Sometimes reading others' reviews connect me with a movie more than seeing the movie itself. Such was the case with Roscoe Jenkins, which is odd because his is a story I should have connected with instinctively. Perhaps it didn't click because the projectionist had the movie showing on the ceiling to start with; maybe it was because the screening had to stop because the film wasn't threaded properly and the sound was jumping; or maybe it was because, from reel to reel, either the tops of people's heads were chopped off or short characters were excised in favor of mike booms and reflectors. Quality of presentation sometimes counts for a great deal.

In any event, here is how Roscoe Jenkins' story is a great deal like mine... Never getting the respect he deserves while growing up, Jenkins leaves home to become a Big Success. Wanting to distance himself as much as possible from the Loser He Used To Be, he even adopts an alias, R.J. Stevens. Eventually, though, he finds that he can't avoid coming home... And then the Man He Is collides with the Loser He Used To Be and some New Man must emerge.

Now, this is a powerful theme, really. And in a way, it's very very biblical, not dissimilar to the story of the Prodigal Son. There's forgiveness and reconciliation that has to happen. Not only does R.J./Roscoe have to eat crow, his siblings do, too. And his dad (played here by James Earl Jones) has some rethinking to do as well.

The story is also very spiritual. When talking to Nicodemus in John 3, Jesus talks about the need to be "born again." Later, in his epistles, the Apostle Paul clarifies what Jesus meant, talking about the way in which we, too, can become "new men" through the life-changing effects of God's Spirit. He calls it being "transformed by the renewing of the mind," and "putting on Christ" like a suit of new clothes.

But alas! this is a Martin Lawrence comedy, and his Roscoe Jenkins never really learns anything quite so deep. Instead, the emphasis here is more on getting the girl and doggies humping.

It's a good thing that another writer's review reminded me of the value lurking beneath the surface of this homecoming story.