Big Momma's House

Big Momma's House is a 2000 American crime comedy film, directed by Raja Gosnell, and written by Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer. The film stars Martin Lawrence as an FBI agent who is tasked with tracking down an escaped convict and his loot, by going undercover as the estranged grandmother of his former girlfriend, unaware of the bond he will form with her. The film also stars Nia Long, Paul Giamatti, and Terrence Howard. Big Momma's House received negative reviews from critics, but grossed over $174 million worldwide. Its success led to two sequels: Big Momma's House 2 (2006) and Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011). Plot Two undercover FBI agents, Malcolm Turner and John Maxwell, find themselves assigned by their boss to track down the escaped convict, Lester Vesco, who was serving a life sentence for murder and the armed robbery of a bank. Malcolm and John learn that Lester may be seeking to find his ex-girlfriend, Sherry Pierce, an employee of the bank who is suspected of supplying him with a key to the vault, as the money that was stolen was never recovered. Malcolm and John stake out the house of Sherry's estranged grandmother, Hattie Mae Pierce—an obese, elderly African American woman, whom her friends affectionately call Big Momma—in Cartersville, Georgia. They soon find out she is about to leave town for two weeks to care for her ill friend at the hospital. Malcolm takes the advantage by disguising himself as Big Momma to bring Sherry to her house to get her confession to her involvement in the robbery. To maintain his disguise as Big Momma, Malcolm must maintain the real Big Momma's lifestyle. This includes dealing with her lecherous boyfriend, assuming her occupation as a midwife, and attending self-defense classes led by dim-witted security guard Nolan, whom the agents are later forced to recruit when he stumbles onto their operation.