Release Year: 1997 Rating: R Duration: 98 minutes Director: Steve Oedekerk Producer: Martin Bregman, Dan Jinks, Michael Scott Bregman
synopsis
Nick Beam's life couldn't get any worse. He discovers he has been living a lie and is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. After being unceremoniously cuckolded, yuppified corporate flunky Nick fires up his SUV and sallies forth on a reckless ride to nowhere. En route, an equally desperate, chronically unemployed urbanite, T. Paul, ill-advisedly attempts to carjack Nick, only to be pulled inside and brought along on a wild journey that leads from the L.A. slums to the Arizona badlands.
cast
Kelly Preston as Ann Beam Martin Lawrence as Terrance Paul Davidson Rebecca Gayheart as Danielle Tim Robbins as Nick Beam
Nick Beam: [Whips out gun] Freeze suckerbitch!
Henry: That was much better.
Nick Beam: Thank you, Henry, see ya later.
T. Paul: What the hell is a suckerbitch?
Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence are certainly the oddest couple to come down the pike in a while. Mr. Susan Sarandon plays Nick Beam, a Southern California ad executive whose car is jacked by an unemployed electronics expert (Lawrence). The catch? Nick has just discovered his wife in bed with the boss. "Boy, did you pick the wrong guy on the wrong day." Click go the door locks, squeal go the tires, and you can take it from there. Yes, they become reluctant best buds. Yes, they become partners in crime. Yes, these and other ridiculous plot points are cheerfully telegraphed in advance by writer/director Steve Oedekerk (THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, ACE VENTURA 2: WHEN NATURE CALLS). Though the shaggy dog story grows increasingly (and distressingly) warm and fuzzy, Robbins and Lawrence have a remarkably playful chemistry. In fact, they're almost *too* playful. During several exchanges, the actors appear barely able to maintain straight faces. With John C. McGinley, Giancarlo Esposito, Kelly Preston, Michael McKean, and, whap!, Irma P. Hall.
