In this fish-out-of-water comedy, Jamie Foxx plays a man named Michael Dawson, though he's confused for both Puff Daddy and Mike Tyson by the citizenry of the podunk southwest town that serves as the setting for Held Up. Road-tripping Michael and Rae (Nia Long) stop in for gas in Michael's new vintage roadster, but she grabs a ride to the airport with a truck full of cowboys after learning he blew more than 10,000 dollars earmarked for buying a home on the automobile. Moments later, Michael
loses the car as well when a youth cons him out of the keys. Just when his day couldn't get any worse, Michael lands in the middle of a botched hold-up by amateurs trying to knock over the convenience store. All variety of local law enforcement, from the sheriff (Barry Corbin) to truckloads of unofficial shotgun-toting "deputies," quickly descends on the scene. Michael tries to sweet-talk the frightened gunman (Eduardo Yanez), befriend his fellow hostages (Sarah Paulson and John Cullum), and plan how to reach the airport before Rae's flight leaves, all while not getting shot by the hair triggers inside and outside the store. The film was produced and originally publicized under the title "Inconvenienced." ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi
There's an obligatory feel-good ending that's totally unbelievable, and the raunchy first act banter between Foxx and his girlfriend is disconcertingly at odds with the Preston Sturges-style stuff that follows.
This movie was okay. It made me laugh out loud more than once. It was however VERY slow moving in parts. I fell asleep watching it on Friday night, but it was decent enough that on Saturday morning I found where I dozed off and continued watching it.A good point is that the movie manages to be moderately funny without
being crude or overly sexual... That's hard to find these days. The biggest negative is that virtually the entire plot occurs in one spot, and you get very little change of scenery throughout the entire movie.If you're looking for continuous laughs, this may not be the movie for you. But if you can endure the slow parts, the humor will sporadically appear.
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