The Honeymooners (2005 film)

The Honeymooners
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Schultz
Written byBarry W. Blaustein
Danny Jacobson
David Sheffield
Don Rhymer
Based onThe Honeymooners
by Jackie Gleason
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyShawn Maurer
Edited byJohn Pace
Music byRichard Gibbs
Production
companies
  • Deep River Productions
  • Friendly Films
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • June 10, 2005 (2005-06-10)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[1]
Box office$13.2 million[1]

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 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

Production

Filming locations

Release

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

References

  1. ^ a b The HoneyMooners Archived 2017-11-10 at the Wayback Machine at Box Office Mojo
  2. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (9 June 2005). "Loony landing for 'Honeymooners'". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  3. ^ a b c "Dublin Becomes New York In 'The Honeymooners' | The Irish Film & Television Network". www.iftn.ie. Archived from the original on 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  4. ^ Miller, Lia (2005-10-17). "For a DVD Makeover, Cut the Naughty Talk". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  5. ^ "The Honeymooners". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 22, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  6. ^ "The Honeymooners". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  7. ^ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "The Honeymooners" in the search box). CinemaScore. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  8. ^ DAVID CARR (November 17, 2004). "'The Honeymooners' Gets a Black Cast for a New Film". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2017.


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