Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy? Sounds like a great team. Can't go wrong. Not! Despite the enormous talents of both actors, they can't do a thing to save this dull, unoriginal buddy cop flick. Many of the gags fall flat and simply go nowhere. For example, in one part Levy is hungry and wants to get something to eat. Jackson suggests they get a burger, but Levy doesn't want to, because red meat doesn't agree with his stomach. The pay-off to the gag? He passes gas in the car. God, it must've taken hours to come up with that punchline! The characters are totally clichéd and one-dimensional. Levy's job is to ramble on about banalities, while Jackson's job is to roll his eyes at him. The film does nothing to distinguish itself amongst the buddy-cop genre. Come on, we went from "48 Hours" to this? Unfortunately, this is Levy's first starring role since he became a household name with his role in the "American Pie" films. Hopefully, he'll stumble upon much better roles than this in the future. His deadpan comic style is hilarious, as we've seen in the "AP" trilogy, but in "The Man" he's forced to be an obnoxious fool. Levy's talent is more in reacting to awkward situations than creating awkward situations. Samuel L. Jackson looks completely embarrassed to be associated with the film. He probably took on this role so he can fulfill his contract of 50 movies a year. Jackson is undoubtedly one of our most talented actors, but at the same time not the most choosy with his roles. Plus, in the movie he's forced to play the usual "angry black guy" character he has played in every other movie. So it really is like watching DeNiro playing a gangster. And to top it all off, Jackson and Levy seem to share no chemistry.
"The Man" is yet another lame PG-13 comedy. You remember the days when producers couldn't give two s**ts about earning the PG-13 rating? You don't even have to go that far back. Look at "My Cousin Vinny." Now, in place of that, we have watered down comedies like the "Legally Blonde" flicks. An "R-rating" probably wouldn't have made "The Man" a much better comedy, but the PG-13 comedy seems to be a epidemic nowadays. I think if producers would have the guts to be more edgy and go against the studio's wishes to submit a film with a PG-13, we'd probably have a lot more funny comedies.
"The Man" is yet another lame PG-13 comedy. You remember the days when producers couldn't give two s**ts about earning the PG-13 rating? You don't even have to go that far back. Look at "My Cousin Vinny." Now, in place of that, we have watered down comedies like the "Legally Blonde" flicks. An "R-rating" probably wouldn't have made "The Man" a much better comedy, but the PG-13 comedy seems to be a epidemic nowadays. I think if producers would have the guts to be more edgy and go against the studio's wishes to submit a film with a PG-13, we'd probably have a lot more funny comedies.