Big Momma's House (2000)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Raja Gosnell

Writers (WGA):

Darryl Quarles (story)
Darryl Quarles (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 June 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

This FBI agent is going undercover... and he's concealing more than a weapon.

Plot:

An FBI agent disguises himself as an old lady to protect a beautiful federal witness and her son.

Plot Keywords:

Disguise | FBI | Southern | Undercover | Church

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Martin Lawrence	...	Malcolm Turner
Nia Long	...	Sherry Pierce
Paul Giamatti	...	John
Jascha Washington	...	Trent Pierce
Terrence Howard	...	Lester Vesco (as Terrence Dashon Howard)
Anthony Anderson	...	Nolan
Ella Mitchell	...	Hattie Mae Pierce (Big Momma)
Carl Wright	...	Ben Rawley
Phyllis Applegate	...	Sadie
Starletta DuPois	...	Miss Patterson
Jessie Mae Holmes	...	Miss Other Patterson
Nicole Prescott	...	Lena
Octavia Spencer	...	Twila (as Octavia L. Spencer)
Tichina Arnold	...	Ritha
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Reverend
Philip Tan	...	Kang
Edwin Hodge	...	Basketball Teen #1
Aldis Hodge	...	Basketball Teen #2
Brian Palermo	...	Cazwell
Brian Paul Stuart	...	Prison Doctor
Sarah Zinsser	...	Receptionist
Sean Lampkin	...	Cab Driver
Tony McEwing	...	Anchorperson
Sean Thibodeau	...	Jud
Ramsey Luke	...	FBI Agent
Rosi Rosi	...	Nolan's Volunteer
Minnie O. Burton	...	Nolan's Volunteer
Rita Fagan-Lewis	...	Nolan's Volunteer
John Eddings	...	Police Officer
Louis Archie Shackles	...	Choir #1
Tameka Holmes	...	Choir #2
Ellis Hall	...	Organist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Debby Gaudet	...	Bingo Staffer (uncredited)
Phil Hawn	...	Mailman (uncredited)
J.T. Thibodeau	...	Bank Robber (uncredited)

Directed by
Raja Gosnell

Writing credits (WGA)
Darryl Quarles		(story)
Darryl Quarles		(screenplay) and
Don Rhymer		(screenplay)

Produced by
Peaches Davis	....	co-producer
David T. Friendly	....	producer
Michael Green	....	producer
David Higgins	....	co-producer
Jeff Kwatinetz	....	executive producer
Martin Lawrence	....	executive producer
Rodney Liber	....	executive producer
Arnon Milchan	....	executive producer
Aaron Ray	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Richard Gibbs

Cinematography by
Michael D. O'Shea

Film Editing by
Kent Beyda
Bruce Green

Casting by
Nancy Klopper

Production Design by
Craig Stearns

Art Direction by
Randy Moore
Miles Teves

Set Decoration by
Ellen Totleben

Costume Design by
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck

Makeup Department
Gary Archer	....	dental prosthetics
Greg Cannom	....	special makeup effects
Chris Gallaher	....	special makeup effects artist
John Kim	....	makeup effects technician: Captive Audience Productions
Mary Kim	....	makeup effects production supervisor: Captive Audience Productions Inc.
Mark Nieman	....	silicone prosthetic technician: Captive Audience Productions )
Nadyne Peoples	....	additional makeup artist
Michael Peterson	....	lab makeup effects
Beverly Jo Pryor	....	key makeup artist
Joseph Michael Regina	....	key makeup artist
Roxanne Rizzo	....	makeup artist
Brian Sipe	....	special makeup effects artist
Bryan Smith	....	mold maker: Captive Audience Productions
Jennifer Teves	....	production supervisor: Captive Audience Productions
Keith VanderLaan	....	makeup effects producer: Captive Audience Productions
Brian Wade	....	special effects makeup sculptor

Production Management
Steven Brown	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hans Berggren	....	assistant director: second unit
Albert Cho	....	first assistant director: second unit
Richard Graves	....	first assistant director
Susan J. Hellmann	....	second assistant director
Foongy Lee	....	assistant director: second unit
Rodney Liber	....	second unit director
Heidi McGowen	....	assistant director

Art Department
Bobby Bednar	....	general foreman: construction
Wren Boney	....	props buyer
Mariko Braswell	....	set designer
David T. Cannon	....	construction coordinator
Charisse Cardenas	....	set designer
Vincent D'Aquino	....	greensman
William DeBiasio	....	set dresser
Bryan Duff	....	assistant property master
Craig Gadsby	....	leadman
Rod Garvin	....	painter
Jeff Halvorsen	....	set dresser
Kent Jones	....	paint foreman
Al Kenders	....	painter (as Al 'Painter' Kenders)
Lyle Maves	....	lead plasterer foreman
Bryan McBrien	....	greens foreman
Robert Misetich	....	paint foreman
Rudy Reachi	....	property master
Kathleen Walker	....	art department coordinator

