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Sept. 9, 2005
This man has what it takes
New Eugene Levy comedy vehicle steers in the right direction.
KATHARINE HAMER EDITOR
Two Hollywood producers are brainstorming a new cop-buddy movie.
There will be guns, car chases and male bonding. They've found the
right script and they're talking to directors. All they need now
are some lead actors to play the brothers-in-arms. They settle on
Samuel L. Jackson, because, let's face it, who better to portray
a sarcastic, street-wise law enforcement officer? But what about
his sidekick? Tom Cruise is overexposed, Danny Glover is busy and
Bruce Willis is kind of a washout.
"I know," says the second producer, "let's get Eugene
Levy."
It sounds like a joke, but, in truth, co-producer Bill Straus was
looking for a starring vehicle that would match Levy's unique comic
talents – and The Man fit the bill.
As a fish-out-of-water tale, it bears the hallmarks of Levy's secondary,
scene-stealing role in Bringing Down the House, where he
became enchanted with Queen Latifah to the point of developing a
hip-hop patois and draping himself in gold chains.
In The Man, when a "dirty" federal agent investigating
an illegal arms sales operation is found dead on the street, his
partner, the leather-clad, Cadillac-driving Derrick Vann (Jackson)
is thought to be involved. Determined to clear his name and catch
the gun-sellers, Vann sets up a bait operation. The only problem
is, mild-mannered, nebbishy dental supply salesman Andy Fiddler
(Levy), who's in town for a convention, gets mistakenly ID'd as
a would-be buyer – and subsequently caught up in a madcap adventure.
"Detroit ain't Wisconsin," Andy's wife warns him as he
practises his speech in front of the bathroom mirror at home. Little
does he know what lies ahead. With his beige suit, digestive sensitivity
to red meat, a well-spun (pun intended) yarn about a stolen Persian
carpet and an addiction to flossing, Andy seems like Vann's worst
nightmare. Of course, though, as in all movies of this formula,
the two men end up with a grudging respect for each other –
and even learn a little something different: Vann softens up; Andy
gets a taste of excitement.
Also featured in the film are former boy band member Luke Goss as
the gun-runner and Crossing Jordan's Miguel Ferrer as an
internal affairs agent – a role in which he's just as surly
as his TV character.
What sets this movie apart from the usual cop-buddy film is, of
course, Levy's anachronistic persona. The man's eyebrows are like
a whole character in themselves and he's capable of a range of confused
puppy-dog expressions. Levy gets many of the film's best lines –
not least because his character talks incessantly.
Complaining to Vann's boss about the treatment he's received, Levy's
character notes: "Not only was he physically abusive. What
really upset me was he was rude."
Silly? Yes, but it's a whole lot of fun.
The Man opens in theatres Sept. 9.
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