|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HOLLYWOOD HUES The Man has all the ingredients of good cinema. There is not an iota of needless footage, writes
Ervell E. Menezes
Not to be mistaken for that Irving Wallace classic in which a black becomes the United States President, The Man is a delightful comedy in which an affable dental supplies salesman is mistaken for a killer and hence all the hullabaloo. It’s a long while since one can unhesitatingly use the word "delightful" for a Hollywood film. But this is because The Man has all the ingredients of good cinema. First a good, imaginative screenplay, by Jim Pittock and Margaret, then some hilarious situations, two excellent actors and taut direction by Les Mayfield. There is not an iota of needless footage. Samuel L. Jackson is undercover federal agent Derrick Vann, a tough no-nonsense cop whose fs and bs flow like a river in spate. His wife has left him but he is married to the job. Still, he has problems with his superiors. When he runs into this loquacious salesman Andy Fidler (Eugene Levy), it is an unlikely twosome. But the change in the partnership and the veering of one under the influence of the other is just brilliantly charted out. Mistaken for "the man" (meaning the killer), Fidler is immediately arrested when he is in possession of a gun. Enter the monosyllabic federal agent Vann and the non-stop gabbing Fidler and the stage is set for this buddy-buddy film. Shades of Stewart Granger and Wendell Corey in The Wild North in the 1950s or Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin in Midnight Run more recently, this duo is simply astounding. But it is Eugene Levy who steals the show and grows on the viewer with each frame. Jackson of course is usual curt persona, since he caught the eye in Pulp Fiction but has to settle for the back seat in this odd but hilarious relationship. Their two totally different philosophies have a chance of blending, or do they? "Trust can get you dead," feels Vann but Fidler speaks of civility in the world and detests Vann’s abusive language. The big day is the speech the dental supplies salesman has to make. But what about the real killer? Well, it’s all neatly tied up (in just 102 minutes) and one could even put a red ribbon on top to enhance its market value. The best part of The Man is its conciseness. This is what filmmaking is all about. All you pathetic Hollywood potboiler toilers take note. Just don’t miss The Man.
|
