Plot: What’s it about?
Two city slickers, Rayford Gibson (Eddie Murphy) and Claude Banks (Martin Lawrence), are forced to embark on a boot-legging trip to pay back a loan and regain a reputation, respcetively. The two don’t know each other, don’t like each other, they are two different types of people, on willing to work for his money, the other looking for a fast buck. They get the booze to it’s location, but that’s where the trip goes awry. Gibson blows all but $2 of their money on a card game, where the winning player hustled him, and the Banks spent the last $2 on a whore whose mother “needed an operation.” Away from them, the man who hustled Gibson is hassled by the local yokel police, and ends up being beaten to death by them. Gibson and Banks stumble upon the body, and just at the wrong moment, a group of locals (aka “hicks”) approach. The hayseeds hold the two on the scene until the police arrive, the same police who killed the man. Needless to say, the two are convicted, and are sentenced to life in a hard-labor camp in the deep South.
From there, the movie really takes off, seeing how these two city boys function inside a hard-knock working man’s prison. This prison is not your usual jail, however. The prisoners play horse-shoes, pay guards for “temporary marriage licenses” for girlfriend visits, and dig ditches instead of lifting weights and what-not. It’s a very social place, where the prisoners are always talking and interacting with each other, outsiders, and guards, and while it’s not always harsh, it is at time. Especially when cornbread is involved. The easy-going Southern prisoners are very interested in the two city-goers, and their stories of the big city and the happening in them. The stories he tells are usually bull-shit, but their fellow jail-mates love them anyway. This is what helps Gibson make it in the work-camp, his ability to sweet-talk and persuade people. The fantasy scene when the stories are told are very cool, with all the prisoners living out their dreams inside Gibson’s story.
This movie bases it’s entire drawing power on Murphy and Lawrence, and it pays off big. The two work together extremely well, and compliment each other nicely. The Murphy/con-man character seem like a natural (nothing personal against Eddie or anything), and is played flawlessly. Lawrence’s uptight banker role is a bit more of a strecth, but the film helps makes him seem like more of a down-home guy trying to be stuffy, so it’s easier to swallow. Both are fanstastic, and carry most of the movie, althought a great ensemble supporting cast helps out as well. High-lighting the back-up cast are Clarence Williams III, Lisa Nicole Carson, Bernie Mac, Obba Babatunde, Ned Beatty, and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. This group of locked-down characters are a well-casted bunch, as they play their jailed roles very well, giving each character, no matter how small, a sense of personality.
Although all these stars are credited for their appearance, the real star is the friendship between the characters of Murphy and Lawrence. Their instant chemistry adds to this, but the writing helps to develop the deepness of the characters, giving them a more realistic feel. While this is a straight-up comedy, the two main characters are more defined, and well developed, more so than than 99% of comedies of this type. The two wrongly imprisoned friends find themselves in bad situation after bad situation, usually based on failed escape attempts and harsh words. But each and every time, the two men, who never met before their fateful booze-run, find themselves forgiving each other, and being friends again. It’s like the box says it right, this movie does indeed give meaning to the phrase “friends for life.”
The men spend over three decades together in Camp 8, and they ingnore each other for 28 of them. Friendship is the root of this entire film, and although a comedy, it has it’s darker moments. If you enjoy the acting of Murphy or Lawrence, this movie is a must, and you’ve probably already seen it. If you enjoy buddy-movies, this is also a wise choice, although not a action buddy movie as they usually are. I think anyone who enjoys a well-thought out and well delivered movie will enjoy this film. I reccomend it highly. Next time you need to feel lucky, or remember how important friendship is, check out this movie, it’s worth the time.
Video: How does it look?
A flawless widescreen anamorphic wide-screen trasnfer, the kind a great like Life deserves. No artifacts or grain, and the colors are right on, even though the black and white stripes of prison jump-suits are most often seen.
Audio: How does it sound?
Not much in the way of effects or even music in this one, driven mostly by dialogue. But when effects appear, they do not blur the speaking in anyway. Dolby Digital 5.1 is implemented, so each whisper, pick-axe clang, or fart is heard clearly and in perfect tone.
Supplements: What are the extras?
How often does a great movie come out and DVD and totally get dissed in this area? All the time! But not here, as Universal loaded up Life, not enought to warrant a Collector’s Edition, but still, heavy on the goods. A totally unexpected (until I read the pre-release info) commentary track by director Ted Demme ( The Ref, Rounders) is an excellent addition, and is unique on a movie on this type. Also included are some humorous out-takes and director’s edits, which again, are very cool, and I was very pleased to see them on the disc. Also residing on this DVD are production notes, Cast/Crew Bios, theatrical trailer, and 2 music videos. The final feature included is a spotlight on location, which is a 20 minute behind the scenes featurette, which showcases some interviews, clips, and make-up session segments. Very good all in all, thanks Universal.
