Nothing to Lose (1997)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Let me say this first as it should be the first thing critiqued for a comedy: the humor here is good. This isn't all typical American family mainstream movie humor, there are some really good moments mostly in situational comedy. Just Oedekeker putting himself in the film alone is a hilarious thought but the useless character and attributed scene are just hilariously pointless, and therefor very meaningful to such a comedy. But that's a detail. It's actually got suspense, is strong structurally, and as most Oedekerk motion pictures (ahem...that don't have THUMB in the title...) this has meaning and is very humane. Globally, it's a great coming together of two radically antagonistic leads and, naturally, the characters they play, while the two villain characters that follow their symmetry is a funny concept - it's well written, funny, with a point and whether as a comedy or as a film with its own tension and developments, it's just a good, strong movie.

Ever since I saw this at the theatre when I was 7 years old, this has been one of my favorite movies! Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence were awesome together! Robbins plays an advertising executive named Nick Beam who has a pretty good life and an awesome wife. One day when he comes home, he thinks he sees his wife and his boss having sex. After going into deep depression, he is almost mugged by a man named T. Paul. Nick turns the tables and kidnaps the robber. They soon become friends and come up with a plan to rob Nicks boss. They soon must deal with a pair of bad guys who also want the money. I highly recommend NOTHING TO LOSE!!!

This movie surprised me how entertaining it was. It's simple like most other mismatched buddy-flicks but this movie has a certain bit of extra, which not in the least thanks to its fine solid cast.Thank goodness it's not the type of comedy that forces its humor upon people. The comedy of the movie is more in the chemistry between Martin Lawrence and Tim Robbins. Yes, it sounds weird but Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence are really a great screen duo, with some nice comedy chemistry, that get themselves into some fun trouble when by coincidence embarking on a sort of road-trip together. Like in all road-movies, some crazy characters pop-up. The most sensational one's in this movie are being played by John C. McGinley and Giancarlo Esposito, who form a criminal-duo. The diversity of John C. McGinley as an actor is amazing. Just look at the list of movies he has done and the characters he has played.But the greatest power of the movie is the chemistry between the two main actors and their individual comical skills. Tim Robbins is a great serious actors, who just happens to like doing comedies as well from time to time. But on top of that he also really has talent for the genre. He knows how the deliver the lines in the right way and knows how to time his moments. Martin Lawrence also has been the sort of comical-actor who fun with his dialog. As a stand-alone actor and when he needs to carry a movie on his own he just isn't good enough but when he teams up with another great comical actor (for example as was the case with Will Smith in "Bad Boys"), he's truly at his best and most fun to watch.The story unfolded nicely and slowly. Nothing got forced and things just happened as they came along, such as always is the case in road-movies. It at the same time also makes the movie surprising, or at least not as predictable or formulaic as most other comedies. The movie has a couple of greatly build-up moments, some more subtle than the other, but always fun and in some cases even hilarious to watch. Look out for Irma P. Hall as Martin Lawrence's character's mother! It's true that the movie doesn't live up to its fine fast paced start but nevertheless the movie remains fun to watch throughout.It's a movie surprisingly well worth seeing!7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I've never really liked Steve Oedekerk. I want to give his movies a chance, but I'm not very happy with the fate and state of the second Ace Ventura film and I just am not into his humor. I've never really understood why physical violence, repetition and "silly"/stupid humor was funny. I remember watching this some years back, and, heck, I don't know, something in me just wanted to watch it again. I could remember the plot(well, the basics of it) and the majority of the jokes I could either remember in detail or they didn't seem familiar at all(meaning, I most likely didn't find them funny the first time I watched it). I believe the number of times I laughed while watching this could be counted on the hand of an overeager and careless teenager right after he's celebrated New Year's Eve or the 4th of July. And that might even be both viewings put together. But somehow... I never really wanted the movie to end. I never felt remotely like turning it off and I would be lying if I claimed to have been bored by it. The plot, sure, it's simple... but it works. It develops nicely, too, and, as stereotypical and ludicrous as these characters were... I kid you not, I felt for them. Oedekerk treads the fine line between melodrama and discreet character development masterfully. The dialog has moments of grandeur. The acting is credible. As lame as the following may sound... it is a pleasure to watch Oedekerk himself, in his little role, just getting wacky and zany. The man is clearly enjoying himself, and it's hard not to smile at, and not in a cruel way(though that may be what he intended). And could the movie possibly feature a better soundtrack? I don't think there was a single song that I didn't care for or thought didn't fit(and they all do seem to be songs... complete with lyrics... unusual, but it works, and it works *great*). To anyone not into the genre, I must warn you... some of it is, indeed, rap. It's not really dominating, though, and it's not that much of the music, anyway. Lawrence and Robbins have pretty good chemistry together... as buddy-comedy pairings go, this is one of the luckier ones. And to anyone else out there who have noticed John C. McGinley's name on the cast list and are hoping that he plays something similar to Dr. Cox... I can assure you, while he doesn't have an awful lot of screen-time, he does, in fact, portray a character possessing many of the same characteristics(well, let's be honest, he hardly ever plays something in the other end of the spectrum, anyhow... not that I mind, mind... you). All in all... I cannot, for the life of me, explain why, but this movie entertained me. I didn't laugh, but I never felt like I was wasting my time, either. Somehow, this just works, even if you don't care for the humor contained within. Oedekerk, you've shown a new side of yourself. I shall seek out more of your work to see if this was a lucky coincidence... or if you truly have that talent. I recommend this film... I don't know, I guess mainly to fans of Mr. Oedekerk, and possibly the actors Robbins, Lawrence and McGinley. 7/10