The Man

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)