Susan Granger’s review of “The Honeymooners” (Paramount Pictures)
Landing with a colossal thud, this wannabe comedy bears little resemblance to Jackie Gleason’s CBS series which, some say, invented the sitcom format in the mid-’50s. Known for his volatile temper and as well as his wheeling-and-dealing, Ralph Kramden (Cedric the Entertainer) is a Brooklyn bus driver, married to long-suffering but determined Alice (Gabrielle Union), who is determined to get a home of her own. His get-rich-quick schemes usually involve their upstairs neighbor, city sewer worker Ed Norton (Mike Epps), much to the chagrin of Ed’s wife Trixie (Regina Hall). The quest of the moment is to acquire a newly available fixer-upper brownstone duplex – which the two couples can share. Problem is: an upscale real estate developer (Eric Stoltz) wants it too. Then there’s the abandoned greyhound dog that a con artist, aptly called Dodge (John Leguizamo), wants to train as a champion racer. Cedric the Entertainer admits he’d never really seen the Jackie Gleason show until he was cast as Ralph Kramden and vows he didn’t want to mimic “The Great One” as much as capture Ralph’s engaging, blustery essence. Actually, the actors do quite well, suitably restrained by director John Schultz. Bet they never develop the rapport that Gleason shared with Art Carney. But the blame falls directly in the four credited screenwriters who devised a silly, lamentably lame script that would never even have made it as a half-hour TV show. Here, it’s pitifully stretched to 90 minutes. Those old enough to remember the TV series will loathe it, and a younger audience won’t recognize the derivation. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Honeymooners” is a bland, disappointing 2. Quickly regrettable and forgettable.
