Big Momma is back and director John Whitesell is hoping she’s bigger than ever! At least when it comes to the box-office anyhow. The filmmaker behind the franchise’s last sequel returned behind the camera for Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son in which star Martin Lawrence teams up with his undercover son (Brandon T. Jackson, playing a big daughter named Charmaine).
The film hits theatres February 18th, but I got a chance to chat with Whitesell over the telephone to find out what brought back Big Momma, what Brandon T. Jackson brings to the mix and the director’s favorite cross-dressing films of all-time.
Steve Gow: You’re back in the franchise – back in the fold of things here.
John Whitesell: Yeah, we’re hopefully doing the best one of them all.
SG: What interested you in getting back into this franchise?
JW: Well, I think it’s one of the hardest things in the world to do is a third (film) and I initially I was going to be reluctant to do it but then we actually came up with an idea that I thought was very fresh…by bringing Brandon (T. Jackson) undercover and in drag with (Martin Lawrence), you kind of get a two-hander. It’s more Some Like It Hot than Mrs. Doubtfire where it’s just one guy going through it and we’ve done that twice. I thought by now having a partner undercover and creating one more person in Charmaine, we opened up a lot more possibilities comedically and made it fresh and made it more relatable for a younger audience.
SG: It’s funny too because there’s probably no bigger shot of adrenaline you could stick in a movie than by adding Brandon T. Jackson. Are you surprised that he isn’t a bigger mainstream star?
JW: I think he’s going to be. It’s coming. I think this movie is really going to be a breakout thing for him. I mean he was great in Tropic Thunder, he was good in Percy (Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief) – it’s one of those things that it’s a little tougher for those African-American guys to kind of establish themselves. Usually it’s through a TV show that they get known and then move on to the next step and he hasn’t done that…but he does so many different things, I think it’s hard to pigeonhole him into one thing and that may be also part of the reason he’s taking a little longer to be as big as I think he’s going to be.
SG: Right. In light of that, is there a word or a sentence that you could nail down what Brandon is like?
JW: Exuberant. I think exuberance and confident and charming. I think those 3 things come across when you deal with him. Even when he’s in those more petulant moments, you still like him; he’s still immensely likeable. And he’s kind of fearless as an actor - he’ll just kind of leap into something.
SG: You already cited Some Like It Hot but do you have any other favorite cross-dressing films?
JW: The first Big Momma’s House I loved. I was so impressed that Martin was able to make Big Momma so real and relatable. I think we all have a Big Momma in our life, we know one, and I think that really struck me. Mrs. Doubtfire is great and Some Like it Hot I’ve loved from the beginning and it has Marilyn Monroe in it so what more can you ask for?
SG: I know this isn’t a remake but I know you were once connected to a remake of Meatballs. I don’t know if that idea is still floating around but is there a comedy that you think deserves a remake?
JW: Hmm, that’s a good question. It’s a tough one because some of them are so good, you hate to see it (redone). I think all those John Hughes type of movies could use a remake. I think what he brought at that time particularly was he brought a reality to that time that’s missing right now in all those teen movies. They’re all just hi-jinks and kind of over-the-top. Superbad pushed it in a new way (but) I think I’d like to see some of that stuff where you care about those characters again…Home Alone could certainly be done again. That’s just a great concept.
