Down To Earth

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height="216" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JH9O/reelmoviecriticc">Buy DVD from Amazon.com</A>  </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="bc364760.png" border=0 width="100" height="118" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Down To Earth </B>*** (PG-13)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By George O. Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 24 ><NOBR><div>   I can't get a cab…now I <I>know</I> I'm a black man again!</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Lance Barton: Chris Rock</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Sontee: Regina King</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> King: Chazz Palminteri</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Whitney: Frankie Faison</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Cisco: Mark Addy</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Mrs. Wellington: Jennifer Coolidge</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Wanda: Wanda Sykes</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Phil: John Cho</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Sklar: Greg Germann</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Director: Chris and Paul Weitz</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Keyes: Eugene Levy</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: An aspiring comedian, who is hit by a bus, is taken to heaven before his time. His guardian angel tries to make up for this mistake by finding another body for him to inhabit until his real time on earth is exhausted. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Chris Rock plays Lance Barton, a bike messenger who is funny and quick with a comeback in all situations, until he gets on stage to do his comedy routine.  Whitney (Frankie Faison) is his agent, who tries to get him on the bill for the final show at the Apollo Theater in NYC. While riding down the street, Lance is preoccupied with a fading career, which has never shined very brightly. He is further distracted as Sontee (Regina King) passes by. In a split second he is hit by a bus and the next thing you know, he's in line to enter heaven. </div> <bR> <div> Keyes (Eugene Levy), the angel who ushers Lance to heaven, soon learns that he did it 40 years too soon, because he assumed that the accident would be fatal, when in fact it was not. Keyes asks an angel named King (Chazz Palminteri) to make an exception and send Lance back and he relents. Since his body has been discovered Lance can only go back to earth in the body of a dead person who has not been found. This results in Lance taking the body of a rich old fart. An overweight white man, who looks about as opposite of Chris Rock as one can get. His name is Mr. Wellington and his wife (Jennifer Coolidge) has killed him, with the help of her lover Sklar (Greg Germann). </div> <bR> <div> The way this works is that Lance looks like Lance, except to the outside world, who sees him as Mr. Wellington. At times this is quite funny, such as when he and Sontee are in a fast food restaurant. Lance is singing rap music with the N word, which does not endear him to this African American crowd. What they see is an old white man mocking their culture.</div> <bR> <div> The heart of <I>Down to Earth</I> is that Lance wants to find a way to become a successful comedian and get the woman of his dreams, Sontee. And Sontee falls in love with the heart of the man that Lance is…no matter what skin he's in.     </div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: This is loosely based on <I>Heaven Can Wait</I>, a 1978 comedy starring Warren Beatty, and the two should not be compared other than that <I>Down to Earth</I> acknowledges the idea on which <I>this </I>story is told. While there is a running plot line, it's set in the social commentary that we all know and love Chris Rock for. I like the film and would have enjoyed it much more if I had cared about the characters. At all times I felt as if I was at a comedy club, with that level of attachment, yet the story implies that I should really want Sontee and Lance to get together. Of course they do, but it's in the "so what" category of caring. Chris Rock showed more acting style in <A HREF="id555.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nurse Betty"><U><I><B>Nurse Betty</B></I></U></A> than in this film. Possibly I was expecting more than I should, but I don't think so. </div> <bR> <div> Although the characters are shallow, one must remember this is stand up comedy. Each character makes a comedic contribution to the film, which puts it above the standard comedy. </div> <bR> <div> One of the flaws in <I>Down to Earth</I> is also its strength. The plot is fairly complicated, but made clear if you don't get something right away. The story keeps moving, so the things that don't work for you are not there too long for you to dwell on. For fans of stand up comedy, it's a very good film. I'm giving this a marginal three stars, because I have reset what I should have expected. You go to see Chris Rock as the lead in the film, you should expect stand up comedy with a plot thrown in rather than the reverse. The man is clearly the best comedian I've seen since Richard Pryor and that's saying something. </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> PG-13 (sexual humor; drugs references;  mild violence; language)</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2001</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="688" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="347"><div> Chris Rock:<A HREF="id555.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nurse Betty"><U> </U></A><A HREF="id555.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nurse Betty"><U><I><B>Nurse Betty</B></I></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Regina King: <I>How Stella Got Her Groove Back</I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="347"><div> Chazz Palminteri: <I>Analyze This</I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="334"><div> Frankie Faison: <A HREF="id931.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hannibal"><U><I><B>Hannibal</B></I></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="347"><div> Mark Addy: <I>The Full Monty</I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="334"><div> Jennifer Coolidge: <A HREF="id619.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best In Show"><U><I><B>Best in Show</B></I></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Wanda Sykes: <I>Nutty Professor II: The Klumps</I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="334"><div> John Cho: <I><B>American Beauty</B></I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Greg Germann: <A HREF="id267.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sweet November"><U><I><B>Sweet November</B></I></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="334"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="334" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>