No one can deny that Jackie Gleason left some big shoes to fill. Maybe that's why it made sense to plunk Cedric the Entertainer into them for a re-imagining of Gleason's pioneering TV show, "The Honeymooners."

That said, it's best to forget the conceptual stunt of relocating Ralph Kramden and Co. from a 1950s cold-water Brooklyn flat to a similar 21st-century location, albeit one where the ethnic situation makes for a different kind of comedy. This movie is not a remake of an old TV series; it's a vehicle for some gifted performers to generate lots of laughs from a live studio — oops — theater audience.

Cedric the Entertainer struts his stuff from the get-go in a nifty title sequence that introduces Ralph as a New York City bus driver. It's 1999 and Ralph is about to meet his soon-to-be wife, Alice (Gabrielle Union), on a Times Square street corner. After impressing her with his trademark jiggy moves, he woos her under the Brooklyn Bridge and the moon over Manhattan.

Movie review

Showtimes and trailer

"The Honeymooners," with Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall. Directed by John Schultz, from a screenplay by Barry Blaustein, Danny Jacobson, Don Rhymer and David Sheffield. 90 minutes. Rated PG-13 for some innuendo and rude humor. Several theaters.

Cut to six years later, where Ralph and Alice have settled into a decrepit apartment. Ralph is well into another harebrained, get-rich-quick scheme with upstairs neighbor Ed Norton (Mike Epps) in tow. Alice is none too pleased, nor is Norton's wife, Trixie (Regina Hall). The honeymoon is definitely over.

Alice and Trixie want to buy a neighborhood duplex as their dream home, but Ralph's dreams are a little different. He's sunk their savings into a broken-down railroad car he wants to convert into a tour bus. Or is it a venture to race Norton's stray mutt at the local dog track? Whaddaya know — it's both!

Even if he hasn't attained Gleason's stature (and maybe he has, hobnobbing with presidents and all), Cedric the Entertainer comes close to sharing Gleason's gift for, well, entertaining. He's the biggest reason this version of "The Honeymooners" is such an amusing surprise.

It helps that sidekick Mike Epps can keep pace by playing the same lovable doofus he did twice in Ice Cube's "Friday" movie franchise (he tries to mimic the original Norton, Art Carney, with less success). Also choice in their small roles are Kim Chan as a spunky old diner owner and Carol Woods as Ralph's nemesis mother-in-law.

Then there's John Leguizamo using every shtick in the book to crush the comedy competition as a hustling dog trainer with an offhanded wisecrack for everyone he meets — and is he funny.

Ralph gets to mug the branded lines "To the moon, Alice!" and "Baby, you're the greatest!" with Gleason-esque gusto, but the heart and soul is all Cedric.

Ted Fry: tedfry@earthlink.net