Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son parents guide

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son Parent Guide

The filmmakers manage to pull off the story in "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" with less parental concerns than previous Big Momma movies.

Overall B-

Martin Lawrence reprises his role as Big Momma. But this time the FBI agent is forced to take his stepson (Brandon T. Jackson) undercover with him at an all-girls performing arts school after the two of them witness a murder.

Release date February 18, 2011

Violence C
Sexual Content B
Profanity B-
Substance Use A

Why is Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son PG-13 for some sexual humor and brief violence.

Run Time: 108 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Eddie Murphy, Tyler Perry and Martin Lawrence have all taken their turn donning the fat suit to play hefty black matriarchs in movies like Norbit, Madea’s Family Reunion and Big Momma’s House. Now Martin Lawrence is packing it on once again and going undercover as Big Momma at an all-girls performing arts school to look for hidden evidence that will convict a dangerous Russian criminal (Tony Curran).

But he’s not doing it alone.

After his stepson Trent (Brandon T. Jackson) accidentally witnesses a mafia-style murder, FBI agent Malcolm Turner is forced to hide the boy at the school with him. While Malcolm assumes the persona of Big Momma, the new housemother, Trent has to pretend to be the large woman’s niece Charmaine.

However, putting a 17-year-old boy (played by a 27-year-old actor) in a female dorm is more dangerous than leaving him out to face the thugs (Henri Lubatti, Lorenzo Pisoni) who want him dead. While Malcolm hunts for the location of the loaded flash drive and wards off advances from the school’s handyman (Faizon Love), Trent tries—often unsuccessfully—to control his male impulses, especially when he is invited to attend a girls’ pajama party.

The result is plenty of sexually charged dialogue and innuendo along with some crude anatomical slang terms. Yet, despite the circumstances, the sexual element is smaller than it could be, even when Big Momma is talked into posing in the nude for an art class.

Unfortunately, this script is often as cumbersome as the characters’ prosthetic chests, with gapping plot holes, useless scenes and illogical scenarios all contributing. (I’m sure the first rule of FBI surveillance is to turn the lights off so the criminals aren’t watching you watch them.)

Still the filmmakers manage to pull off the story with less parental concerns than previous Big Momma movies. And while sharing a dorm room may not be the ideal way to get a little dad and teen bonding time, it seems that both Malcolm and Trent learn a thing or two about the other that contributes to a better footing for this stepfather and son relationship.

Directed by John Whitesell . Starring Martin Lawrence, Brandon T. Jackson . Running time: 108 minutes. Theatrical release February 18, 2011. Updated

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Rating & Content Info

Why is Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son rated PG-13? Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some sexual humor and brief violence.

Violence: Characters are threatened with guns and fired at. One man is shot and killed (shown on screen). A character is chased down and tackled. Others are punched, kicked, beaten with books or hit in the crotch. A female teacher is covered with toilet paper and a shaving cream type substance, as well as having her hair pulled out.

Sexual Content: Girls are seen in their underwear or a towel. A partially covered nude woman poses for an art class. A teen makes sexually charged comments to female students. Several discussions and song lyrics include sexual innuendo.

Language: The script contains profanities, terms of Deity and crude anatomical terms.

Alcohol / Drug Use: None noted.

Other: A man misuses his government office for his personal gain.

Page last updated

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son Parents' Guide

How might a movie’s intended audience influence the choice of criminals an author includes in a story?

What body image concerns are raised in this film? What sacrifices do dancers and other performers (as well as regular women) make for the sake of their art or society’s idea of beauty?

What advice does Big Momma give the girls when it comes to relationships with boys? Why does she say it is better to be alone than with someone who isn’t good for you? What does Trent think of the Cosmopolitan article about catching a man? Do you think many men would share his opinion?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son movie is June 14, 2011. Here are some details…

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son releases to DVD and Blu-ray on June 14, 2011.

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son- Motherload Edition Combo Pack (3-disc) includes:

Disc 1 (high-definition Blu-ray)

- Extended cut of the movie.

- Theatrical version of movie.

- Commentary

- Gag Reel

- Deleted Scenes

- Big Momma’s: Bigger Busts Countdown

- Featurette: Making the Music

- Music Video: Baby You Know and Lyrical Miracle

Disc 2:

- DVD of theatrical and extended version of the movie.

Disc 3:

- Digital Copy

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son- Motherload Edition (DVD) offers:

- Theatrical version and extended version of the movie on DVD.

- Commentary

- Gag Reel

- Deleted Scenes

Related home video titles:

Lawrence dressed up as his female character in the movies Big Momma’s House and Big Momma’s House 2. He also plays comedic roles as a disgraced college basketball coach in Rebound, an overprotective father in College Road Trip, and an aging, henpecked husband in Wild Hogs. Two women who witness a murder try to hide by disguising themselves as men in Connie and Carla.