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It made me laugh, more than once, and definitely more than other comedies made me laugh in the past. And it still makes me laugh 20 years later. And that's what a comedy is supposed to do, right?

So I was really surprised at the relatively low rating here. Definitely undeserved.

No wonder the Unemployed Critic is unemployed! Myself, along with a host of others feel that this movie is a pretty decent comedy about two unscrupulous dogs fighting over a bone. Martin Lawrence does a fine job showing audiences how seamlessly he can tone down his comic intensity to fit his character.Danny DeVito is his usual impeccable self. this movie gets two thumbs up!

When billionaire Danny DeVito catches burglar Martin Lawrence robbing his house, he holds him at gunpoint until the police arrive, then takes Lawrence's ring. Because it was a gift from his girlfriend, Carmen Ejogo, Lawrence wants to get it back.... and he has a large network of skilled but inept criminals to call on for help: once, that is, they stop laughing at him.

It's based on Donald Westlake's Dortmunder novel of the same name, and like most movie versions of Westlake's sad-sack crime comedies, some peculiar choices were made. The Westlake characters are all shlubs, with Dortmunder's brilliant plans being confounded by their bad luck and mistakes. Lawrence is good, and Bernie Mac is outstanding as the fence who bankrolls the operations, but while the comic actors are superb, it lacks the the disorganized doggedness of Westlake. Even so, the story is a good one, Devito plays his role right in the middle of his comfort spot, and even if you know Westlake, it's impossible to figure out what's going to happen next.

Well, what can I say? It's not the best Martin Lawrence film and its not even one of the top 20 best Danny De Vito films (isn't this little guy one of the biggest comic actors of our time!) but it's a nice comedy, good to rent on video or watch on TV.

Basically the plot is not very imaginative and the movie relies mostly on the actors performances. So I'll concentrate on them in this review. Here it goes:

De Vito is perfect as always. Noone could play the part of the complacent billionaire better than him! He does the best he can do with the material he's given, but his talent could have been used more appropriately if the writers had done a better job...

Martin Lawrence also playes one of his usual parts, quite similar to the part he played in Blue Streak. He does everything expected from him, including getting in disguise more than once and producing some Eddie Murphy-style jokes. But seeing Black Knight and now this, one may ask: isn't he repeating himself too much now? Sure he's funny, but he's also getting annoying to more and more people...

We also have some good-loking actresses, especially the lady playing Lawrence's girlfriend. Their parts are unfortunately too brief to be memorable.

Oh,yes, there's also William Fichtner playing one of the weirdest detectives in the history of cinema! Am I the only one who thinks he was doing a parody of Willem Defoe's character in The Boondock Saints??

As far as the plot, well, it's all about a ring...

Well, I couldn't avoid the inevitable pun, so I thought I'd get it over with right in the beginning. As for this movie, it's pretty useless as entertainment in terms of humor, fascination and escapism. It definitely doesn't belong among the worst Hollywood comedies of late, as there is only a single fart joke and a single kicked-in-the-groin joke. That's pretty civilized for an American "comedy" nowadays, I am sorry to admit. So the problem here is not vulgarity, just boredom.

Although I greatly admire the talent of both Danny DeVito and Martin Lawrence (yes, you heard correctly - I thought he was excellent in Bad Boys), the combination of the two seems to lack something vital here. Upon a closer examination it is quite clear what this missing ingredient is: a good script. Instead of genuine amusement, this it-takes-a-crook-to-catch-a-thief story line becomes weary and repetitive fairly quickly. Add to this a couple of increasingly annoying supporting characters and numerous inconsistencies - it is one to avoid.

I would also like to add that the only really convincing performance comes from Richard Schiff as DeVito's long-suffering lawyer who experiences a moment of personal triumph. I really loved this scene. Unfortunately, it can't save this movie, which was doomed at birth. A 2 out of 10 from me.