The Man (2005)

How sad is this?

Admirable film.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I will be honest and say that the only reason I wanted to see this film really was because of the two leading actors in it, I thought bits and pieces would be relatively amusing, so I was prepared to ignore low critic ratings and give it a go anyway, from director Les Mayfield (Miracle on 34th Street, Flubber, Blue Streak). Basically in Milwaukee, Wisconsin dentist and dental supply company salesman Andy Fiddler (Razzie nominated Eugene Levy) is an ordinary man due to give a speech to investors in Detroit, and Derrick Vann (Samuel L. Jackson) is a hardcore undercover ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) agent trying to recover stolen arms following the death of his federal agent partner. It is after a case of mistaken identity that Andy winds up having to stick close to Derrick to help in his investigation, criminal Joey Kane (former Bros singer Luke Goss) believes that Andy is "The Man" behind it all and wants to make a deal with him. As the investigation goes on and they try to work out what is going on and how to stop the criminal activity, Derrick finds Andy to be getting in the way, asking too many questions and generally just talking too much, but he knows he is part of getting close to the criminals. Also starring Miguel Ferrer as Agent Peters, The Adjustment Bureau's Anthony Mackie as Booty, Susie Essman as Lt. Rita Carbone, Horatio Sanz as Santos and Rachael Crawford as Dara Vann. Jackson plays his usual if clichéd cool guy character fine, and Levy is indeed often rather annoying with his over the top facial expressions and constant talking, at least Goss does quite well as the British villain, the laughs are supposed to come from the friction between the federal agent and the ordinary annoying man, I admit I found certain parts funny, but it is indeed a predictable and sagging action comedy. Okay!

Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy of all people are paired together,, don't ask me why,, I honestly didn't see much chemistry between the two of them. Samuel can be funny, but he's better at action. A dentist attenting a convention is caught up in the middle of an undercover-cop's investigation in Detroit, well the bad guys mistake our dentist for someone else and leads to nothing but pure mayhem,, the cop has to save his butt on more than one occasion,, but to catch the bad guys the dentist just has to keep assuming the role of the man who the bad guys think he is in order for the policeman to catch the bad guys. there are so good laughs in here, but on the whole, for me the two leads just don't seem to mesh that well.

Following the old, and sometimes over repeated, Action/Comedy formula THE MAN adds something different to the genre. This combination between the Action Thriller and Comedy was done so many times before but not with a personality like Eugene Levy! He truly is "the man"! I mean this guy is unique in the way he represents the dumb guy, because he's genuine! No offense to the actor but like is said in the film "he can't be any dumber than he looks"! He really represents the dumb guy with simplicity, honesty, and mostly, veracity! I think this duet, Samuel L Jackson and Eugene Levy, worked out very well, because they are both excellent actors, and they represent very well the tough and the dumb guy respectively. And the combination of these two character genres, played by these actors, was amazing. At parts it was hilarious (the "He's my bitch" scene is remarkable!).THE MAN is essentially action and fun but it also has one or two nice messages either. It's an entertaining film, made in Hollywood standards, but it's a very nice one in the genre.

Sort of like "Midnight Run" but not nearly as good. Thanks to very good casting of Jackson and Levy, however, it is an amiable enough action comedy. No major laughs but quite watchable. Mediocre casting of these two roles would have sunk this movie beyond help, because the script doesn't have that much going for it.However, casting Ferrer and Goss was a total blunder. Miguel is one of thousands of nepotists working in Hollywood, i.e. a talentless man, totally lacking in any charisma. His Daddy is Jose Ferrer, the actor, and his mother the terrible singer Rosemary Clooney. Yes, that makes Miguel the cousin of George Clooney, another bad nepotist actor, and as of recently world saviour and liberal doo-goodering flag-waver. ("I know how to solve the Darfur crisis, for I am George from the movies...") George is Rosemary Clooney's nephew and son of broadcast journalist Nick Clooney. It's all in the (Hollywood) family...Goss plays a bad-a** criminal, which is preposterous casting. The effeminate features combined with those teeth as white as a polar bear's behind might remind you of someone... Goss? Does anyone remember that girl group, Bros, from the 80s? Actually, to be fair it was a boy-band, but everyone I know, including me, thought they were girls when they first saw their one-hit-wondering video and heard the high-pitched whining that was supposed to be singing. (It was just Goss experiencing the pains of losing a particular brand of virginity-losing.) When Jackson said that Levy was "his bitch", he must have confused him with Goss's character... "When will I, will I be fa-mouuuuuus?"; so goes the little pop ditty Goss sang (or rather, squeaked) for the screaming teeny-boppers. Well, the answer to that is: you will be famous again when you make more movies. You just need to convince more producers that you are star material. The world needs more female-looking movie heroes/baddies; we just haven't got enough already!So what does Goss's casting in an action comedy bode for the future? Does this mean Justin(e) Timberlake will be play a heavy in 10 years, chasing the likes of De Niro through the streets of Brooklyn? Most probably. Maybe Joey Fat-One from N'Synch will play an ex-marine in a PC drama by Reiner. Or maybe even... No, there is no "even". That's as bad as it can get, and will get.Hollywood, goodbye! It's been a fun 100 years, but now you're dead. I guess I'll have to watch Japanese movies from now on; at least they make SOME effort...If you want to see my extensive Hollywood Nepotism List, contact me by e-mail. Or you can go to http://rateyourmusic.com/~Fedor8 and check out my "TV & Cinema: 150 Worst Cases Of Nepotism" list.