The Honeymooners (2005 film)

The Honeymooners is a 2005 American comedy film directed by John Schultz. An updated version of the original 1950s television series of the same name, this adaptation stars a predominantly-African American cast featuring Cedric the Entertainer, Gabrielle Union, Mike Epps, and Regina Hall.

The Honeymooners
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Schultz
Written by	Barry W. Blaustein Danny Jacobson David Sheffield Don Rhymer
Based on	The Honeymooners by Jackie Gleason
Produced by	David T. Friendly Eric Rhone Julie Durk Marc Turtletaub
Starring	Cedric the Entertainer Mike Epps Gabrielle Union Regina Hall Eric Stoltz John Leguizamo
Cinematography	Shawn Maurer
Edited by	John Pace
Music by	Richard Gibbs
Production companies	Deep River Productions Friendly Films
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	June 10, 2005 (2005-06-10)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25 million[1]
Box office	$13.2 million[1]

The film was both financially and critically unsuccessful, with Roger Ebert being one of the few to give it a positive review.^[2]

Plot

The Kramdens and the Nortons are working-class neighbors; bus-driver Ralph Kramden (Cedric the Entertainer) and sewer worker Ed Norton (Mike Epps) are best friends. Ralph is constantly masterminding get-rich-quick schemes with which Ed tries to help. The driving force behind them is their wives, Alice Kramden (Gabrielle Union) and Trixie Norton (Regina Hall); the men are trying to make enough money to afford the homes they think they and their wives deserve. Meanwhile, Alice and Trixie make ends meet by waitressing at the local diner.

Cast

• Cedric the Entertainer as Ralph Kramden
• Mike Epps as Edward "Ed" Norton
• Gabrielle Union as Alice Kramden
• Regina Hall as Trixie Norton
• Carol Woods as Mama Gibson
• Doreen Keogh as Ms. Celestine
• Eric Stoltz as William Davis
• John Leguizamo as Dodge
• Jon Polito as Kirby
• Lenny Venito as Lenny
• Ajay Naidu as Vivek
• Kevin Corrigan as Larry
• Alice Drummond as Miss Benvenutti

Production

Filming locations

• Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland^[3]
• Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland^[3]
• Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
• New York City, New York, USA
• Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium, Shelbourne Park, County Dublin, Ireland^[3]

Release

The film was released in theaters on June 10, 2005 with a PG-13 rating from MPAA for "some innuendo and rude humor".

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD on October 11, 2005.^{[citation needed]}

For its DVD release, several lines of more suggestive dialogue were cut from the film in order to gain a PG rating for family-friendly marketing purposes.^[4] The PG rated cut is currently the only version available on home video.

Reception

Critical response

The film received mainly negative reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 13% of 111 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "This pointless remake of the classic TV series only offers generic characters and gags."^[5] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 31 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.^[6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.^[7]

Roger Ebert was one of the few to give it a positive review, 3 stars out of a possible 4, proposing that The Honeymooners was unusual among such adaptations in transcending the original while staying true to its spirit.^[2][8]

Accolades

2005 BET Comedy Awards

• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Theatrical Film — Gabrielle Union (nominated)

2005 Black Movie Awards

• Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role — Cedric the Entertainer (nominated)