The movie made me laugh a lot anyway. It has a big, inventive cast of loons and a great premise. Actually boasts a decent script with character development, a sense of pace and some well-drawn supporting roles. This frothy little crime comedy isn't half bad, bubbling with caper-farce energy supplied by a game ensemble cast and a source novel by prolific pulp writer Donald E. Westlake. Best when DeVito plays off the supporting cast surrounding him.
Filmmakers run out of ideas long before the final.
This sometimes funny but ultimately convoluted movie would have benefited enormously from letting Lawrence loose. Lawrence forgoes his knack for verbal comedy and replaces it with crude nonstop mugging. Laborious in the unfolding of its plot, and under Sam Weisman's brash direction the unabashed amorality of the material is crass rather than sly in tone. The star in this case is Martin Lawrence, who is not only thoroughly upstaged by nemesis Danny DeVito but is completely boxed out of his comfort zone for broad physical comedy. Certainly grows in its own right, into a coarse-grained summer vaudeville that could have been much smarter and sharper without losing its target audience.