There have been quite a few movies with both Martin and Perry playing older, over weight, over the top grandmother type of Black women in the past few years. My question is, why hasn't there been any real woman playing these same type of roles/movies?

Is it only funny or accepted if men are playing those roles?

It's always funnier when a man does it. It's also fun to see how convincing and how well they can pull it off. It lets you know that they have really studied the old lady gestures and the way they talk.

vainandy said:

It's always funnier when a man does it. It's also fun to see how convincing and how well they can pull it off. It lets you know that they have really studied the old lady gestures and the way they talk.

And with Martin, remember he is undercover/a cop so it adds to the humor that you as part of the audience knows Big Momma is a man but nobody else (the other movie characters) know it.

HotGritz said:

vainandy said:

It's always funnier when a man does it. It's also fun to see how convincing and how well they can pull it off. It lets you know that they have really studied the old lady gestures and the way they talk.

And with Martin, remember he is undercover/a cop so it adds to the humor that you as part of the audience knows Big Momma is a man but nobody else (the other movie characters) know it.

I like Martin Lawrence as a comedian, and I loved his skits on Martin when he played his grandma and Sheneneh, but I don't see how in the world anyone in Big Momma's House 2 wouldn't notice his character was wearing a fat suit and makeup when he went undercover at the spa. I understand the idea of suspending disbelief, but that was ridiculous.

[Edited 7/21/11 19:06pm]

Graycap23 said:

There have been quite a few movies with both Martin and Perry playing older, over weight, over the top grandmother type of Black women in the past few years. My question is, why hasn't there been any real woman playing these same type of roles/movies?

Is it only funny or accepted if men are playing those roles?

I haven't seen either of these characters, but I saw Norbit

and I do like ANY comedy where someone is not even convincingly in disguise (Kate/Bob anyone?) because I DO like stupid comedy sometimes, I have a place for it when my brain is switched off.

Would a woman be funny in that role? No, probably because it wouldn't be right if she was the butt of jokes as an overweight black woman - I don't think people would stand for if she was an object for ridicule, the role would have to be completely different (like if she was smart mouthed like Roseanne and always got the better of everyone else). If she was a woman trying to be a man, possibly funny Like I said, I haven't seen them, just speculating.

Men seem to like seeing men dressed as ladies, isn't there ALWAYS some bloke in a tutu on the footy show?

I despise these sort of films. As I've mentioned here before there's more going on here psychological with Black men dressing in drag. When you have to put on a skirt to discover your backbone. As my late father would say, "weak".

TD3 said:

I despise these sort of films. As I've mentioned here before there's more going on here psychological with Black men dressing in drag. When you have to put on a skirt to discover your backbone. As my late father would say, "weak".

I think it's just funny humor all across the board. These two were funny as hell too...

movies such as these are just an updated version of the minstrel shows. back in the early days (circa early 1800's) top paid black comedians dressed up in black face.

African-American blackface productions also contained buffoonery and comedy, by way of self-parody.

today's hollywood writers are producing female-face male performers, while doing a femine side self parody. it's just sad that big momma, madea, rasputia and the likes twist, eye-roll, contort their faces and become symbolic hermophrodites to be considered top dollar actors.

(by the way, both john travolta in "hair spray" and robin williams in "mrs. doubtfire" were not subjected to playing buffons in their roles.)

serious, imo=yes.

Buffoon type character roles for black males date back to the early minstrels. it's been noted the only black males allowed to be on the entertainment stage had to wear black face and be funny even if it meant demeaning him self. money was tight, so he did.

"Black minstrels donned burnt cork to blacken their already dark skin and performed comedy routines using the traditional caricatures and racist stereotypes.http://www.black-face.com...-shows.htm

Here I Paraphrase:

"Top dollar black male comedians don black female make up and clothing to disguise their maleness and perform movie scripts using traditional and non-traditional female caricatures and offensive chauvinistic stereotypes."

Imo, if a black woman were to play any of these roles such as big momma or madea it would be reminiscent of a pre-beulah show and Sapphire of amos and andy show. these were the only roles available for black women in early television history.

black men dressing up as women to make top dollar is very de-evolutionary and to a degree present a damaging psychological effect for some young black men and young black females.

[Edited 7/22/11 11:37am]

Thanks 4 the replies.