Like so many other sub-par Black films (“King’s Ransom”), “The Honeymooners” opens with the required calling card for African American audiences -- shots of an urban landscape whiz by while we watch our lead actor dance to loud music being blared over the speakers. I suppose this is to make us comfortable or remind of us all those music videos we can’t get enough of. However, for every tonal misfire in the film “The Honeymooners” is a sweet, anachronistic valentine to simpler entertainment. It is surprisingly remarkable that this Black comedy is almost completely devoid of easy “Black people do this/White people do that” jokes, large women hitting men with purses or colorful pimps. But it is worth noting and worth seeing.

”Which leaves what?” you may ask. Well, despite the sudden boost of melanin and Technicolor, “The Honeymooners” basically is as it was – the comical trials and tribulations of New York City bus driver Ralph Kramden (Cedric the Entertainer) and his endless schemes to make it rich. Granted, we are updated to 2005, but anyone who’s seen the 1950’s sitcom will recognize the lovingly, antagonistic relationship between Ralph and wise-acre wife Alice (Gabrielle Union). Though not clearly imitating Jackie Gleeson’s famous blow-hard, Cedric does pitch his voice differently, affecting a slightly exaggerated New York accent you’d expect in Bugs Bunny cartoons. Which is exactly what it should be.

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Likewise, Union makes sure Alice remains the pragmatic skeptic who dismisses her husband with staccato-paced put downs (“you are certifiable”). But somehow, maybe due to Union’s bright face and steady voice, Alice comes across less as a soul-beaten housewife than on the show. It probably helps that Alice actually gets out of the house thanks to a job waiting tables.

Less successful is Mike Epps as Ralph’s Ed Norton – the precursor to “Seinfeld’s” Kramer. Where Epps feels natural playing good-hearted cowards, he feels a bit lost inhabiting Norton’s oddly confident goofball. Though he does get the hang of Norton’s famous pratfalls, Epps feels restrained here.

Regina Hall’s underappreciated comic talents don’t get much showtime as Norton’s off-center wife Trixie, but scores big with a deadpan non-sequitor about her aborted singing career.

Director John Schultz deserves some credit for siphoning out all the familiar elements of the show and dropping them off in the modern day without the ironic humor of the “Brady Bunch” movies. Like an unaired episode of the original show, the movie finds Ralph and Norton where they normally are: trying to strike-it-rich and please their wives. Specifically, the two are trying to raise $10,000 to buy a duplex which has them doing everything from parading as blind beggars to bidding on an antique train. Ultimately, the movie hinges on their training of a left-for-dead dog to compete in a lucrative race. Along the way, we get the usual sitcom staples – costume changes, cases of mistaken identity and a smarmy, rich villain courtesy of a smirking Eric Stoltz as a land developer looking to scoop up the duplex. All of this plays out with the comforting narrative of a sitcom and manages to feel old and new at the same time.

However, any review of “The Honeymooners” would be remiss without mentioning the wonder of John Leguizamo who plays the suspiciously criminal dog trainer Dodge. Unlike Cedric and Epps, who appear to be pulling back a little in order to establish character, Leguizamo is given free reign and scores on almost every attempt. With his shifty eyes and a mouth as crooked as Bobby Brown’s, Leguizamo sneaks punch-lines under the radar like a Latino Popeye.

In the end, “Honeymooners” represents something new (or perhaps forgotten) in Black comedy – innocence. These characters are neither beaten by poverty nor do they equate being poor with an inherent Blackness. Race is not immaterial here, but it’s not justified by Kool-Aid and government cheese jokes, either. Where we’ve become used to comedies where our heroes peddle drugs or women in order to get over and out, “Honeymooners” reminds us that some hustlers have limits. Granted, Ralph and Norton may be dishonest, a bit naïve and questionable husbands, but their dreams are earnest and so are the laughs.

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