There has been a long tradition in comedy, dating all the way back to 1959's "Some Like It Hot," of men dressing in drag for laughs. In fact, the top two films on AFI's 100 Greatest Comedies of all-time are "Some Like It Hot" and "Tootsie," and you could make a case that this tradition stems all the way back to the time of Shakespeare as his original productions featured all male casts. Many of the great actors and comedians of our generation have continued this tradition such as Oscar winners like Jack Lemon, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, and Robin Williams, as well as comedians like Eddie Murphy and Tyler Perry and of course ... Martin Lawrence.

Lawrence's first foray into cross-dressing began with 2000's very popular comedy "Big Momma's House," and the talented comedian followed that up with "Big Momma's House 2." Now Lawrence has put on the female fat suit once again for the third chapter of his popular "FBI agent goes undercover as an old fat woman" series, this time entitled "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son." I need to begin by saying that I never saw the first two "Big Momma" films but you really don't need to in order to see this movie. In fact, the film really acts as a reboot in a sense, re-launching the series for a new generation by passing the torch (in a way) to up and coming young comedian Brandon T. Jackson ("Tropic Thunder").

I was skeptical going in to this film for two reasons. 1) Men dressing in drag have never been particularly funny to me. It's kind of a one-note joke. 2) It is very rare that a third chapter of a series is ever any good, with the "Lord Of The Rings" and "Harry Potter" films being the only exceptions. ("Star Wars Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith" is much better than the other two new movies in the series but that isn't saying much.) I also need to say that I don't think I am necessarily in the demographic that this film is intended for. While I felt somewhat uncomfortable by some of the humor in the film, the packed audience of Martin Lawrence fans whom I viewed the movie with seemed to really enjoy the film. That being said, despite its ridiculous premise, (and lets be honest, it was a ridiculous premise the first time let alone the third time around), I think this film will satisfy fans of Lawrence's shtick and the previous movies.

The film begins by reintroducing us to FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Lawrence) who is currently juggling a big case, as well as his teenage stepson Trent (Jackson). Malcolm is excited when he learns that Trent has been accepted to college, but Trent has other plans ... he wants to pursue a career in hip-hop. Trent has an opportunity to go on tour but needs Malcolm to sign the permission form in order to do it. When Malcolm refuses to sign, Trent follows him to a stakeout where he accidentally witnesses a murder. The killer, Chirkoff (Tony Curran) wants to get rid of Trent and Malcolm before they are able to expose him and bring him to justice. But in order to do that they need a piece of evidence that will make there case against Chrikoff, unfortunately Malcolm's deceased CI has hidden it somewhere in an all girls school for performing arts.

In order to get the evidence Malcolm goes undercover once again as Big Momma and gets a job as the housemother for the school. "She" also enrolls "her" great niece Charmaine Daisy Pierce (Trent) in the school so that "she" will be safe. While Big Momma is looking for the evidence "she" needs, Charmaine begins to fall for one of "her" classmates, Haley (Jessica Lucas) and eventually jeopardizes "her" cover by dating her as Trent. But how will Haley react when she finds out that her best friend is also her boyfriend? Big Momma also has "her" hands full when "she" meets Kurtis Kool (Faizon Love), a goofy janitor at the school who has a thing for "big" women. Eventually, with Chirkoff getting closer to finding Trent, Big Momma must locate the evidence so "she" can save Trent and put Chirkoff away for good.

My biggest problem with the film is its lack of explanation or even common sense at times. I understand the ridiculous premise of an FBI agent needing to go undercover as a old fat woman once ... but three times? Malcolm doesn't even consider any other options like, oh I don't know, FLASHING HIS FBI BADGE TO GET ACCESS TO THE SCHOOL! It seems odd to me that he chooses to dress like a woman so quickly, without giving it a second thought. And Trent doesn't seem to put up too much of an argument either. Lets be honest, they don't even really look like women! It's hard to believe that anyone would fall for this but the same could be said for that premise in "Some Like It Hot" or "Bosom Buddies." Not to mention that it must take hours and several expert make-up artists to get Lawrence and Jackson into their "costumes," yet in the film their characters put on their get-ups in seconds with ease. Also, it's one thing to surprise your dad at work but if your dad is an FBI agent, you may not want to just show up while he is on a dangerous stakeout. Come on people!

With all that being said, the movie was not without its funny moments. Lawrence clearly has this character down pat and knows just what type of movie he is making. Jackson is a very talented young actor and does inject the franchise with enough freshness to make this installment bearable. But its Love that steals every scene he is in with his hilarious character and some great comedic moments. Again, I just don't think that I am the target audience for this film but I didn't hate it ... I just think that I was hoping for the movie to be a little smarter. There is an audience for this and I think that fans of Lawrence and the "Big Momma" movies will enjoy it but if that's not your cup of tea ... then you may want to skip this one. In the end, you get what you see with "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son," its exactly what you would expect from the franchise. If you like the previous films you will probably enjoy this, therefore I would recommend seeing it in the theaters if you have the chance. But if you didn't enjoy the last two films, then you're not going to like this one so do yourself a favor and just skip it altogether.