"The Momma of All Comedies is Back!"

So, who's going to see "Big Momma's House 2" this weekend? Apparently, a lot of you. I admit, I don't understand the appeal of the first "Big Momma's House," which grossed about $125 million. When it comes to cinema, I tend to avoid (1) movies about cops dressing up like women to nab drug dealers or bank robbers; (2) comedies where the jokes revolve around fat people being fat; (3) Martin Lawrence. But I'm in the minority here.

I'd love to expand my horizons and laugh along with everybody else this weekend. But since I didn't see the first one, I feel like I would be lost. Clearly, the "Big Momma" saga is so vast that it can't be contained to just one movie. Newbies should probably start from the beginning of the story so they don't get lost.

I can't make heads or tails of the plot synopsis: "Lawrence reprises his role as master-of-disguise FBI agent Malcolm Turner, and Nia Long returns as the love interest. This time, Big Momma takes a turn as a nanny as Turner attempts to find his ex-partner's killer. But while undercover, he starts to grow attached to the prime suspect's three children. John Whitesell ("Malibu's Most Wanted") directed the sequel."

So Lawrence is an FBI agent AND Big Momma? And Nia Long the love interest? Who are these kids? Do they represent Turner's desire to leave law enforcement and start a family? Or do they underscore his loss of innocence after embracing cross-dressing as a professional career? Clearly, with an auteur like Whitesell (who proved his hand at racial satire with the penetrating "Malibu's Most Wanted") at the helm, the second "Big Momma" will expand on the psychological themes explored in the first film and weave an even richer tapestry.

Or there might just be a bunch of fart and fat jokes. Yuk yuk yuk.