Life (1999/I)

Director:

Ted Demme

Writers (WGA):

Robert Ramsey (written by) &
Matthew Stone (written by)

Release Date:

16 April 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Share it with someone you love.

Plot:

The story of two criminals (Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence) who discover the value of life after being sentenced to life imprisonment.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Life Imprisonment | Flashback | Watch | Criminal

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Eddie Murphy	...	Rayford Gibson
Martin Lawrence	...	Claude Banks
Obba Babatundé	...	Willie Long
Nick Cassavetes	...	Sergeant Dillard
Anthony Anderson	...	Cookie
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Pokerface
Brent Jennings	...	Hoppin' Bob
Bernie Mac	...	Jangle Leg
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.	...	Biscuit
Michael Taliferro	...	Goldmouth (as Michael 'Bear' Taliferro)
Guy Torry	...	Radio
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Can't Get Right
Ned Beatty	...	Dexter Wilkins
Lisa Nicole Carson	...	Sylvia
O'Neal Compton	...	Superintendant Abernathy

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and a shooting.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-12 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | New Zealand:M | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #36417) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Front Street, Norwalk, California, USA

Company:

Imagine Entertainment

Trivia:

According to the DVD commentary: During the diner scene, originally it was Eddie Murphy's character that was supposed to be angry about the "White Only" pies, while Martin Lawrence's character just wanted to leave. During filming, the scene wasn't working, so they came up with the idea of having them switch their lines. The scene played much better and that's how it appears in the finished film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Jangle Leg introduces himself to Claude, they are seated beside each other with Ray sitting beside Jangle Leg. Then the camera switches to a shot of Ray. If you look below Ray you can see Jangle Leg seated below him.

Quotes:

Dexter Wilkins: You've been on this farm for quite a spell, haven't you?
Claude Banks: Over 40 years now, me and Ray Gibson over there.
Dexter Wilkins: 40 years... that's a long time for any crime, even murder.
Claude Banks: It's a hell of a lot longer when you're innocent.
Dexter Wilkins: Half the men in this prison swear they're innocent, Claude. Don't you think that's kind of funny?
Claude Banks: Well, you have to forgive me if I don't laugh.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: The Making of 'Dr. Dolittle 2' (#8.7)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Fortunate

That's Life.

Two young men (Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence) are paired together by circumstance in 1932 New York City; while travelling in the South, they are framed for murder and are sent to Mississippi State Prison where they spend the majority of their lives (over fifty years!).

For me, what really made it work was seeing Murphy and Lawrence work together, and they are really, really good. The material has both plenty of humor and some very serious, heartfelt moments. Other assets include Wyclef Jean's music score, amusing supporting performances by Obba Babatunde, Nick Cassavetes, Bernie Mac, et al., and writing that is actually decent. Thanks to Rick Baker's fantastic makeup effects, Murphy's and Lawrence's characters actually look their ages at the different stages in the movie.

It's one of the better movies that I've seen from either Murphy or Lawrence in the last few years; it gets an eight out of ten from me.