The Man DVD Review:

Buddy cop films have been a staple in the action/comedy genre for long enough that audiences know what to expect from them. In many cases the plot of the film is often less important than the chemistry of the two actors. If the actors have two distinctly different characters that play well off of each other in opportunities for humor, it helps move the film along until the action starts up again. The Man is more comedy than it is action, so much more of the film relies upon this chemistry. Individually Eugene Levy and Samuel L. Jackson are fantastic, and it makes sense that they would make a good pair onscreen, but what actually ends up on film is far less entertaining than I ever would have imagined from the two of them.

Jackson is somewhat like a superhero without his powers as Agent Vann in this PG-13 film, where only a certain level of foul language is permitted. Agent Vann might now curse as much as we would expect, but he still does things his way, with a stylish hair-do and no regard for police regulation. He is on a case tracking an arms dealer when a dental supplies salesman, Andy Fiddler (Levy), accidentally finds himself mistaken as the buyer of the weapons. This proves to be a perfect opportunity for Agent Vann to catch the arms dealers. He forces Fiddler to follow along with his plan, despite numerous complaints.

We are supposed to gather humor from the fact that a rough cop needs help from a dentist supplies salesman from out of town, who never stops running his mouth. Eugene Levy has made himself known as a great supporting character actor, but it doesn’t seem to translate nearly as well when he is in nearly every scene. The constant bickering between Levy and Jackson has more of an irritating quality than a humorous one. This may have worked if it had been regulated, but every scene seems to be playing the exact same objectives; Agent Vann wants to catch the bad guys, and Andy Fiddler wants to get away from Agent Vann.

It is possible that this cast could have worked, had it been a different film, but this simply is not the case. There is too much or too little of just about everything in the film, and although the failure of the film is not the fault of either of these two actors, neither seems to be making great choices these days. A film needs to be more than just an idea, it needs to have a good script as well.

What The Man lacks in quality as far as the film is concerned, it makes up for it in the way the DVD is set up. While most PG-13 films (or even some R-rated ones) try to push the DVD sales of the film by releasing an unrated version of the film, The Man doesn’t attempt to trick consumers in this way. The cover doesn’t even boast about the special features, although there are plenty. It is ironic that one of the bonus features is titled, “Sam Jackson’s Guide to Cursing Like a Bad A&% Motha F$#@*” considering the fact that he is forced to limit the amount of cursing in this film, but is actually an entertaining little featurette. Other featurettes include “Who’s the Man”, “Making an Action Scene” and “The Ride: A Look at the ’83 Cadillac”. They are all fairly short and specific, but what makes them work well is the fact that they are all in good fun and don’t take the topics too serious. There are also deleted scenes and gag reels, which are hit and miss, and a theatrical trailer.



Ryan Izay