A boring, all-you-can-regurgitate buffet of buddy-movie/cop-movie banality, The Man would collapse under the weight of its own generic stupidity if it weren't for the screen presence of Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy. Continuity-blind director Les Mayfield (Blue Streak) asks very little of these two entertaining actors—just that Jackson rehash his hotheaded, wisecracking tough-guy persona for the umpteenth time and Levy do the same with his familiar babbling, middle-aged suburban dork character. But such familiarity is the only comfort in this flick in which Levy is a dental equipment salesman who inadvertently stumbles into a one-man illegal-arms sting being run by Jackson, a leather-clad, cornrow-cool, loose-cannon federal agent. Shopworn odd-couple antics and idiot-reliant misunderstandings ensue. If there were Academy Awards for Most Unoriginal Screenplay and Most Uninspired Direction, The Man would be this year's odds-on favorite for both. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include the 12-minute behind-the-scenes featurette “Who's The Man?” five deleted/alternate scenes (6 min.), a six-minute action sequence “making-of” featurette, “The Ride: A Look at the ‘83 Cadillac” (6 min.), “Sam Jackson's Guide to Cursing Like a Bad A&% Mothaf&#@*” (4 min.), two minutes of bloopers and outtakes, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a dud of a film.] (R. Blackwelder)
The Man
New Line, 84 min., PG-13, DVD: $27.99, Jan. 17 Volume 21, Issue 1
The Man
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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