Black Knight (PG-13, 2001)

Inspired by Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, BLACK KNIGHT stars Martin Lawrence as Jamal, an employee of a run-down medieval theme park. After grabbing for a mysterious amulet while cleaning the moat, he falls into the water and comes up in a lake. It turns out that he's been transported back to 1328, and a usurper king mistakes him for a Moorish messenger. Jamal is astonished by the odd medieval world (They behead people! And they have awful bathrooms!), and the locals are equally astonished at his behavior. Jamal becomes interested in a pretty chambermaid who is a part of a conspiracy to bring back the real queen, and he's pursued by but the daughter of the usurper king.

Martin Lawrence is a very funny guy who is usually a lot better than the movies around him, which tend to play as though half the script reads, "Martin enters and does funny things." This time, the material comes a little closer to his talents.

Black Knight is a classic comedy set-up that could easily have starred any movie comedian skilled in pratfalls, from Buster Keaton to Jerry Lewis to Jim Carrey. There is a lot of slapstick, a little romance, fights with swords, arrows, and a couple with fists, and it all moves along pretty painlessly, helped by some good gags and Lawrence's facility with physical comedy.

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Director: Gil Junger
Cast: Marsha Thomason, Martin Lawrence, Tom Wilkinson
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 95 minutes
Theatrical release: November 21, 2001
DVD release: April 16, 2002
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: language, sexual/crude humor and battle violence