A lot of movies tend to have previews that only reveal the good moments.  In the case of "Black Knight" it was the opposite.  The previews showed such lame moments as Martin Lawrence winding up his fist, about to punch someone, and using the "Scarface" line "Say hello to my little friend."  That's why I was really surprised.  This movie is a lot funnier than it looks, and being that we're in the era of lame-o comedies with crudeness and silliness as a substitute for humor, this is a big improvement.  

       Lawrence plays Jamal, a lowly employee at an amusement park with a Medieval theme.  One day he stumbles into the lake, after finding a shiny piece of jewelry floating inside, and by the time he swims to safety he's in 14th Century England.  At first he assumes it's Castle World, the new amusement park that is about to open and pose tough competition.  Meeting the King, he's mistaken for a messenger of the Duke of Normandy.  He assumes it's all part of the game.  When he witnesses an actual beheading, he realizes this is no amusement park.

       Lawrence is a fine comedian, with good natural talent.  However, when handed a bad script he can make such clunkers as "Blue Streak," an agonizing mess of a comedy.  We really didn't need the goofy opening sequence, in which he hams it up to the extreme, making rubber-faced gestures as he goes through his morning routine of brushing his teeth, flossing, plucking his nose hairs, etc.  But that is one of a few scenes where he does ham it up, on account of bad writing.  

       There is some good fish-out-of-water comedy when he first lands in Medieval times, thinking all these knights and warriors are simply actors taking their jobs too seriously.  There are occasional moments of crude humor, but I was amazed by how many gags stayed on a PG level.  I think if it weren't for a few sexual references this movie would've gotten the PG.  Of course, whenever you have a black man from the ghetto whisked into the 14th Century you have to expect such things as him teaching the villagers all sorts of slang, but the joke never ran its course and I actually laughed when Tom Wilkinson (of "Full Monty" fame) uttered the words "That's tight."  I think that's what made this movie click:  It rarely goes over-the-top and never gets annoying.  There is also a great, though far-fetched, sequence where Lawrence conducts a rendition of "Dance to the Music" while showing off his dance moves. 

       "Black Knight" is a fun, surprisingly good-natured comedy that will keep you smiling.  And you can bring the whole family.