Cast: Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Obba Babatundé, Rick James, Bernie Mac, Miguel A. Nunez Jr, Ned Beatty, Clarence Williams III, Bokeem Woodbine
Director: Ted Demme
Producers: Brian Grazer, Eddie Murphy
Screenplay: Robert Ramsey & Matthew Stone
Cinematography: Geoffrey Simpson
Music: Wyclef Jean
U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures
The last time I remember laughing - really laughing - during an Eddie Murphy movie was three years ago with The Nutty Professor. So it was with understandable skepticism that I approached Life, bypassing it at an advance screening in favor of Goodbye, Lover and electing instead to see it on opening day. Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I discovered that not only is Life funny (and at times downright hilarious), but it also offers a light portion of sweetened social commentary and a sometime-affecting buddy element.
Not only does Life represent Murphy's strongest work since 1996, but it's arguably Martin Lawrence's best performance ever. Neither comic overplays the material, and, as a result, the film isn't teeming with attempts to force laughter. This is not the most outrageous production that either actor has ever appeared in, but it's not exactly subtle or cerebral, either, and the sense of genuine companionability between Murphy and Lawrence's characters compensates for any missing belly laughs.
Most of Life takes place in a Mississippi State prison that could only exist in the movies. There are no fences (although there are armed guards with standing orders to shoot anyone who crosses an invisible line), conjugal visits are allowed (even for men who aren't married), and just about everyone - even the guards - gets along pretty well. Of course, this is a comedy, so it wouldn't do to set up a grim, ugly locale where every day is worse (or at least no better) than the last. Consequently, director Ted Demme fashions a cozy prison that bears little resemblance to reality, and, for the most part (as long as you're not looking for realism), it works.
One of Life's weaknesses is the lengthy and cumbersome setup necessary to get New Yorkers Ray (Murphy) and Claude (Lawrence) arrested for murder in Mississippi. It's 1932 and segregation is the law in the South. To pay off a debt to a Harlem gangster, Ray and Claude - an unlikely team - go on a Moonshine run. Unfortunately, they're in the wrong place at the wrong time, and are framed for the bloody death of a card shark (Clarence Williams III). After a perfunctory trial, they are sentenced to life. It's when the pair reaches the prison that things start clicking, in part because of Murphy and Lawrence's work, and in part because of an entertaining group of supporting players. Those include Bernie Mac as a wacko inmate; Bokeem Woodbine as Can't Get Right, a retarded killer with a sweet baseball swing; Ned Beatty as a kind-hearted warden; and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. as a gay prisoner whose fears about the outside world parallel those of Morgan Freeman's Red in The Shawshank Redemption.
The film follows the turbulent relationship of Ray and Claude across the span of 65 years. Demme uses an episodic approach, first checking in with the pair in the 1930s, then returning in the 1940s, the 1970s, and the 1990s. Thanks to a reasonably convincing job by Hollywood makeup specialist Rick Baker, Murphy and Lawrence (as well as Obba Babatundé, who plays a fellow prisoner, and functions as the narrator) look like old men rather than younger men wearing multiple layers of latex. Through the years, Ray and Claude maintain a lively verbal repartee that hides a deep friendship.
Life moves along at a breezy clip, but there's a little more going on here than the sophomoric hijinks that characterize most Murphy films. In a scene that uses the approach of another Life film (Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful), Demme utilizes humor to tackle a serious issue as Ray and Claude are refused service in a whites-only diner. The point is made without preaching, because we're too busy laughing. Life also has its sentimental moments, especially as the years move by and many of Ray and Claude's longtime companions pass into the prison cemetery. Demme doesn't give us any death scenes - he merely has the characters fade away.
In another sequence that recalls Life is Beautiful, Life uses fantasy to blur the unpleasantness of reality. As Ray fantasizes out loud about his lifelong ambition - building a Harlem night club called "Ray's Boom-Boom Room" - everyone gets in on the act. Suddenly, we see all of these convicts as bartenders, high rollers, and other assorted men living the good life. It's an unusual and effective move, and helps to build the bond between Ray, who is new to the prison at the time, and his fellows.
For those in search of a "true" Eddie Murphy picture, Life fills the bill. It has its share of flatulence jokes, homophobic double entendres, and gross-out moments, but there's enough going on here beyond that base level of comedy to allow acceptance and enjoyment by a more mainstream audience. Those who are turned off by Murphy's humor probably won't find a whole lot to like about Life, but, for everyone else, the movie represents a charming diversion that re-affirms the likability and comic aptitude of both co-stars.
© 1999 James Berardinelli