bullet sounds across the sound stage. Meanwhile, low-frequency effects (LFE) add heft to these moments and are also present during musical transitions and scenes featuring Trent's hip-hop performances. The bass is particularly well-defined during these segments, delivering a punchy and immersive feel. Overall, while this mix may not be groundbreaking, it fulfills the necessary requirements to support both the dialogue-driven and more action-oriented facets of the film adequately.

The Blu-ray release of "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" offers a robust selection of extras that provide a deeper dive into the film’s production and entertainment aspects. Highlighting the disc's added value is an engaging audio commentary by director John Whitesell, producer David T. Friendly, and key actors, offering candid insights into the filmmaking process. Accompanying the main feature are seven deleted scenes, which add depth to the story with additional character interactions. Comedic elements are served via an amusing gag reel and a top ten countdown of memorable moments from the Big Momma series. The musical side of the film is well represented through behind-the-scenes footage on song and dance creation, as well as two extended music videos. These extras collectively enhance the viewing experience, making this Blu-ray a worthwhile acquisition for fans.

Extras included in this disc:

• Audio Commentary: Insights from cast and crew.
• Deleted Scenes: Seven scenes not in the final cut.
• Song and Dance - Momma Style: Behind-the-scenes of the film's music.
• Bigger Busts Countdown: Top ten Big Momma moments.
• Gag Reel: Blooper reel of funny moments.
• Baby You Know Music Video: Full music video.
• Lyrical Miracle Extended Music Video: Full music video.
• Theatrical Trailer: Original movie trailer.

"Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" presents itself as yet another entry in the long-worn genre of fat-suit comedies, offering little to the audience beyond tired clichés and predictable plot turns. Starring Martin Lawrence reprising his role as FBI agent Malcolm Turner, the film veers into unoriginal territory where Turner must adopt the persona of an overweight elderly woman, Big Momma, for a third time. This time around, Trent (Brandon T. Jackson), Turner's rebellious teenage son with dreams of a rap career, joins him in drag to infiltrate an all-girls performing arts school to recover a crucial flash drive. The film’s attempt to create humor through cross-dressing and slapstick jokes feels strained and outdated.

The narrative is overly simplistic and derivative, borrowing heavily from far superior comedies like "Some Like It Hot." The comedic attempts largely fall flat, relying on broad and groan-worthy gags such as Big Momma breaking a cafeteria table or posing awkwardly in art class. The plot mechanism that pushes the characters into their cumbersome disguises—a run-in with Russian mobsters—is as unconvincing as it is thin. The father-son dynamics and attempts at delivering moral lessons about following one's dreams and securing an education lack depth and come across as hypocritical given the actors' own career paths.

Ultimately, "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" is a commercial piece that prioritizes financial gain over creative endeavor. Its reliance on racial and gender stereotypes, along with its formulaic approach, results in a film that feels more like cinematic white noise than genuine entertainment. Despite its box office success, the film's predictable plot and lackluster humor suggest it may be time to retire Big Momma for good. The Blu-ray release includes both theatrical and extended cuts, though the additional scenes do little to enrich the overall experience.

"Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" suffers from an overwhelmingly uninspired script and lackluster execution. The film attempts to blend comedy and disguise, but the predictable gags and tiresome clichés weigh it down. Martin Lawrence's performance as Big Momma fails to inject any unique humor or energy, making the movie a struggle to sit through. Despite occasional moments of attempted levity, the overall comedic impact is minimal, resulting in a truly forgettable experience.

Technically, the Blu-ray release from 20th Century Fox is commendable. The picture quality is sharp with vivid colors that enhance the visual appeal. The lossless audio performs well, providing clear and immersive sound. Unfortunately, these technical accomplishments do little to elevate the film itself. The disc also includes a handful of extra features such as deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage, but they add little value given the subpar nature of the content.

In conclusion, let's hope "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" marks the end of this franchise, as it's difficult to envision the series sinking any lower. While the Blu-ray offers solid technical aspects, the film's dull and uninspired nature makes it a release best avoided. This is inoffensive, brain-draining comedy at its most tepid, and no technical prowess can redeem its suffocating dullness. Stay away.