My review of "Life (1999)"

Recently, I was able to watch Eddie Murphy's 1999 movie Life on Netflix. I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I saw the summary for this movie. It was a movie starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence so I naturally thought it would be a comedy but it's kind of a mix of drama and comedy.

This movie is about Ray Gibson, played by Eddie Murphy and Claude Banks, played by Martin Lawrence. Claude is a guy getting out of trouble and recently got a job at a bank. Ray on the other hand is a con man trying to have fun. The two have a knack for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Combine your bad luck duo together and you have a disaster waiting to happen.

That's exactly what happens when they meet. They get caught up with a local crime boss that forces the two to mule liquor from the south to New York. The two get the liquor but of course they again fall into the wrong place at the wrong time. I won't give too much away but they get put away for life in prison.

The movie really starts up in prison. The two obviously try to get out of prison and there's a whole bunch of hi-jinx with them and their fellow prisoners.

This movie wasn't as funny as I thought it was going to be. It has some pretty funny moments but I wouldn't say they were laugh out loud moments. The thing was that all of the actors were very charismatic in their portrayals of their characters and this is what really makes the movie.

It's really a movie about friendship. Understanding that you may not get exactly what you want in life but you should at least appreciate what you have. It's also a social commentary of prison life and how black people were treated back in the day. What they try to make light of in this movie was and is a reality for many black Americans today.

They don't go into details about how this is still a problem that isn't being fixed. The story of the movie has to be told after all. It would be too much of a convoluted story if they did.

Nevertheless, it is a wholesome story that has some foul language so I'm not totally sure if this is exactly a family film. I would say it could be if they changed some of that. Then again the colorful language kind of makes the characters feel more believable and alive.

Incidentally, they also had a pretty diverse set of minor characters. Each having their own challenges and situations. The movie added a few elements to these minor characters that I didn't think they needed to but it all added to the realness of their prison life.

I kind of laughed at the fact that it was narrated by the old man in the beginning of the movie because it sort of sounded like he wanted to be Morgan Freeman from Shawshank Redemption. That was a nice touch and there were a few nods to other prison flicks that I've seen in the past as well. Although, I don't remember prison movies going through that many years in a prisoner's life.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie from start to finish. There was a great cast that kept the movie alive and fresh for the viewers. Again this isn't a full comedy, there are some serious commentary hidden in this movie. I think a lot of people would be able to enjoy this movie but I wouldn't say it's for everyone. I will have to give this movie a 7 out of 10. It's good and I can say you'll have a good time watching it.