Once upon a time, I had the whole Martin show collection. All five seasons on DVD. Some of the routines I repeated word for word. WZUP! These are images of Martin Lawrence as a recurring character on the series, "Bob." Martin created several of my favorite TV characters ever (at least, they used to be). I used to want to dress as Security Guard Otis for Halloween, before I found out what the 'holiday' really meant.
But after a while, the humor on the show started bothering me. Lawrence is a very funny person--no news there. I thought his early stand-up was honest and aggressive; his later fare like Runteldat was incoherent. His show was supposed to be a bit different, to have an edge, when it aired. Fox was sailing over the still-growing The Simpsons bubble when Martin came along. Fox was still pushing the envelope: These are black people, so we're in our own lane. This was years before UPN and its ilk.
The more I watched the show, I saw that what is meant to be comedy seemed needlessly crude and cruel. All the racial, gender and sexual jokes weren't as funny as they used to be.
"But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named
among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness,
nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of
thanks." (Ephesians 5:3-4, KJV)
Martin Lawrence has transitioned over to more kid-friendly fare, or so goes the perception. In interviews, he seems almost serene and at peace as compared to years ago. But movies like Rebound have the same humor, only with rubber edges.
Asked a different way: Is soft porn still pornography? Years ago, I would have said no. Now I see that the typical "standard mailing" clothing catalog (from Alloy, for example) can give a man the same sensual thoughts as a Playboy.
So Lawrence's drop from "R" to the occasional "PG" is kind of deceiving. In 2006's Open Season there is a teddy bear thong and a dog humping a hubcap, among other similar things. Pretty much everything Hollywood and mainstream entertainment produce are introductions to the "real world." Kids' primers for destruction.
Martin Lawrence is simply a vehicle for a larger agenda. But we all make our own beds. When he was waving a gun in that Los Angeles intersection, he was reportedly screaming "Fight the power!" We pray that he meant battling against the enemy's sinister power.
Either way, as the Washington Post wrote in 1997, "Hollywood doesn't care: There'll always be another Martin Lawrence."
