Where to watch The Honeymooners
1 Star
The rush to remake hit television shows into movies ended unmagnanimously with this ill-conceived big-screen adaption of the Jackie Gleason sitcom. Recasting the roles of Ralph and Norton with Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps is the best idea associated with the project, but the filmmakers never let the comedians cut loose and the result is a dull, laughless, and often downbeat comedy. John Leguizamo shows up in an extended cameo and lends a bit of energy to the lethargic proceedings.
Ralph Kramden (Cedric the Entertainer) is a New York City bus driver who is always dreaming about making it big. He spends his days behind the wheel of a city bus but his mind is always hatching plans to get rich schemes. Yet, after twenty years of trying none of his ideas have yielded a profit. Ralph’s wife Alice (Gabrielle Union) and her best friend Trixie (Regina Hall), who is married to Ralph’s buddy Ed (Mike Epps), decide they want out of their crummy apartments and into a duplex down the block. The girls don’t know Ralph has spent their savings on another one of his non-sensical business ideas.
The Honeymooners is a downbeat affair with very sparse moments of supposed comedy. The idea behind the film’s story is weak and the execution has been pulled off in a flat, uninteresting manner. Gabrielle Union can be a captivating screen presence and she is once again beguiling in the thankless role of the verbally abused Alice Kramden. The cast is given little to do in a remake that is a misfire from the first frame.
Director: John Schultz
Stars: Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Gabrielle Union,