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| SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 | Send
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Movie Review
This ‘Man’ Gets Old Fast
The Man is a comedy/action film
gone wrong — except for the hot bad guy
By Meredith
Moore
The Shorthorn staff
Eugene Levy and Samuel L. Jackson should not put this movie on their
résumés.
Levy plays Andy Fidler, a bumbling dental supply salesman who couldn’t
get out of federal agent Derrick Vann’s way.
The movie is set in Detroit, where Wisconsin native Fidler is supposed
to give a speech on dental supplies to sales representatives from
across the country. By coincidence, he is mistaken for a person
looking to buy a large amount of stolen government weapons, so Jackson’s
character, Vann, uses him as a pawn in busting the thieves.
Most of the scenes feature Fidler and Vann arguing because Vann
is heartless, and Fidler doesn’t know when to shut up.
This gets old fast, and is unfortunately used for most of the comedic
relief in this comedy/action film gone wrong.
It seems that Vann spends too much time playing mean and not doing
actual police work. He continuously harasses his one informant,
Booty, until the bad guys find out who’s snitching.
After spending so much time together, the two — surprise,
surprise — teach each other a lesson about themselves. Fidler
learns how to be cool while Vann gets in touch with his emotional
side.
Mid-investigation, the pair go to Vann’s daughter’s
ballet performance and shock Vann’s ex-wife with their attendance
(Insert bad emotional acting here).
The movie’s best part was when the hottie bad-guy, Luke Goss,
was on screen. There were also a couple classically funny jokes
between Levy and Jackson, but most play in the previews.
The movie crawls to its predictable ending, leaving some unanswered
questions. For instance, do Vann and his ex-wife make up?
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THE MAN
Starring: Eugene Levy (Andy Fidler)
and Samuel L.Jackson (Derrick Vann)
Director: Les Mayfield
Rating: PG-13
Ranking: 1.5 Stars on a 1-5 scale
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