Nothing to Lose

Nothing to Lose_720p(480P)

source: Nothing to Lose

This kind of "buddy" picture is something rather unexpected considering the director (behind such comedy "classics" as Ace Ventura 2 and Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, not that they're bad films). While it's not without some share of stupidity, it also has its share of brains too, somewhere. It's basically a B comedy with A-list stars and a pretty high budget, but it doesn't sell its audience short of the goods. Martin Lawrence will have his fan-base here as strong, if not stronger, than in some of his other starring vehicles. He does get some dimension to his character, as a guy who has the usual Lawrence-type sarcasm and humor and also some conflict with his life. It's a good balance with Tim Robbins, with his own sort of crisis as well. The plot involves a robbery, and some hold-ups, some hicks, and a dancing security guard. The overall scope of the film, with a soundtrack fairly standard, isn't anything great (although one scene where a song by Scatman as Robbins puts out a certain fire is one of the funniest scenes he's ever done). But this is made up for by some clever bits, and a good repore by the stars.

This was an enjoyable and entertaining film. Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence put on a great comedic performance as an unlikely duo. Both come from different worlds that one day collide. The duo realize they share some things in common, people cannot be judged so easily. This is a film with a simple plot, lots of laughs and has a strong feel good element. Martin Lawrence brings his unique brand of crude yet charming humor to the screen and Tim Robbins more than holds his own. This simple story has a number of twists, moments of comedic genius and a very satisfying end. You don't always have huge expectations watching these type of films so you're pleasantly surprised and gained something from watching it.

I watched this film after seeing a short advert for it on television, I remember finding it funny, I'm glad I watched it a second time to get a better opinion on it, directed by Steve Oedekerk (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Barnyard). Basically Nick Beam (Tim Robbins) is an advertising executive who thinks everything is going well in his life, until one day he comes home, sees a pair of cufflinks on the side, belonging to his boss, and overhears who thinks is his wife Ann (Kelly Preston) having sex. Nick presumes that his wife is having an affair with his boss, Philip Barlow (Michael McKean), he is now on the edge of a nervous breakdown and drives around the city, unsure of what to do next. On the way, carjacker T. Paul, or Terrance Paul Davidson (Martin Lawrence), jumps into his car and attempts to rob him, turning the tables on the muggers, he kidnaps T. Paul and drives him to the Arizona desert. When things calm down, after Nick unintentionally robs a gas station, Nick explains the situation to T. Paul, Nick then has the idea to get revenge on his boss by robbing him. Nick and T. Paul devise a scheme to break into the office and steal a large amount of cash, Nick knows the combination to the safe, the best time to enter, and where to go, and T. Paul has knowledge of security system weaknesses, how to avoid cameras, and picking locks. Another criminal duo, Davis "Rig" Lanlow (Scrubs' John C. McGinley) and Charles "Charlie" Dunt (Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito), are blamed for the gas station incident, they pursue Nick and T. Paul back to Los Angeles, they have a confrontation, and Nick ends up getting shot in the arm. Nick and T. Paul make it back to the city and begin the plan, there are some small mishaps along the way as they enter the building, and a security guard (Steve Oedekerk) spending a few hours dancing to music in the office, while the pair are hiding and waiting for him to move on. The situation gets worse as Rig and Charlie, who swiped Nick's business card and followed them, hold them up and steal the money, and place T. Paul in a predicament, but Nick manages to get away. Nick decides to call Ann to confront her about the cufflinks he found and the sex he heard, she confirms she is not having an affair, the cufflinks were left behind after a Christmas party, and he actually overheard Ann's sister and her fiancee having sex. Filled with remorse, Nick rescue T. Paul, and they catch up to Rig and Charlie in the alley, they manage to outdo the criminals, and tie them up for the police to find and arrest them. Nick insists on returning the money to the safe, assuring T. Paul that the security footage will not be checked unless something is missing, stolen or damaged, but T. Paul wanted to use the money for his family, they end up in a fight and angrily part ways. Returning to work, Nick is told by Phillip that a fertility statue was damaged, they are reviewing security footage, Nick tries to stop them from seeing the part where he removes his mask, but thankfully, the footage was recorded over by T. Paul. Nick goes to see T. Paul and confirms that the incriminating footage was removed, they make amends, and in return, Nick tells Phillip that is he is looking for an electrician to work in the office, he should offer T. Paul a job, he happily accepts. Also starring Scream 2's Rebecca Gayheart as Danielle and Patch Adams' Irma P. Hall as Bertha 'Mama' Davidson. Robbins made many serious films, including The Shawshank Redemption, so this was a comic breather for him, fast-talking Lawrence is amusing as the petty thief who tries to rob the wrong guy at the wrong time, they are just about passable as an odd buddy duo, the story has predictable moments, and not all of the jokes are that funny, but it is fun enough to pass the time, an alright action comedy. Okay!

