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Down to Earth
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Chris Rock, Regina
King |
| MPAA Rated: |
PG-13 |
| Released By: |
Paramount
Pictures |
| Kiddie Movie: |
Not too young. |
| Date Movie: |
Nah, take her to
"Sweet November." |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
Some talk. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
Not really on
screen. |
| Action: |
Nah. |
| Laughs: |
Only when the old
white dude is on screen. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
When the old,
white dude is on screen. |
| Memorable
Quote: |
Chris Rock's
jokes. |
| Directed By: |
Chris and Paul
Weitz |
| Produced By: |
James Jacks,
Michael Rotenberg, Sean Daniel |
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Down to Earth
A Movie Review |
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You know what disappointed me the most about
"Down To Earth?" Of course you don’t, but I’m gonna
tell you. It is simply that the movie had so much potential and didn’t
use any of it.
The story is one that has been done before, your classic
"dude’s soul has been taken before its time so he comes back
to earth in another dude’s body." It’s just that I think it
was done wrong.
This time we get Lance (Chris Rock). He’s a struggling comic
whose only goal is to get one of the last amateur slots at The
Apollo before it closes. Then he gets whacked by a truck, only it
isn’t his time. In heaven the error is discovered and Lance is
given the option to go back to Earth in another man’s body. What
body does he chose? Well, that of an older white dude, Mr.
Wellington, only so that he can get closer to the girl of his
dreams. Mr. Wellington is basically a rich, pompous asshole, so his
co-workers and staff are a little perplexed by the change that has
come over him, but they don’t really care too much as long as they
are still getting a piece of his money pie. The premise sounds funny
– a dude from the hood in the body of an older white dude making
the older white dude act like a dude from the hood. The only problem
is that for most of the movie we see Chris Rock on the screen
instead of the old white dude that the characters see, and that just
isn’t funny. Why do I say this isn’t funny? Because, well, most
of the only scenes people laughed at were when they showed the old
dude acting like Lance.
Some people will say the premise of the older white dude hitting
on the younger black dudette is stupid; some people will say Chris
needs to go back to doing stand-up; but I say the only problem with
"Down To Earth" was that they needed to have an older
white dude playing the black dude in a white dude’s body. We
needed to see more of the older white dude and less of Chris Rock.
I like Chris Rock, think he is hilarious, and the writing for
"Down To Earth" could have been funny, but this wasn’t
the movie for Chris Rock to be the leading man. Had the story been
the other way around, say an older white dude being put into the
body of a young black man, making Chris Rock’s role playing
himself but possessed by an older white dude, well, that would have
been the leading role for him in a role-reversal film. I want to
give "Down To Earth" a better rating, but sadly it’s
only 1 ½ stars out of 5.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!! |
