Review of Life (1999) by Steven Y — 26 Mar 2009

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.