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Life

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Life (1999)

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Reviews Counted:54

Fresh:27

Rotten:27

Average Rating:5.7/10

Consensus: Entertaining if not over-the-top humor from a solid comic duo provides plenty of laughs.

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence team up for a prison comedy underlined by serious social commentary. Rayford Gibson (Murphy), an opportunistic con man, and Claude Banks (Lawrence), an ambitious... Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence team up for a prison comedy underlined by serious social commentary. Rayford Gibson (Murphy), an opportunistic con man, and Claude Banks (Lawrence), an ambitious bank teller, are complete opposites who cross paths in 1930s Harlem. In order to pay off their debts to a local crime lord, the mismatched pair travel into the Deep South on a moonshine delivery only to be framed for murder by a racist Southern cop. Sentenced to life in a Mississippi state prison, the bickering duo spend the next 60 years trading barbs and planning their escape, at the same time forming an unlikely but touching friendship. [More]

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Obba Babatunde, Ned Beatty

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Obba Babatunde, Ned Beatty, Bernie Mac, Miguel A. Nunez, Clarence Williams, Bokeem Woodbine, Nick Cassavetes, Noah Emmerich, Lee Ermey

Director: Ted Demme

Director: Ted Demme
Screenwriter: Robert Ramsey, Matthew Stone
Producer: Brian Grazer, Eddie Murphy
Composer: Wyclef Jean

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Oct 19, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Life

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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A lot of laughs!

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online

Lawrence's best movie and one of Murphy's best!

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Fenster
Bob Fenster
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie doesn't care much about realism, depicting the rigors of prison-farm life about as convincingly as Life Is Beautiful portrays a Nazi death camp. But it makes up in energy what it lacks in authenticity.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

We have been treated to something we normally would never get in a prison comedy like this: a little delicacy with the humor.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

Lawrence and Murphy make an entertaining team!

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Life is a surprise that not only avoids typical trappings, but throws in a tinge of the bittersweet as well.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
04/25/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Although it's not as constantly and/or outrageously funny as one would expect, the film is certainly easy to sit through and has enough laughs and otherwise entertaining moments.

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jim Judy
Jim Judy
Screen It!

A very funny/surprisingly poignant story!

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
01/01/00
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Kate Manning
Kate Manning
Palo Alto Weekly

Murphy and an uncharacteristically restrained Lawrence are a solid team, and Ted Demme's sympathetic direction allows them to draw as much humor out of the dismal situation as they can.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Ambitious, enjoyable.

Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kevin Maynard
Kevin Maynard
Mr. Showbiz
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The bickering of the two leads is funny in a loose, maybe improvisational way.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Matt Easterbrook
Matt Easterbrook
Matt's Movie Reviews

An unexpectedly moving surprise!

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Michael Rechtshaffen
Michael Rechtshaffen
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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