‘The Man’ is a lot of hard work

For no other reason than to create publicity, media people are always

making movie lists. If someone ever comes up with the one titled

“Movies That Didn’t Need to Be Made,” I would nominate “The Man.”

It’s far from brilliant, but should not be dismissed as horrible.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that you’ve seen it all before with

alternate titles as “Beverly Hills Cop,” “48 Hours” or “Lethal

Weapon.” It’s the two guys with nothing in common who get thrown

together against their wishes under trying circumstances and have to

work as a team to take care of the bad guys and save the day.

In this version, Derrick Vann (Samuel L. Jackson) is a federal

agent with a bad attitude, a divorce, a dead partner and other cops

suspicious of him. Vann’s supervisor, Lt. Carbone (Susie Essman)

wants to believe him, but he doesn’t give her many reasons to support

him through his problems on the job. A simple case of bad timing

links him up with Andy Fiddler (Eugene Levy), a dental salesman

visiting Detroit to give a speech at a conference. Guess who ends up

being “The Man”?

The main characters are not developed enough to make the audience

really cheer for them, although Jackson’s detective deserves more

sympathy as he tries to work through the pain of his life, trusting

no one and estranged from his young daughter.

Levy has the happy family with house, wife and three children, but

comes off as more cartoonish. He’s alternately playing his part for

laughs and emotion, and is probably more successful with the latter

in terms of his being considered likable. The supporting characters

don’t fare much better. Even the gun runner Joey (Luke Goss) is not

menacing enough to be truly despised.

We plod through the requisite car chases, parting of the ways,

gritty look of the inner city, getting back together, everything

seeming to be wrapped up only to be not quite finished, and the

inevitable climax, which doesn’t have the tension or suspense to

really draw us in. We keep waiting for something to happen, and when

it does, it’s more of a yawn than anything halfway exciting.

The writers deserve a little credit, as there are some genuinely

funny sequences when the audience enjoyed the banter between Fiddler

and Vann. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough to continually sustain

major interest. Fiddler’s digestive problems become a running joke,

but the target demographic who will appreciate it most is the 12- to

18-year-old male. However, even with a PG-13 rating, parents should

be cautioned that some strong language is used repeatedly.

It deserves some attention in foreign markets and eventually on

DVD, but you’ll find something more compelling until then.

* PHILLIP HAIN is a Glendale resident is a huge movie fan.