A Comic Twist for Lawrence : ‘Bad Boy’ of Comedy Finds Success as the Good Guy in the Hit Detective Film

There would seem to be no greater match of performer and project than Martin Lawrence in Columbia Pictures’ “Bad Boys.”

For much of last year, Lawrence was the bad boy of comedy, where almost everything he touched became immersed in a whirlpool of controversy.

* Lawrence’s concert film, “You So Crazy,” was considered so raunchy by the Motion Picture Assn. of America that it was given an NC-17 rating despite an appeal by Lawrence. Many theaters refused to show the movie.

* His hosting of “Saturday Night Live” last March and his routine involving female hygienic habits earned him frowns from producers and a ban from the show.

* Television critics and others continued to take swipes at his Fox situation comedy, “Martin,” which they claimed promoted negative, buffoonish images of African Americans. Lawrence also continually clashed with Fox over language and some of the more suggestive content of the series.

It always seemed as if it were Lawrence against the world, and probably no one would have blamed Lawrence for taking the new film’s theme song to heart: “Bad boys, bad boys, what’cha gonna do? What’cha gonna do when they come for you?”

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But what Lawrence has done this year is turn all those negatives to positives, and “Bad Boys” is turning out to be very good for the 29-year-old comedian, according to reviewers and moviegoers who turned out in droves last weekend. Its $15.6-million gross made the action-comedy the biggest-opening film so far this year.

Lawrence’s pairing with Will Smith as mismatched Miami police detectives in a race against time to locate $100 million in stolen heroin had several reviewers raving about his performance, with many predicting that the role will shoot Lawrence into major movie stardom.

With all the word of mouth, “Bad Boys” has turned out to be one of the only Lawrence projects that he has not had to defend. The newfound appreciation for Lawrence comes at a time when he is also at peace with himself, far from the feisty young man who was not afraid to take on all comers when it came to his art.

“Yes, having no controversy feels a little weird,” said Lawrence, wearing an ensemble of black sunglasses, black shirt, black coat and light-colored pants as he sat last week in his office at Universal Studios, where “Martin” is taped.

“It’s like winning a championship,” he continued. “It feels good. You see a lot of good people when things are going good. And not having to explain anything feels good.”

He was reluctant to talk about the praise he is receiving for the movie: “It’s hard for me to rate myself. I’m happy when I hear that people say I do good things and the performance is good. But I don’t think I could even look half as good if I didn’t have Will. I really like working with (director) Michael Bay. It’s a whole team of people who came together, and I was just a part of it.”

In the film, Lawrence is Marcus Burnett, a married father of three whose views on diet and neatness directly clash with the strait-laced playboy played by Smith. In an about-face on his outrageous “Martin” antics and his foul-mouthed turns on comedy stages, Lawrence shows a restrained, vulnerable side of Burnett’s persona, getting queasy around dead bodies, and his volatile, frustrated nature flares when arguing with Smith about eating French fries in Smith’s Porsche or the best way to get the bad guys.

Lawrence said he was glad to show his acting ranges, which may not be as apparent on “Martin” or when he used to host the raucous “Def Comedy Jam.”

“On the sitcom, my humor is kind of big, so it was good for the audience to see that dry humor side,” he said.

But, more important, the filming of “Bad Boys” last year marked a critical personal crossroads for Lawrence.

“It was done after the ‘You So Crazy’ time, when I got to learn a lot about the business,” he said. “It was a growing-up time for me. I look back on my ‘Def Jams’ and HBO specials and things I performed, and say, ‘Wow, that was a kid, that was a boy running around telling what he feels and making people laugh.’ ‘You So Crazy’ was putting a piece of history on film, then when I felt slighted by having trouble getting it into theaters, I was a little standoffish about the business.”

There were plenty of other battles, too.

“I did ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and that did not turn out to be the best experience that I would have liked to have had,” he recalled. “Also, I was just out of a relationship, and was hurting over that. There were just a lot of things going on that had me say, ‘Let me concentrate on the things that seem to be good to me.’ Those are my family, my show and some of the relationships that I have in my business.”

But an even more significant event took place--marriage.

“Once I did those other things, I reached back to a woman from my past with whom I was in love with. We were friends, I got engaged and fell in love. My spirits started picking up because I was in love again.

“I wanted all these things in my life so that I could learn how to be calm, patient, not just with people but with myself. So I went through everything I had to go through in order to get to this point.”

Still, it was not smooth sailing during the first days of filming “Bad Boys,” according to director Bay.

“I’m a very headstrong guy, and I heard Martin was too,” said Bay, an award-winning commercial and video director who was taking on his first feature film assignment.

“When we first met, we had a great dinner together, just talking about movies and our ideas. But then it became like two dogs nipping at each other’s tails. He started giving me (expletive), and I gave him (expletive) right back.”

Bay said he and Lawrence would have screaming arguments: “He would say, ‘I’m a 29-year-old who made it from nothing,’ and I would say, ‘Yeah, well, I made it from nothing, too.’ He had always been in charge of his projects, and it was like we were both trying to establish who was boss.

“In the second week, we had a talk, and after that, we became great friends. He had stuff to learn about trusting a director. It was a moment when we realized we’re just two guys trying to do the best job we can. We laugh about it now. We both did some growing up on this movie.”

Of Lawrence’s performance, Bay said, “He’s a genius about physical comedy. I think the range he shows makes his character a lot more likable.”

Much of Lawrence’s new approach to difficulties can be seen in his perspective on his relationship with Fox.

“I’m still trying to get there with Fox,” he said. “We’re still not mended, but I’m trying by being a professional. I feel if I can meet them that much of the way by being a professional, hopefully they can meet me the rest of the way.”

Despite the newfound peace in his life, Lawrence said he still feels there will be those who will never respect his brand of comedy or performance.

“There will be people who don’t like me just because it’s their job not to like me,” he said. “But I feel like if people have wisdom and a good heart and are sincere--as long as I get respect from them, that’s all that matters.”

Lawrence is looking forward to the future. He has one more year on his contract to do “Martin,” and his character will get married at the end of the season to longtime girlfriend Gina (Tisha Campbell).

Also on the horizon is a film called “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” that Lawrence co-wrote and will star in. The film, which he described as an urban “Fatal Attraction,” will also be his directing debut.

“It’s about a young womanizer who thinks he got all the ladies, and then he comes across the wrong one,” said Lawrence, who is still looking for his co-star. “It’s that Glenn Close-type of role, so I’m looking for someone I can pair up with on screen and get my ass whupped, basically.”

Sort of like bad- boy- turns- not- so- bad- boy- gets- bad- girl.