MONEY TALKS (R)
Reviewed by E. Benjamin Kelsey
* 1/2 (out of four)
Apparantly money talks . . . and uses quite a bit of obscenities doing so! I've always considered myself pretty open about the gratuity a film can possess, whether in language, violence, sex, or what have you. I find that this fact gives me a little more leverage to complain when a movie goes overboard, and MONEY TALKS definitely does! It's not so much that the movie swore nearly constantly (and I mean constantly!), but it swore SO MUCH that it seemed overly prominent and way too staged. Perhaps if one character were foul mouthed, but in this film, EVERYBODY swears nearly every other word.
MONEY TALKS is about a black ticket scalper named Franklin Hatchett (played less annoyingly than expected by Chris Tucker). Franklin is your typical con-man and ends up with more than one person out to get him. When the plot finally gets underway, there's no less than three people (or groups) that want him, dead or alive. The Frenchman who's somewhat responsible for Franklin's escape from a prisoner-packed bus, a hoodlum whom Franklin owes seven grand, and the cops who wrongly suspect him of murder.
Franklin's only hope: James Russell (Charlie Sheen), an investigative reporter for the local news who's out to prove himself a worthy journalist. James offers to help clear Franklin's name if Franklin will just allow him an exclusive report to help channel 12 conquer sweeps week. Both of these elements are completely lost along the way however, and never do reappear.
As expected, the odd couple of Franklin and James do wind up friends at the end, which is another wasted element seeing as how they show no signs of becoming friends at any point along the way. There is just nothing original or intriguing about this film, and so many developments are either non-relevant, or just plain forgotten about. MONEY TALKS is a paint-by-numbers movie that lacks any real involvment with the audience. Frivilous dialogue, a predictable, flat storyline, and two-dimensional characters make MONEY TALKS a reason to save your money.
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