What possessed me to sit through this piece of overacting trash is beyond me. I was bored one night and this was the only thing on T.V. How could Tim Robbins let a Director make him do this movie is totally beyond me. This routine was done so much better with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder,, Martin Lawrence needs to either get out of acting or take acting lessons. It started out with promise and degenerated into dreadful slapstick, I was hoping the bad guys would take shooting lessons and shoot these two morons, or better still the writers and the Director who hopefully have left the Hollywood movie scene and found a job in some out of town warehouse. Cannot tell what happened at the end of the movie, I had enough and turned it off and read a book.

Nothing to lose is about having lost everything (or at least believing so) and there is no lower spot you cannot hit. Geting there however you really that when you hit the botom there is nowhere to go but up!!! Good story and cast, excellent playing by them all, funny and hillarious from start to finish this is a must for comedy lovers.

Tim Robbins is a fantastic actor. He was wonderful in "Shawshank Redemption", and "Mystic River" and pretty much everything else he's ever done (even "Anchorman"). He was wonderful in this movie, even though it didn't really demand a lot of talent. A man (Robbins) finds his wife in bed with his boss, and after being almost robbed at gunpoint comes up with the genius idea to steal his boss's fortune. Along with Martin Lawrence, he becomes a criminal mastermind. Martin Lawrence is a great comedian on film. "Black Knight" and "Blue Streak" are both wonderful and this film is no exception. His show "Martin" was less sophisticated, but luckily he has shied away from that. The writer/director is Steve Oedekirk, originally (I believe) a writer for "In Living Color" after being discovered on "Star Search". He's now best known for "Kung Pow! Enter the Fist" and "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls", and you'll find more of that stupid but clever humor here. The film's use of music is funny, if poorly conceived. One scene involves an impromptu dance by Robbins to "Scatman" which should be stupid, but proved some chuckles. Odekirk cameos as a security guard who likes to sing and dance, which plays into the plot very well. Add the very sexy Rebecca Gayheart, Michael McKean and John C. McKInley (who seems to guest star in pretty much everything) and you've got yourself a quirky comedy with a very diverse and talented ensemble cast. This will likely not be your favorite film and you might not even remember it a year from now, but it's certainly worth at least one shot. Because, heck, Tim Robbins can do no wrong. Oh, and if you like vulgarity, there is a (very funny) scene where the F-word is used nearly fifty times in a two minute span. So, that's fun.

This movie surprised me how entertaining it was. It's simple like most other mismatched buddy-flicks but this movie has a certain bit of extra, which not in the least thanks to its fine solid cast. Thank goodness it's not the type of comedy that forces its humor upon people. The comedy of the movie is more in the chemistry between Martin Lawrence and Tim Robbins. Yes, it sounds weird but Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence are really a great screen duo, with some nice comedy chemistry, that get themselves into some fun trouble when by coincidence embarking on a sort of road-trip together. Like in all road-movies, some crazy characters pop-up. The most sensational one's in this movie are being played by John C. McGinley and Giancarlo Esposito, who form a criminal-duo. The diversity of John C. McGinley as an actor is amazing. Just look at the list of movies he has done and the characters he has played. But the greatest power of the movie is the chemistry between the two main actors and their individual comical skills. Tim Robbins is a great serious actors, who just happens to like doing comedies as well from time to time. But on top of that he also really has talent for the genre. He knows how the deliver the lines in the right way and knows how to time his moments. Martin Lawrence also has been the sort of comical-actor who fun with his dialog. As a stand-alone actor and when he needs to carry a movie on his own he just isn't good enough but when he teams up with another great comical actor (for example as was the case with Will Smith in "Bad Boys"), he's truly at his best and most fun to watch. The story unfolded nicely and slowly. Nothing got forced and things just happened as they came along, such as always is the case in road-movies. It at the same time also makes the movie surprising, or at least not as predictable or formulaic as most other comedies. The movie has a couple of greatly build-up moments, some more subtle than the other, but always fun and in some cases even hilarious to watch. Look out for Irma P. Hall as Martin Lawrence's character's mother! It's true that the movie doesn't live up to its fine fast paced start but nevertheless the movie remains fun to watch throughout. It's a movie surprisingly well worth seeing! 7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I have seen this film several times now. I cannot stop laughing at everything I laughed at the first time that I saw it at the theatre. I had no idea what to expect at that viewing, other than the fact that I enjoyed Tim Robbins' work in the past and thought that Martin Lawrence was very funny. This did not prepare me for the life-changing event it was. I once showed this movie to a then-girlfriend who was no fan of the comedy genre, and thus it was a big risk to even attempt viewing an unknown comedy to begin with. But sure enough, she turned to me when it was over and declared it to be one of the most intelligent yet gut-level funny films she had ever seen. And without a doubt, she had summed it up best right there.