Sound Department
David Betancourt	....	foley mixer
G.W. Brown	....	sound editor
Brian Bulman	....	production playback editor
Thomas Causey	....	production sound mixer
Yann Delpuech	....	design collage supervision
Yann Delpuech	....	supervising sound editor
Kira Edmunds	....	assistant sound editor
Dawn Fintor	....	foley artist
Armond Ghzanian	....	digital sound assistant
Halima K. Gilliam	....	foley recordist
Thomas Giordano	....	digital playback operator
Tim Gomillion	....	sound recordist
Robert Grieve	....	supervising sound editor (as Bob Grieve)
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer
Darren King	....	adr supervisor
Richard Kite	....	cable
Jonathan Klein	....	foley editor
Paul Massey	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tim McColm	....	re-recording stage engineer
Willard Overstreet	....	assistant sound editor
Dennis Rogers	....	sound recordist
Joel Shryack	....	foley editor
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Alicia Stevenson	....	foley artist (as Alicia Irwin)
Meg Taylor	....	first assistant sound editor
Dan Yale	....	foley editor

Special Effects by
Connie Angland	....	special effects technician
Larry Fioritto	....	special effects coordinator
Wes Mattox	....	special effects foreman
Virgil Sanchez	....	special effects foreman
Doyle Smiley	....	special effects foreman
Shea Clayton	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor
Patrick Flanagan	....	digital artist
Tyler Foell	....	compositing supervisor
Jennifer Law-Stump	....	digital effects artist: Pacific Title Digital
Ralph Maiers	....	digital compositor: Digiscope
Ray McIntyre Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor: Pixel Magic
Peter W. Moyer	....	visual effects supervisor: Digital Filmworks
Patrick Murphy	....	digital artist: Pixel Magic
Marco S. Paolini	....	digital compositor
Rich Thorne	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Dick Baker	....	stunts
Andy Cheno	....	stunts
Arnold Chon	....	stunts
Liisa Cohen	....	stunts (as Liisa 'Sparky' Cohen)
Eugene Collier	....	stunts
Keith Cooke	....	stunts
Ousaun Elam	....	stunts
Clay Donahue Fontenot	....	stunt double: Terrence Dashon Howard
Eddie Hice	....	stunts
Hollis Hill	....	stunts
David Hugghins	....	stunts
Melvin Jones	....	stunts
David Leitch	....	stunts
Will Leong	....	stunts
Kent W. Luttrell	....	stunt rigger
Ernie F. Orsatti	....	stunt coordinator (as Ernie Orsatti)
Stan Lee Rice	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Stan Lee Rice	....	stunt double: Martin Lawrence
Big Daddy Wayne	....	stunts
Mitch Toles	....	precision driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Mark 'Boylee' Boyle	....	second assistant camera
Glenn Corbett	....	rigging gaffer
Bob Gorelick	....	Steadicam operator
Bob Gorelick	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Jack M. Guberman	....	best boy electric: second unit
Craig Horwitz	....	rigging electrician
Jay M. Huntoon	....	video assist operator: second unit
Michael A. Jones	....	electrician
Aaron Katz	....	video assist operator
Darren Langer	....	electrician
Don McCuaig	....	director of photography: second unit (as Donald M. McCuaig)
Sean J. O'Shea	....	first assistant camera
Jack S. Schlosser	....	gaffer
Tim Sheridan	....	second assistant camera (as Tim 'Teet' Sheridan)
Steve Suveg	....	rigging grip
Kirk Tedeski	....	video playback coordinator
R. Gern Trowbridge	....	electrician: additional photography
Mark Vollmer	....	best boy: second unit
Ken Little Jr.	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Reggie Jackson II	....	casting assistant
Reggie Jackson	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joseph T. Mastrolia	....	set costumer
Katrina Mastrolia	....	set costumer
Leticia Sandoval	....	specialty costumes

Editorial Department
Andrea Bottigliero	....	first assistant editor
Thomas Calderon	....	assistant editor
Margaret Liu	....	assistant editor
Ivan Martin del Campo	....	apprentice editor
Eric Osmond	....	assistant editor
Peter Tackaberry	....	assistant editor
Bronwyn Waddington	....	assistant editor
Lynne Warr	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Spring Aspers	....	music supervisor
Bronwen Boyan	....	music coordinator
Tim Boyle	....	score mixer
Todd Bozung	....	associate music editor
Jason Frederick	....	music scoring assistant
Marvin R. Morris	....	music editor
Katherine Quittner	....	music editor
John Rodd	....	orchestral scoring recordist
Allan K. Rosen	....	music editor
Patrick Russ	....	orchestrator
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation

Transportation Department
Billy G. Arter	....	transportation coordinator
David R. Blakely	....	driver
Roger Bojarski Jr.	....	driver

