Story by Amir Shaw
Images by Hiltron Bailey for Steed Media Service
Hollywood has a way of making people feel like stars. Ambitious busboys, waitresses, cab drivers and even tourists chase fame, no matter how improbable their dreams are. And who can blame them? For years, this small district in Los Angeles has transformed the lives of dreamers who go on to become the darlings and heroes of film.
Mo’Nique and Mike Epps have found Hollywood to be a cozy haven. Combined they have appeared in at least 30 films, which have earned upwards of $500 million at the box office. But if for one second you assumed that these two brash comedians were stricken with “Hollywooditis,” the joke is definitely on you. In fact, if Mo’Nique and Epps weren’t on the big screen, they would be the zany relatives that bring life to cookouts and family reunions to life. During a recent interview at the posh Beverly Hills Four Seasons Hotel, the co-stars of Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins proved that there’s a thin line between home and Hollywood.
The importance of never forgetting your past is the central theme in the Malcolm Lee-directed feature film. The comedic tandem team up to give Dr. RJ Stevens, played by Martin Lawrence, some tough family love after the talk show guru returns to his hometown of Dry Springs, Ga. When Mo’Nique first read the script, she instantly felt familiar with every character.
“The Jenkins family can be anywhere in the world,” Mo’Nique emotes. “Everyone has a family that is similar to the Jenkins. My character [Betty Jenkins] is the strong aunt that is in every family. You love her, but you’re nervous when she comes around. She’s opinionated, aggressive and lovable. She also believes in giving back. She gives back by going to visit the guys at the prison who need a little spiritual healing — if you know what I mean.
”On the other hand, Mike Epps plays the ever-scheming Reggie Jenkins. “Reggie is one of those cousins who will try to talk to your girl. He wants to borrow money that he can’t pay back, and he wants to use your car,” Epps says of his opportunistic character. “I think that a lot of people will be able to relate to that. I have so many brothers and sisters in real life that this movie touched close to home.”
Home for Mo’Nique and Epps was once a long way from Tinseltown. Mo’Nique’s comedy roots began in Baltimore, while Epps found humor growing up in a house with eight brothers and sisters in Indianapolis. Although he left the Circle City at the age of 21, he often returns to visit family members and to gain inspiration for new comedic material. “I never really left the ‘hood that I grew up in because that’s where comedy started for me,” Epps says. “That’s where I get my jokes and all of my characters. Whenever I need new material, I go right back there and sit with them for a few weeks, or sometimes I’ll be there for a month. I know that I can go back there to ‘re-up’ on jokes. But with every city that I visit, I try to go straight to the ‘hood. I go to the barbershops and the soul food restaurants just to see what’s going on with the people.”
Mo’Nique, on the other hand, has received much praise for the encouragement that she gives to everyday people. A strong advocate for women’s issues, she remains dedicated to building self-esteem in others. In 2006, she earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for executive production and hosting “Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance.” The beauty pageant-reality show gave its zaftig contenders the confidence to feel beautiful on the inside and out. “It’s extremely important for me to give other women encouragement because I’m still building me,” Mo’Nique reveals. “I haven’t gotten to a place where I’m not in need of help. I also need to hear positive reinforcement. I never sought to be the self-esteem spokesperson, that’s just what it is. Because if I can be the best me, that’s great. I try to be the best me so that I can be a better person than I was yesterday. And if other people are able to get something from it, that’s awesome.”
Although the contestants on “Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance” reveled in the encouragement and camaraderie that took place on the set, Mo’Nique’s experience as the host of VH-1’s “Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School” was anything but charming. “With ‘Charm School,’ it was disheartening when the girls didn’t get it. I would tell the girls things that I knew and not what I read. Life will treat you unfairly if you treat yourself unfairly. Some of the sisters didn’t get it and that was very sad for me. I didn’t do that show for a paycheck or for the high ratings. I did it so that those sisters could have a better understanding of themselves. Look at me. Not only am I fat, but I’m a black woman. You have to determine what you want your destiny to be. If you don’t worry about the hurdles that are in front of you, you will do the work to get what you want. I won’t be a victim. I’ll never play the game of being a victim. If you want it, do me a favor and go get it.”
Epps forayed into the entertainment industry in 2006 when he served as the host for HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam.” The show featured hit-or-miss comics and often suffered due to Epps’ delivery of bland and untimely jokes. But even Michael Jordan had bad games. Epps divulges that having an off-night comes with the territory of being a professional. “One of the hardest things to do as a comedian is to remember your jokes and staying consistently funny,” he says. “This business can sometimes take you out of the realm of being funny. Because we are approached with other acting jobs and commercials, it’s easy to lose focus. It’s also easy to get serious in this business because [there are] so many things that you have to deal with outside of being funny. Funny is what you do. But people don’t see that you have a regular life. We are human with real feelings.”
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Without being too sentimental, Epps shook off the “Def Comedy Jam” experience and returned to his normal edgy self in 2007 with appearances in the box-office hit Resident Evil: Extinction and the Oscar-snubbed Talk to Me with Don Cheadle. Epps is concentrating on establishing himself behind the camera and building his own production company. He served as an executive producer for the films The Honeymooners and All About the Benjamins.
Epps’ next act consists of juggling his love for comedy while positioning himself as a power player in the film industry. “I balance being serious and funny by separating the two,” he asserts. “When it’s time to be funny, I can make you laugh. And when it’s time to handle business, I have to put the funny down. But it’s always been a joy for me to be able to make people laugh. A lot of people use comedy for therapy. Some people come to our comedy shows very upset after dealing with personal things in their lives. People walk up to me all of the time and tell me that I made them forget about their problems by telling jokes. To me, that’s the best feeling in the world.”
