Life (1999)

This is one of my all time favorite movies, with great performances of Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, the support cast is very funny too. I can't believe "Life" only has 6.1 stars, this should have at least 7.5.

The plot is about how the characters played by Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence met during the age of the prohibition in New York under difficult circumstances involving a mafia guy that forces them going to a business trip to get liqueur from the south, but in this trip they are going to have problems with the law and will be unfairly sentence to prison for life. We will be able to enjoy very funny moments in the years that they spend in prison trying to get out.

LIFE has one scene that is a tribute to the film "Cool hand Luke" that is really funny. this is my favorite Eddie Murphy's movie and one of his two funniest performances along with Beverly Hills Cup.

Fmovies: Finally! Eddie Murphy is back. This is one of his funniest movies in years. And that wasn't hard to do. This movie is enough to make you forgive him for "The Nutty Professor" and "Holy Man". But, I'm not sure that it's going to be enough to make me forgive him for doing "The Nutty Professor II". Anyhow, he gets it right this time. This movie is one laugh riot from beginning to end. Murphy and Lawrence have good chemistry throughout the movie. It's a lot likes the chemistry between Lawrence and Tim Robbins in "Nothing To Lose". So, rush out to your nearest theater and slap down your $8.50. It's well worth it.

The movie "Life" is funny, warm and a bit sad. Because Eddie and Martin are innocent of the crime, you actually feel sorry for their situation. I kept hoping for them to escape much sooner, so that we could have seen some funny situations they would have been doing to avoid being re-captured. Two nuts on the run.

Life fmovies. Martin Lawrence finally sheds his "Whats UUUUUUUUUUP!" image with a stellar performance in Life. Eddie Murphy returned to greatness with his first good movie in awhile. Hopefully this is the start of something good by having these two amazing actors working together. "Are you gonna eat that cornbread?" I couldn't stop laughing the whole time I was there. I give Life a 10 and recommend it to everyone.

I usually am not a fan of Eddie Murphy, but I thoroughly enjoyed the interweaving of comedy and drama in "Life." At first glance the title seems to refer to the life sentence wrongly given to the two men. As the story unfolds, the viewer sees the "life" they must make for themselves in the spartan setting of a prison in Mississippi. The end of the film should bring the viewer to question what he has done with his life and how much he has depended on "props" for a meaning to his own life.

Many who submitted comments compared "Life" with "The Shawshank Redemption," but a more likely comparison is "Cool Hand Luke," which starred Paul Newman in a similar story also set in a Mississippi prison. The comic gags, such as the warden's curvaceous daughter, were taken from "Cool Hand Luke." Overall, the film is rich in meaning as it shows how life in general is an interweaving of comedy and tragedy. Another comparison story is "Death Comes for the Archbishop" by Willa Cather, in which Ms. Cather shows how two priests, also in a spartan situation (a desert pastorate in New Mexico) and without the usual trappings of success, make meaningful lives for themselves while living sacrificially for others.

I cannot even begin to count how many `comedies' I have sat through that try to reach for the `timeless' formula by interjecting some lame dramatics to engage the audience even more than the comedy ever could. It's a practice as old as time in Hollywood. Most of these movies fail miserably.

You leave the theater thinking `It was funny enough, why couldn't it just stay silly?' My friends, I'm with you on every page. It's a slippery slope to juggle the two genres.

`Life' is the millionth attempt at warm-hearted comedy. It tries to make you pee your pants with its jokes, and yet slap your emotions around with the drama. And damn the odds, it fits like a glove. `Life' is also a film that defies much criticism. You either love stars Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, or you don't. I'm in the first category. As the main characters, the two comedians prove just how valuable they are. Murphy is coming off a uniquely horrific year. `Dr. Dolittle' was a smash, but a career setback to say the least. `Holy Man' was an unmitigated disaster, but one that didn't effect Murphy with any real damage. The greatest gift `Life' gives to Murphy is a chance to show off range. Murphy is a very talented actor, and this movie makes you wish he would try a straight drama for once. Murphy can be devastatingly funny. But he can also be very dramatically convincing. With each new movie, Murphy grows as an actor. I really think he's set for brighter things. Martin Lawrence shares many of the same attributes as Murphy. He's terribly funny, and yet able to win your heart with a depth most comedians don't have. `Life' has Lawrence with the quieter role. He uses that chance to provide the film with a backbone. He eventually comes out the best rounded character in the fractured storytelling. It's a good performance, but even better, it's a brilliant pairing with Eddie Murphy. The two are seamlessly funny. Squeezing every moment for comic and emotional juice. It's refreshing to watch a movie with two actors who seem to be trying something different, all the while living up to previous expectations. Ted Demme is a solid director, a thought that immediately puts me in the minority. His `Who's The Man?' was a strictly silly romp, but was actually funny. `The Ref' was the critically lauded and sharp black comedy. `Beautiful Girls' is a film that every time I sit down to watch, feels as comfortable as an old cardigan. He's yet to falter in my eyes. I like his attention to detail, and his gift for trusting his actors. `Life' wouldn't work as well as it does without a specific amount of direction and free will. Demme manages to keep the film on track without ever succumbing to an over-reliance on improv. The best scenes in `Life' are the quiet ones: the gay inmate who's release from prison provides a dilemma, the passage of time montage, and Lawrence's moment with the freshly baked pies(which is actually comical, but who's counting?). The film seems like it was longer at one point, but the film on display here really pleased me. I would recommend this film to anybody that has lost faith in Eddie Murphy.------------- 9