Lawrence is joined by Brandon T Jackson in Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, with Lawrence once again taking on the dual role of FBI Agent Malcolm Turner and his undercover alter-ego, Big Momma. Jackson joins him as his stepson, Trent, who also gets dressed up in female attire to play a coed named Charmaine when the twosome go undercover at an all-girls performing arts school.
After all these years in heavy makeup and prosthetics, Lawrence is a pro at getting into his Big Momma character and he's learned what not to do once he's in his Big Momma garb. Fortunately for Jackson, Lawrence was willing to pass on important advice to the Big Momma newcomer. "[The] advice I gave him was, 'Once you get into all this make-up and this costume'...Brandon has a lot of energy and likes to move around a lot and have fun and play on the set and all that...I said, 'You are going to have to sit real still until it's time to shoot the scenes.' I said, 'If not, by the time the end of the day comes, you are going to want to scream and you're going to want to tear that mask off and all that stuff, the prosthetics.' I told him he just needs to be real calm and keep himself cool and collected as much as possible."
But even after playing the part in three films, that make-up process isn't something Lawrence has come to love. "Well, I can’t say that I looked forward to getting into it but it’s my job. That's what I do," confessed Lawrence. "When it used to take three hours and everything, that used to just drive me crazy. But we have a good make-up guy named Wes who got it down to an hour and a half. So every morning I was able to just kind of calm myself and just go through the process. But when it took three hours, I just wanted to lose it."
And now that he's walked in women's shoes, Lawrence has a special insight into what females go through getting ready to go out in public. "It's a lot of maintenance," said Lawrence, laughing. "It's not as easy to get into all that stuff, you know? Women love to impress and be their best, so it's work but it's all worth it when it comes together."
Bringing the Third Big Momma Film to the Big Screen
Big Momma's a character Lawrence feels protective of, and he was once again actively involved in the script. Asked how much input he was able to give, Lawrence explained the script process. "I'll work with John [Whitesell, the director]. I'll read the script and if there's things in there that I like or dislike, I'll go over it with him. He'll try and help me make some adjustments and changed things or whatever to get it to where it's something that I enjoy and like. We try to make the best film we can.""I just try to do what I think Big Momma would do naturally, you know, and add the heart that she would have and the humor that I think she would have - and the action. [...]I’m undercover and I’m supposed to be this FBI agent that’s very good at what he does, so I’ve kind of got to stay in the character that I’m in."
Lawrence also had some input into the casting of his young co-star. "I met [Brandon] at a party and he was just saying how big a fan he was," recalled Lawrence. "I just thought he was very nice, when I met him. He’s real down-to-earth. I said, 'Don’t worry, one day we'll work together. We’ll get a chance to work together.' And then this came up and when John mentioned his name to me, it was like, 'Hey, wow, yeah, this is a possibility. Let’s make it happen.'"
And speaking of making things happen, is there a chance Lawrence will return for another Big Momma? "Well, I never say never. It just depends on where we go from here," replied Lawrence. "If it’s in demand and the people want to see it, then I’d love to give the people what they want."
Martin Lawrence's Future Projects
Lawrence revealed there has been movement on Bad Boys 3 (Bad Boys 2 was released in July 2003). "Yeah, actually they’re writing the script as we speak," said Lawrence. "We’re just waiting for it to come together. I think Jerry Bruckheimer is meeting with some of my people. Will [Smith] came down to see me when I was filming Death at a Funeral, and I was like, 'Well, you know, what do you think? Do you think we can do it again?' And he said, 'Oh, most definitely. We’ve gotta do it again.' So I think it’s going to happen as long as we get Michael Bay back on board, which I hear he’s interested in doing it again. So if we can get the whole team back together, then we have the best of both worlds."So, where would he like to see the third film go? "I just want it to get better. And with somebody like Michael Bay or Jerry Bruckheimer, the sky’s the limit, you know? They like to blow things up, so I know we’ll be blowing some more things up. I’d just like to see us have a lot of fun and me and Will stretch our acting range, and just have fun," answered Lawrence.
Also in the works is a film with Jamie Foxx. "We’ve talked about me and Jamie Foxx doing a movie called The Skank Robbers, you know, that takes the characters from the Martin show, Sheneneh and Wanda, and trying to put them together. They’re just trying to work that script out. "
Lawrence said there's a certain joy to be had for both he and Foxx in returning to these TV characters. "I would think so because they’re fun characters to play. They’re beloved characters. Everybody that knows these characters, [has] seen us play these characters, wants us to play these characters, so it’s a lot of fun. Sheneneh, to me, is one of the most hilarious characters that I’ve played. I love playing her."
Which brings us to the obvious question: Is his Sheneneh prettier than Foxx's Wanda? "I've got to say yes, she is," said Lawrence, smiling.
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Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son hits theaters on February 18, 2011.
