Life (1999) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com/life.html Member: Online Film Critics Society
*** out of four
Starring Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence. Rated R.
When comics can restrain themselves, heaps of good can come of it. Billy Crystal gave one of the best performances of his career in the recent Analyze This all because he acted like a normal person. Adam Sandler's The Wedding Singer was a gem because Sandler was sweet and gentle instead of maniacal and repulsive. In the new prison dramedy Life we have two top notch comics, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence One of them restrains himself and the other goes all out. Guess which one of tem succeeds.
Life tracks the lives of two people as they enter a Mississippi penetentiary (sentenced to life in prison) for a crime they didn't commit. Ray (Eddie Murphy) was a happy-go-lucky bootlegger, smuggling alcohol during the time of prohibition. The other one, Claude (Martin Lawrence) is a relatively normal guy, who plans to start a new job and a family. Of course, both of their plans are shattered when a sheriff frames them for the murder of a poker hustler.
The film spans their lives from 1932 to 1998, including their repeated attempts to escape, their bickering and their fighting. By the end of the movie we almost have an African American Grumpy Old Men. Not that there's anything wrong with that because much of it is often very funny, in an almost improvisational style.
Eddie Murphy is ordinarily goofy as Ray, over-the-top and sometimes annoying. Eddie Murphy is Eddie Murphy. There is nothing outstanding in his performance, although he is funny as much as he always is. Martin Lawrence, on the other hand, shines. If you've ever seen his dismal tv show Martin, you know that he is a talented, but a "Jim Carrey Type" comic. Thus many times he fails to entertain because he does to his scripts what God never meant for him to do. In Life, however, he restrains himself enough to be hilarious but at the same time real. This is essential because Life is not completely a comedy. It is a drama, too; sentimental and poignant with very subtle but effective social commentary. Director Ted Demme, working from a script by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone is not afraid to stray from the teen movie that the trailers may lead you to believe Life is. The commentary, mostly on racism as well as the criminal justice system, here is prevalent enough to be obvious but subtle enough not to be preachy.
Life bears fleeting similarities to The Shawshank Redemption as well as some other Eddie Murphy movies such as The Nutty Professor. It's as funny as the latter (which was overrated anyway), thanks to the chemistry between Lawrence and Murphy. At the risk of sounding redundant, Life is beautiful. ©1999 Eugene Novikov‰
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