Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins
Universal Pictures | Release Date: February 8, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
13
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
New York PostKyle Smith
Turns out to be formulaic and broad but also skillfully paced and big-hearted, with a sharp cast of comics that makes the most of a sunny script. Read full review
70
Village VoiceChuck Wilson
Although the big comic setups in Lee's script feel a bit forced--the director continually sets up moments of rapid-fire, barb-filled interplay among his accomplished cast. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyClark Collis
Mo'Nique is similarly given little opportunity to show off her indisputable comedic chops, though her freewheeling monologue during the closing credits hints at what might have been. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKelley L. Carter
Under normal circumstances, too many comics spoil the show. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jason Anderson
More than sufficiently funny. Read full review
60
The New York TimesMatt Zoller Seitz
It’s a cut above other films of its type because every scene is packed with details like those pliers -- touches that suggest that the film’s writer and director, Malcolm D. Lee (“The Best Man”), is working overtime to smuggle life into formula. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The film has a warmth and raucousness that's surprisingly disarming. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleJosh Rosenblatt
At its best, Roscoe Jenkins is about the crushing influence of the past and one man’s attempts to free himself – by hook, crook, or Hollywood – from underneath it. At its worst, however, the movie is content to just explore the apparently infinite comic potential of dogs having sex, people getting sprayed by skunks, and men getting beaten up by overweight women. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
It's not the unevenness of the comedy that kills Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins but the illegitimacy of the drama. Read full review
50
VarietyJustin Chang
An in-your-face double helping of fat jokes, crude slapstick, wacky Southern-black stereotypes and occasionally inspired improv. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Be warned that what looks to be a family comedy pushes its PG-13 rating to the edge with blatant sexual references and creatively crude sexual metaphors. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
A few laughs and a lot of hyperbolic shtick make this a little better than formulaic before the standard-issue resolution. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
As Roscoe's parents, Margaret Avery and James Earl Jones emerge with drawers undropped and dignity intact. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
The cast's evident delight might be enough for some moviegoers, but with so much talent and so little modulation on offer, audiences subjected to the onslaught could reasonably expect a higher laughs-to-torture ratio. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A talented comedian, Lawrence has leaned all too easily on formula for his successful films. Imagine if he would test his flair against original and fresh premises, instead of the tried and trite. Why, he'd discover what it's like to take pride, not just profit. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Lawrence's co-stars are more than ready to provide salty humor while creating a loose, almost improvised feel. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Imagine a Three Stooges short with a feel-good ending, and you get the idea. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
A near continuous assault of clichés, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins doesn't become truly bothersome until its denouement, when it attempts to wring unearned sentiment from the inevitable, awkwardly staged family rapprochement. Read full review
38
USA TodayScott Bowles
Give this to Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins: The dogs can act. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
This is one of those your-roots-are-showing family circuses where just about everybody seems like a clown. Read full review
25
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It's not that you can't go home again. It's that you SHOULDN'T, at least not in a lowbrow Hollywood comedy, because your family will inevitably be lewd, crude, loud and obnoxious. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
The effort is undermined with crass humor, mugging and slapstick. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Nothing the skunk does can begin to match the stench of this movie. Read full review
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