Life: Amazon.ca: Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Obba Babatund�, Nick Cassavetes, Anthony Anderson, Barry Shabaka Henley, Brent Jennings, Bernie Mac, Miguel A. N��ez Jr., Michael Taliferro, Guy Torry, Bokeem Woodbine, Ted Demme, Brian Grazer, James D. Brubaker, James Whitaker, Karen Kehela Sherwood, Matthew Stone, Robert Ramsey: DVD

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Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy play it surprisingly straight in this film by director Ted Demme. Though there are laughs to be had, this is a story about perseverance in the face of a life of disappointment (yet the film was sold as a prison comedy). But Stir Crazy this isn't. Rather, Lawrence and Murphy play a couple of New Yorkers making a moonshine run from New York to Mississippi during the Prohibition who find themselves framed for murder and sentenced for life to a prison chain gang. As they age, the two become close friends, although the strait-laced Lawrence always resents the free-wheeling Murphy for getting him into the situation in the first place. Ultimately, these two men learn to find meaning where they can, taking value from friendship and their limited ability to affect the lives of others. At times preachy, it ends on an upbeat note; the film's biggest laughs are reserved for the final section, in which Lawrence and Murphy don age makeup and play octogenarians. --Marshall Fine

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Customer Reviews

47 Reviews

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (47 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars [3.5]--These two almost pulled it off, Jun 24 2007

By

Jenny J.J.I. "A New Yorker" (That Lives in Carolinas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Life (DVD)

Once upon a time in America, life in prison meant precisely that. There was no early parole, no time off for good behavior. If you were sentenced to life, you could pretty much count on dying a prisoner in some godforsaken camp, farm or prison. Eddie Murphy is a small-time crook in Prohibition-era New York trying to get out of debt to a Harlem mobster. He sets up a scheme of driving some Mississippi moonshine to the mobster's speakeasy in New York. He ropes in as his driver Martin Lawrence, a bank teller who has also fallen afoul of the mobster because of an unpaid gambling debt.

Murphy's character's weak nature gets the better of him and after receiving the liquor shipment, he decides to do some gambling in a rural club. He gets cheated by a local card sharp who later mouths off to the town sheriff, who murders him. Murphy and Lawrence have the misfortune of discovering the body, and being seen with it. They get, you guessed it, life in prison. The two, initially antagonistic to one another, are forced to rely upon each other in the brutal work camp to which they are sentenced. Time passes and they dream of the freedom it seems will be denied them for a crime of which they aren't guilty.

There are a lot of moving moments in "Life" and with Murphy and Lawrence, even more funny ones. There is social commentary in the form of how black men are treated in the South, but it isn't strongly told or terribly compelling. Other movies explore that subject in greater depth and with greater insight. The problem with "Life" is that the filmmakers aren't sure whether they wanted to make a comedy, an examination of prison life in the Deep South of, say, 50 years ago, or a political/social commentary on the shaft given African Americans. They decide to do all these things, and in fact their reach exceeds their grasp.

"Life" really doesn't give you any new insights into anything. It's mainly an excuse to pair two of the brightest comic minds in America. Watching the two at work individually is fascinating, but Lawrence and Murphy don't generate enough chemistry to hold any interest as a team.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A serious movie that also happens to be pretty funny, July 11 2004

By

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Life (DVD)

Yes, this movie has plenty of funny moments, but there is a very real and sometimes rather touching story that takes precedence over everything that happens. You can't get through the most serious of situations without the palliative of laughter now and again, and Life actually does tell a serious story. Eddie Murphy proves once again that he is a great actor, and Martin Lawrence was surprisingly good as the more serious of two men sentenced to life in prison for a murder they didn't commit. One night in 1932, fate brought Rayford Gibson (Murphy), a smooth-talking hustler with big dreams, and Claude Banks (Lawrence) a respectable fellow about to start a good job, together in a New York nightclub. For entirely different reasons, both guys have to face the displeasure of the club owner's wrath; and so it is that Gibson and Banks end up going on a bootlegging run to Mississippi. One dead man later, and both men are sentenced to life in prison for murder. Since Banks blames Gibson for getting him into all this mess, there relationship varies in quality as the years go by, but gradually a real friendship develops between them. They try to escape several times but end up spending basically their whole lives in prison. Along the way, we meet with several sub-plots involving some of their fellow inmates, but the movie never strays far from the lives of Gibson and Banks. The passage of time is marked by clips of historical events, and some excellent makeup works makes both men look old and worn out as they advance into their senior years.

This is not a prison story of hopelessness, however. While no pardon ever comes their way, justice has a way of willing out eventually, and the final ten minutes of the film are just terrific. Since the story does take place in Mississippi in 1932 and beyond, race plays a major part in the film, but it does not define the movie by any means. There are a number of funny scenes, especially those involving pie and cornbread, and Eddie Murphy will definitely make you laugh - Martin Lawrence sort of plays the heavy here to Murphy's periodic antics. Some familiar faces pop up in the movie: Rick James plays the New York club owner, Bernie Mac has a relatively minor role, and Heavy D plays a small but important part. Wyclef Jean contributes an original score for the film. The whole cast is excellent, and a very good script keeps the film on pace and lively.

This isn't Stir Crazy; there are plenty of laughs, but I wouldn't call this a comedy - Life the movie is funny in the way life itself can sometimes be - laughter can get us through the hard times, but it doesn't hide the fact that the hard times are there. This movie really deserves more attention than it has received; with its serious underlying quality, it ranks among Eddie Murphy's most impressive films.

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5.0 out of 5 stars FUNEEEEE!!!, Feb 11 2004

By

"manyati" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life (DVD)

I may be biased cause I love Martin and Eddie, but this movie has me in stitches every time!!!

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