"Life" features the comic greatness of Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, along with many other rising talents, in a comedy about two innocent, cantankerous Harlem-ites who are framed for a grisly murder in Mississippi circa the Depression, and find themselves incarcerated for life in an exceptionally hysterical, and sometimes endearing, film. "Mis-matched from the ghet-co", Ray Gibson and Claude Banks (Murphy and Lawrence, respectively) spend some "hard time" getting to know, detest, and finally, love, one another, while befriending fellow inmates Willie Long (the narrator), Jangle Leg (a riotous Bernie Mac), Biscuit, Goldmouth, "Can't Get Right" and others, and combating against the brutal (yet inane) prison system, while undertaking several schemes of escape. "Life" is sometimes hilarious, sometimes somber, sometimes nostalgic, and always entertaining. The comedic duo of Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence is nothing short of sheer casting dynamite, and both comedians deliver some of their finest roles here. It's rife with whimsical southern dialect ("You go eat your cornbread?; "I da pappy"; etc.) and Eddie Murphy's raucous personality translates perfectly here ("Anyone mess around with me, it's gon' be consequences and repercussions!"); this is perhaps the most hysterical and amusing dialog ever written for a "southern comedy". Also worth commending is the exquisitely perfect makeup work of Rick Baker: Murphy and Lawrence as feuding "old folks"- only Baker could achieve such an infeasible task! "Life" is a genuinely hilarious, if conventional and clichéd, comedy, which delivers supremely on laughs, character development, and solid entertainment. See it for Murphy and Lawrence, if for nothing else. ***1/2 out of ****
Review of Life
