Nothing to Lose Review
by David Wilcock (david DOT wilcock AT btinternet DOT com)November 25th, 1997
NOTHING TO LOSE (1997)
STARS TIM ROBBINS AND MARTIN LAWRENCE
A TOUCHSTONE RELEASE
A REVIEW BY DAVID WILCOCK
(C)1997 DAVID WILCOCK
Tim Robbins and Martin Lawernce team up in this road movie comedy. Robbins plays an exec who discovers his wife having sex with his boss. He goes into depression, and drives around his neighbourhood until he arrives inside the usual 'ghetto' side of every American city. There, Lawernce attempts to steal his car, but to no avail, and is dragged along with Robbin's on a trip to Arizona. There, they hold up a store, are mistaken for two other robbers (just like in My Cousin Vinny) and are chased by the police, and the other robbers. Of course, there's gags along the way, usually from Lawernce.
Although the film is midly funny, and quite watchable, there's something so horribly familiar about it all. This film should really be called Beverly Hills Midnight Run There's Lawernce with his wisecracking and heavy profanity, just like Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop, and pratically the same idea as Midnight Run. It's full of all the road movie cliches, and even has a 'comedy' car chase, which just seemed so eighties. Even the credit sequence seemed to be out of a Steve Martin, or Chevy Chase, eighties comedy.
There also isn't much chemistry between Robbins and Lawernce. In PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES,
there was real chemistry between Steve Martin and John Candy. In NOTHING TO LOSE, there is hardly
chemistry at all. Towards the end the chemistry seems to work, but for the bulk of the film, there is hardly any,
The director directs the film in a workman like fashion, but gets the jokes across. And although there is no chemistry between the two leads, they give good performances on their own. Lawerence gives a good Eddie Murphy performance, and Robbin's is alright aswell. However, Robbin's performance is nowhere near as good as the characters he played in JACOB'S LADDER, and THE PLAYER. In fact, if you want to see Robbin's do comedy much better than in NOTHING TO LOSE, I suggest you rent out THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, where he is much funnier.
NOTHING TO LOSE does have some funny moments in
it, however. The humour isn't particulary sophisticated, but if you enojyed DUMB & DUMBER, you might enjoy this. The characters in Arizona are funny, and there's also a good scene where Robbin's asks a shopkeeper which 'threatening approach' was better, Lawerences (which consisted of Lawerence threatening to shoot the shopkeeper's ass, and swearing a lot), or himselfs, (which was speaking in a deep, scary voice) But the gags are predictable, the lack of chemistry infurating, and the ending too far-fetched and 'perfect'
NOTHING TO LOSE then, is Robbin's first 'bad' movie (and hopefully his last), and suggests that Odereick should twice before making another film. He nearly ruined Carrey's career with ACE VENTURA: WHEN NATURE
CALLS, let's hope he hasn't ruined Robbin's (or even Lawerence's) with NOTHING TO LOSE.
Overall Rating=** out of *****
Review By David Wilcock
DAVID WILCOCK
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