Other crew
Sheryl Benko	....	assistant to director
Daniel Berkowitz	....	production assistant
Lisa Blackwell	....	production assistant
Benita Brazier	....	script supervisor
Raul Celaya	....	production assistant
Richard Davis Jr.	....	location manager
Diva	....	stand-in: "Big Momma"
Charles W. Durham	....	assistant to director
Taylor M. Favale	....	production coordinator
Jill Fischer	....	production coordinator: Captive Audience Productions
Gary Gillingham	....	production controller
Scott Hanson	....	production secretary
Glen Hanz	....	sculptor: Captive Audience Productions
Michael Hendrickson	....	production executive: Fox
Gary Hoffman	....	stand-in
Jay M. Huntoon	....	video: second unit
Jeff Jenofsky	....	production assistant
Isaac Lipscomb	....	adr artist
RuDee Lipscomb	....	adr artist
Harvey Lowry	....	operations manager: Captive Audience Productions Inc.
Haley McLane	....	script supervisor: second unit
Wendy Means	....	assistant to producer
Rob Meisenholder	....	first assistant accountant
Will James Moore	....	production assistant
Jacqui Popelka	....	production coordinator
Nina Saxon	....	title designer
Amanda Segel	....	assistant to producer
Deborah Simmrin	....	unit publicist
Kim Smith	....	payroll accountant (as Kim C. Smith)
Dot Stovall	....	clearance coordinator
Nancy A. Terriberry	....	second assistant accountant
Miles Teves	....	key sculptor: Captive Audience Productions
Jodi Tripi	....	clearance coordinator
Onni Vosdoganes	....	assistant production coordinator
Jon Donahue	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Marc C. Geschwind	....	extras coordinator (uncredited)
Mike Piccirillo	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Hunter Shepherd	....	office assistant: Mr. Friendly (uncredited)
Kim Smith	....	post-production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• Regency Enterprises
• Runteldat Entertainment
• Friendly Productions
• Taurus Film
• Nina Saxon Film Design

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2000) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2000) (UK) (theatrical)
• UGC-Fox Distribution (UFD) (2000) (France) (theatrical)
• Hispano Foxfilms S.A.E. (2000) (Spain) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2000) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Filmes Castello Lopes (2000) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Independent Films (2000) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2001) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Fox Network (2003) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2003) (UK) (TV) (BBC1)
• Gativideo (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2000) (Argentina) (VHS)
• SBS6 (2004) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• CIS Hollywood
• Digiscope
• Digital Filmworks
• Keith Vanderlaan's Captive Audience Productions (makeup effects: Big Momma)
• OCS/Freeze Frame/Pixel Magic
• Pacific Title Digital

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Movie Movers  cast trailers
• Movie Movers  production trailers
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Rockbottom Rentals  cell phone rentals
• Sessions Payroll Management  extras payroll services
• Sony Music Soundtrax  soundtrack

Also Known As:

Big Mamas Haus (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude humor including sexual innuendo, and for language and some violence.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18SX | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG (original rating) | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 (cut) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37509) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Chapman University - One University Drive, Orange, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Screenwriter Darryl Quarles came up with the idea for the name "Big Momma" because it was what the neighborhood kids used to call his own real life mother.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Malcolm is done delivering Rita's baby, there are no tools and there is not enough time to cut the umbilical cord, which obviously has been cut.

Quotes:

John: I'm a married man, I'm not used to this much attention.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Office: Weight Loss (#5.1)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Big Momma's Theme

Good, but not as good as it could have been with some radical revisions

The biggest problem with Big Momma's house is that you can often see just how funny it should be, but the cast and crew are not able to sustain the occasional hilarious parts with any consistency.

It doesn't seem to help that Big Momma's House wants to be more than a comedy. Writers Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer shoot for a combination of a crime comedy ala Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and a romantic comedy. But the core comedy is absurdist, while the mostly serious crime stuff is so underwritten that it would be better absent, and the somewhat serious rom-com stuff is so generic and predictable that it has all the surprise of attending Mass.

To me, the comedy being absurdist is a plus, but it doesn't mesh well with other modes. It's ridiculous, of course, that Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) is trying to pass himself off as "Big Momma" Hattie Mae Pierce (Ella Mitchell). That's a large part of what makes it funny. However, director Raja Gosnell's decision to play the rest of the cast as mostly deadpan is a strange one. It leads the viewer to take the film in a more realist mode, but if you're doing that, you keep asking yourself why anyone else would believe that Turner is actually Big Momma. Gosnell should have gone for another approach during the Turner as Big Momma scenes. It's not that they're never funny, but too often the deadpan interaction breaks the humor.

However, the deadpan attitude works wonders when Mitchell is Big Momma. Mitchell is a fantastic here as a comic actress and especially Paul Giamatti as John is hilarious interacting with her. Once those too-brief scenes ended, I was wishing they wouldn't have, and when they reappeared again at the end, it made me more fully realize how much better they were. A whole film could have and should have been written around Mitchell as Big Momma with Giamatti and Lawrence interacting with her and beautiful co-star Nia Long via some other story.

Even with these problems, Big Momma is an enjoyable film. My wife enjoyed it even more than I did, we're looking forward to watching Big Momma's House 2, and we'll certainly watch this again in the future. But it's a case of moments of brilliance poking through so that you see just how much better it could have been.