Life (1999/I)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Ted Demme

Writers (WGA):

Robert Ramsey (written by) &
Matthew Stone (written by)

Release Date:

16 April 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Share it with someone you love.

Plot:

The story of two criminals (Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence) who discover the value of life after being sentenced to life imprisonment.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Life Imprisonment | Flashback | Watch | Criminal

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Eddie Murphy	...	Rayford Gibson
Martin Lawrence	...	Claude Banks
Obba Babatundé	...	Willie Long
Nick Cassavetes	...	Sergeant Dillard
Anthony Anderson	...	Cookie
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Pokerface
Brent Jennings	...	Hoppin' Bob
Bernie Mac	...	Jangle Leg
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.	...	Biscuit
Michael Taliferro	...	Goldmouth (as Michael 'Bear' Taliferro)
Guy Torry	...	Radio
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Can't Get Right
Ned Beatty	...	Dexter Wilkins
Lisa Nicole Carson	...	Sylvia
O'Neal Compton	...	Superintendant Abernathy

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and a shooting.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-12 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | New Zealand:M | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #36417) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Front Street, Norwalk, California, USA

Company:

Imagine Entertainment

Trivia:

In the scene where Ray and Claude are standing on a box of bottles, Claude mentions that a one of his toes has slipped into one of them. This actually happened during the take, but Martin Lawrence kept going, despite Eddie Murphy's laughing, which is genuine.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the scene after which Ray tells his inmates about his nightclub back in Manhattan, Ray mentions to Claude that Cookie had made him a map to Greenville. If they can get there, Ray insists, there is a boat there that they can use to "sail our ass away from here." However, there are no sail-able rivers in Greenville.

Quotes:

Dexter Wilkins: You've been on this farm for quite a spell, haven't you?
Claude Banks: Over 40 years now, me and Ray Gibson over there.
Dexter Wilkins: 40 years... that's a long time for any crime, even murder.
Claude Banks: It's a hell of a lot longer when you're innocent.
Dexter Wilkins: Half the men in this prison swear they're innocent, Claude. Don't you think that's kind of funny?
Claude Banks: Well, you have to forgive me if I don't laugh.

Movie Connections:

References Harlem Nights (1989)

Soundtrack:

Down by the Riverside

That's Life.

Two young men (Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence) are paired together by circumstance in 1932 New York City; while travelling in the South, they are framed for murder and are sent to Mississippi State Prison where they spend the majority of their lives (over fifty years!).

For me, what really made it work was seeing Murphy and Lawrence work together, and they are really, really good. The material has both plenty of humor and some very serious, heartfelt moments. Other assets include Wyclef Jean's music score, amusing supporting performances by Obba Babatunde, Nick Cassavetes, Bernie Mac, et al., and writing that is actually decent. Thanks to Rick Baker's fantastic makeup effects, Murphy's and Lawrence's characters actually look their ages at the different stages in the movie.

It's one of the better movies that I've seen from either Murphy or Lawrence in the last few years; it gets an eight out of ten from me.