Over the years, I've been impressed by Eddie Murphy's ability to play dramatic roles as much as comic ones. His teaming with Martin Lawrence in a couple of movies could have turned that into a modern black version of Hope and Crosby, but filmmakers did not go there. This film is a serious look at the lives of two men whose sudden intercrossing in life finds them forever linked thanks to the accusations after being found standing over a dead body and their lifetime prison sentence. The real killer is one of the men who comes upon them and of course crosses paths with them many years later which results in a truly surprising twist.
There are some very disturbing moments in this film, starting with the scene where the two men stopped into a roadside diner for coffee and pie and find nothing but racist epithets thrown at them, and finally a shotgun in their face held by a nasty waitress. Life in prison has them trying to escape several times, and a montage of various prisoners dying is shown by simply having them fade off of the film, quite a profound idea.
A funny moment has the men stepping forward claiming paternity when the white daughter of the superintendent gives birth to a black baby, causing even the white prison guards to laugh. When Murphy and Lawrence are moved to the local governor's mansion, another guard indicates sadness at seeing them leave, adding subtle hints of humanity the characters that normally are one dimensional bigoted monsters. Ned Beatty as the governor adds another memorable character to his credits, involved in a twist that I didn't forsee coming and gives a unique twist on the usual claims of unfairness in history.
Going from 1932 up into the 1980s, this is a social document of rough changes in society, and when Lawrence and Murphy see what the world outside prison has become, it's major culture shock. I wouldn't call this a great film, but it is one that has many great moments. Being more familiar with Murphy's work then Lawrence's, it was sometimes difficult to forget that he was playing a character because in many ways, Murphy often seems to be playing Murphy. But when those moments come where that element disappears, He is superb, and the makeup which ages both actors is quite good. I did find the film to be a little slow at times, and perhaps some tweaking in the script could have made this a modern classic rather than just a good film to watch and file away.
There are some very disturbing moments in this film, starting with the scene where the two men stopped into a roadside diner for coffee and pie and find nothing but racist epithets thrown at them, and finally a shotgun in their face held by a nasty waitress. Life in prison has them trying to escape several times, and a montage of various prisoners dying is shown by simply having them fade off of the film, quite a profound idea.
A funny moment has the men stepping forward claiming paternity when the white daughter of the superintendent gives birth to a black baby, causing even the white prison guards to laugh. When Murphy and Lawrence are moved to the local governor's mansion, another guard indicates sadness at seeing them leave, adding subtle hints of humanity the characters that normally are one dimensional bigoted monsters. Ned Beatty as the governor adds another memorable character to his credits, involved in a twist that I didn't forsee coming and gives a unique twist on the usual claims of unfairness in history.
Going from 1932 up into the 1980s, this is a social document of rough changes in society, and when Lawrence and Murphy see what the world outside prison has become, it's major culture shock. I wouldn't call this a great film, but it is one that has many great moments. Being more familiar with Murphy's work then Lawrence's, it was sometimes difficult to forget that he was playing a character because in many ways, Murphy often seems to be playing Murphy. But when those moments come where that element disappears, He is superb, and the makeup which ages both actors is quite good. I did find the film to be a little slow at times, and perhaps some tweaking in the script could have made this a modern classic rather than just a good film to watch and file away.