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No Power to 'Peeples'

Affable Craig Robinson gets his chance to be a leading man in "Peeples," an unfortunately lame remake of "Meet the Parents."

This undated publicity photo released by Lionsgate shows, from left, Kerry Washington, as Grace Peeples, Craig Robinson as Wade Walker and David Alan Grier as Virgil Peeples in a scene from the film,"Peeples." (AP Photo/Lionsgate, Nicole Rivelli)
This undated publicity photo released by Lionsgate shows, from left, Kerry Washington, as Grace Peeples, Craig Robinson as Wade Walker and David Alan Grier as Virgil Peeples in a scene from the film,"Peeples." (AP Photo/Lionsgate, Nicole Rivelli)Read moreAP
    by GARY THOMPSON
    Published 

ABOUT the only good news arising from the "Meet the Parents" clone "Peeples" is that there are no Fockers about.

Otherwise it's a virtual duplication. Craig Robinson is the guy (named Wade) with the un-masculine job (he sings hold-your-bladder songs at preschools) and an upper-class girlfriend (Kerry Washington).

He crashes one of her family get-togethers at the posh home of her parents (David Alan Grier, S. Epatha Merkerson), who are also also hosting their TV-star daughter and gangsta wannabe son.

Dad is a judge, domineering in life as well as in court, and most of the jokes involve the prospective son-in-law trying desperately to make a good impression.

He fails, naturally, ingesting hallucinogens, stumbling into a private nudist gathering, etc. Remember the pot-smoking son in "Meet The Parents"? Here, he's a klepto, and, of course, Wade gets blamed for the missing items.

The episodic comedy is haphazardly arranged - director Tina Gordon Chism likes a good sight gag, but has less interest in plot. Sometimes characters appear almost out of thin air (Malcom Barrett, as Wade's brother).

The movie is a brisk 88 minutes, but even that seems barely enough to sustain the half-dozen good jokes.

Still, "Peeples" arises from the Tyler Perry comedy factory, and he knows what sells. Robinson is an appealing performer, Washington is gorgeous, and you never know.

If a sequel is warranted, perhaps the writers could seek input from the makers of the "Meet the Parents" sequels. They may get assistance, or they be told to Focker themselves.