The Honeymooners

In the 1950s, The Honeymooners helped establish the most rancid cliché in American comedy: the irresponsible husband with the long-suffering, much smarter wife who always forgives him for being a selfish jackass. Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows pulled it off because 1) they brought a certain tenacious chemistry to their characters' head-butting marriage, 2) Gleason had a gift for finding humor and humanity in unsympathetic roles, and 3) it was a simpler time, when idiotic get-rich-quick schemes weren't quite such a tiresome excuse for cheap laughs. But none of this is true of the big-screen remake starring Cedric the Entertainer as conniving New York City bus driver Ralph Kramden, who spends the whole movie lying to his waitress wife (Gabrielle Union) while emptying their bank account in order to race a stray greyhound at the local track. Cedric sleepwalks through a routine script full of stereotypical characters (loud-mouthed mother-in-law), shopworn physical gags, contrived conflicts, pop culture references, lucky coincidences, and insultingly easy resolutions to all life's problems—none of which involve Ralph taking responsibility in order to earn that forgiveness from his inexplicably tolerant spouse. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras on this release (which has been edited from the original PG-13 theatrical version in order to obtain a PG rating—and is being issued in a full screen version only) include audio commentary by director John Schultz and co-stars Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps, a “Hangin' with The Honeymooners” featurette (14 min.), six deleted/extended/alternate scenes with optional commentary by Schultz (10 min.), interstitials and trailers. Bottom line: a box-office bomb retooled for a family-friendly PG rating, no amount of extras are going to enhance this awful update of the classic.] (R. Blackwelder)