Susan Granger’s review of “The Man” (New Line Cinema)
The mismatched buddy-comedy has been so overdone in recent years that – in order to generate interest – the formulaic concept must offer something new and different. This doesn’t.
The improbable cops ‘n’ robbers plot revolves around Andy Fiddler (Eugene Levy), a geeky dental supply salesman from Minnesota who travels to Detroit to speak at a convention of dentists. He’s mistaken for Derrick Vann (Samuel L. Jackson), a cynical federal undercover agent who’s eluding a nasty internal-affairs investigator (Miguel Ferrer). Using an unorthodox sting operation, Vann’s been trying to nail a European arms dealer, Joey Trent (Luke Goss), who stole a weapons cache and was responsible for the murder of Jackson’s partner. So when Fiddler is fingered as an arms purveyor, known as “The Turk,” Vann kidnaps him. They become reluctant, bickering partners, sluggishly tooling around in Vann’s Cadillac as part of a pointless subplot.
Jim Piddock, Margaret Oberman and Steve Carpenter, the credited writers of this unfunny urban farce, include recycled material ripped off from “48 Hours,” “Changing Lanes” and “A Time to Kill,” among others. There’s even an outdated joke about the Spice Girls. Under the schticky, slapstick direction of Les Mayfield (“American Outlaws,” “Flubber”), far too much time is spent on clichŽ flatulence jokes and treating butt wounds with taco sauce. And it’s obvious that the city of Toronto is standing in for Detroit, particularly during the inevitable car chases. Samuel L. Jackson is the surly, streetwise tough guy, and no one can do a better nerdy nebbish than Eugene Levy, but their performances can’t save a script that’s DOA. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Man” is a tedious throwaway 3. A waste of time and talent.
