Down to Earth

December 10, 2004

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 86 min Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

This is a great date movie, but not a great movie to see with the guys. Keep that in mind if you decide to hit this one with your friends.

Down to Earth

Down to Earth isn’t an original movie by any means, in fact, its a remake of a remake, with some characters and situations changed, but the story left pretty much the same. Hollywood must really be running out of ideas.

Anyway, Chris Rock plays Lance Barton, a comic in New York who gets booed off the stage so often his nickname is “booey”. One evening while riding his bike he gets hit by a truck, here’s where Heaven get involved. Seems that he wasn’t actually supposed to die in the accident, and that Heaven made a mistake. To make up for the error, he’s allowed to return to earth by claiming a body of someone else who has recently died. After checking out various bodies without any luck, he decides to take up temporary residence in Charles Wellington, one of the richest men in America.

Charles happens to be white, which makes for some pretty amusing situations. You have to use your imagination most of the time though, as we very rarely see Wellington in the various situations. But the idea of a fat white guy doing stand up comedy in a black comedy club is mildly amusing.

The real reason Lance picked Wellington has nothing to do with the money, he did it to try and score with a woman named Sontee played by Regina King. Now you know the romance is gonna work out, so I’m not ruining anything here for you, but the very idea of a good looking young black woman falling for a 50-something fat white guy in just a few days is kinda stupid, unless of course you consider that he’s the 15th richest man in America. The story line says its true love, I think it must have been the bank account.

It’s not a great movie, but it’s also not as bad as the 2 star rating makes it seem. If you’re looking for something to take a girl to, this is the best pick in theaters right now. She’ll love it, and you won’t really mind. Otherwise, just wait for video.

Posted by John | Filed Under 2 Stars, Chris Rock, Comedy, Eugene Levy, Frankie Faison, Mark Addy, PG-13, Regina King, Theatrical