Like many others, I had very low expectations of this movie. I just think the premise of a white man acting black has been done to death. But for some reason, this movie worked for me. As you can expect, there are some lame moments and I absolutely hate that gibberish vocabulary that Snoop Dogg created (hizzle fashizzle and all that crap). Of course, some of that vocabulary pops up in certain parts of the movie. However, for the most part the gags work. I enjoyed Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson as two white-collar (no pun intended) black actors, who have to learn to be "ghetto" in order to get into character. Anderson isn't totally convincing in the role, since some of his ghetto slang pops up even when he's not playing the part of a stereotypical black man from the hood, but he's still very funny. When is he not funny? That's right, the answer is never. Diggs, on the other hand, is much more convincing in his role. But the two actors have great chemistry, and they create a Laurel-and-Hardy-esque comedy team. Jamie Kennedy co-wrote the script, so I have to give him partial credit for the effectiveness of the material. Kennedy can be funny when he works up to his potential, as he has shown in his WB series "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment." He plays the role with a certain charm, and the movie itself is not mean-spirited, which is another reason why it works. Ryan O'Neal is entertaining as Jamie's father, and has some funny moments of his own. However, I don't understand why Bo Derek took the role of his wife, since she barely has anything to do. I didn't grow up in the seventies, so I'm not too familiar with her work, but I'm pretty sure she was big in her hayday and it's a shame that she took on such a thankless role.
If your expectations of this movie are low, don't let that prevent you from checking out "Malibu's Most Wanted." I always enjoy it when a movie supersedes my expectations, and this is one of those cases. I know this is a clichéd line, but this is not the type of film that deserves any awards. But it is a lot of fun. And thankfully, Snoop Dogg has only a 3-minute voice cameo as a talking rat, because I stand by my word when I say that he should be banned from movies altogether. I'm sure if Tom Cruise were to make an album, people would be ticked, yet Snoop Dogg is able to receive acclaim for his movie appearances without having acting talent. Snoop is the poster boy for the statement, "Don't quit your day job."
My score: 7 (out of 10)
If your expectations of this movie are low, don't let that prevent you from checking out "Malibu's Most Wanted." I always enjoy it when a movie supersedes my expectations, and this is one of those cases. I know this is a clichéd line, but this is not the type of film that deserves any awards. But it is a lot of fun. And thankfully, Snoop Dogg has only a 3-minute voice cameo as a talking rat, because I stand by my word when I say that he should be banned from movies altogether. I'm sure if Tom Cruise were to make an album, people would be ticked, yet Snoop Dogg is able to receive acclaim for his movie appearances without having acting talent. Snoop is the poster boy for the statement, "Don't quit your day job."
My score: 7 (out of 10)