Life (1999)
First screened in April 2020
Director: Ted Demme. Cast: Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Obba Babatundé, Rick James, Clarence Williams III, Nick Cassavetes, Ned Vaughn, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Anthony Anderson, Barry Shabaka Henley, Brent Jennings, Bernie Mac, Michael Taliferro, Guy Torry, Bokeem Woodbine, Sanaa Lathan, Lisa Nicole Carson, Heavy D, Bonz Malone, Ned Beatty, Noah Emmerich, R. Lee Ermey. Screenplay: Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone. Twitter Capsule:
No great claims. Issues with tone, pace, proportion. Very iffy premise. Still, leads and ensemble feel relaxed and appealing.
VOR:②
Takes an uncertain mix of moxie and denial to shape a film about black men's incarceration across decades as even halfway comical. Impressive how much this pulls off.
