The Collegian

Issue date: 9/16/05 Section: No Limits

Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy sharing some quality time with each other.

The new action comedy "The Man" treads familiar buddy-picture ground, with Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy as a miss-matched duo thrown together by circumstance.

Derrick Van, played by Jackson, is a federal agent who finds himself in the middle of an internal affairs investigation after his partner has been killed and linked to a multi-million dollar arms heist.

Good-natured dental supply salesman Andy Fiddler, played by Levy, is in Detroit for a two-day dental convention, when he unwittingly finds himself in the middle of Van's strategy to recover the stolen arms. After he is mistaken as a potential buyer, Van must use a reluctant Andy as his front man to finish the deal with the arms dealers.

Jackson and Levy are an amusing pair, with most of the comic relief falling on Levy's capable shoulders. Jackson plays his usual smart-mouthed, bad-ass self, although I must admit, there aren't many who can deliver a rant as smoothly as he does.

As the pair's adversary, Joey Trent, Luke Goss is charismatic and appealing, but a little too appealing to convincingly pass as a cold-blooded killer and arms dealer. The remainder of the cast supports the film nicely, although it is disappointing to see the comedic talents of Horatio Sanz ("Saturday Night Live"), go under used as a gullible evidence room clerk.



The director, Les Mayfield, does a good job of keeping the story moving at a fast pace. Mayfield also gives the film a unique look, keeping it dark and gray, with an obvious lack of color and light, which lends a more dramatic feel to the story.

There isn't a whole lot of new ground broken with the plot of the film. It isn't a big surprise that the unlikely pair begin to form a friendship and that the strengths of each character start to rub off on the other.

"The Man" does have its share of foul language, mostly from Jackson's character, but for a story about an arms deal, it is fairly light on the gunplay and violence.

The comedic dialogue is smartly written, with a quick wit, but it was a simple fart gag that received the biggest laugh with the audience in the theater that day. Incidentally, the audience, to my surprise, was made up of mostly middle-aged women. I'm not sure which star, Jackson or Levy, carries the middle-aged female fan base; or maybe it was the early afternoon showtime, who knows?

Overall, "The Man" is an enjoyable enough matinee comedy choice; I wouldn't go so far as to say it is worth the extra dough a nighttime showing would cost you. If you are a Jackson or Levy fan, and you opt for an afternoon showing, you'll get your money's worth in entertainment.

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