(Review originally written at 4 November 2007)
This movie surprised me how entertaining it was. It's simple like most other mismatched buddy-flicks but this movie has a certain bit of extra, which not in the least thanks to its fine solid cast.
Thank goodness it's not the type of comedy that forces its humor upon people. The comedy of the movie is more in the chemistry between Martin Lawrence and Tim Robbins. Yes, it sounds weird but Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence are really a great screen duo, with some nice comedy chemistry, that get themselves into some fun trouble when by coincidence embarking on a sort of road-trip together. Like in all road-movies, some crazy characters pop-up. The most sensational one's in this movie are being played by John C. McGinley and Giancarlo Esposito, who form a criminal-duo. The diversity of John C. McGinley as an actor is amazing. Just look at the list of movies he has done and the characters he has played.
But the greatest power of the movie is the chemistry between the two main actors and their individual comical skills. Tim Robbins is a great serious actors, who just happens to like doing comedies as well from time to time. But on top of that he also really has talent for the genre. He knows how the deliver the lines in the right way and knows how to time his moments. Martin Lawrence also has been the sort of comical-actor who fun with his dialog. As a stand-alone actor and when he needs to carry a movie on his own he just isn't good enough but when he teams up with another great comical actor (for example as was the case with Will Smith in "Bad Boys"), he's truly at his best and most fun to watch.
The story unfolded nicely and slowly. Nothing got forced and things just happened as they came along, such as always is the case in road-movies. It at the same time also makes the movie surprising, or at least not as predictable or formulaic as most other comedies. The movie has a couple of greatly build-up moments, some more subtle than the other, but always fun and in some cases even hilarious to watch. Look out for Irma P. Hall as Martin Lawrence's character's mother! It's true that the movie doesn't live up to its fine fast paced start but nevertheless the movie remains fun to watch throughout.
It's a movie surprisingly well worth seeing!
7/10
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