When I went to see ÒMoney Talks,Ó I felt sure that this bi-racial buddy comedy could be better than the similar ÒNothing to Lose.Ó I hated ÒNothing to LoseÓ with a passion, but I think now that I hate ÒMoney TalksÓ even more.
Lately, Charlie SheenÕs movies have gone to video faster than a Farrah Fawcett Playboy special, and ÒMoney TalksÓ should be no exception. SheenÕs career, if it ever existed, will probably continue its current decline.
Chris Tucker, SheenÕs co-star, on the other hand, is just embarking on his film career, and had better start picking funnier scripts. ÒMoney TalksÓ relied entirely too much on TuckerÕs trademark physical schtick for the film medium; he often appeared to be making weird bodily contortions for no reason at all.
The plot of ÒMoney TalksÓ was perhaps even weaker than that of ÒNothing to Lose.Ó Tucker plays a ticket broker operating mostly outside of the law. He is taken to jail, but when he is transported on a prison bus from one location to another, he is handcuffed to the person whose colleagues orchestrated the crash of the bus.
So, TuckerÕs life is spared, that is, until his saviors throw him out of their escape helicopter and follow his fall with machine gun fire.
Since he is suspected in the break, he is shown on television as a murderer, so he has nowhere to go. With no one else to turn to, he calls a TV news reporter (Sheen), who he met a few days before.
Sheen had recently been fired from his job, so he sees an exclusive with the suspected murderer as a way back on to his bossÕs good side. As with any comedy, this is where confusion ensues.
Since sweeps week is only a few days away, Sheen tries to hide Tucker during that time, not realizing how difficult itÕll be to hide a black guy among his wife-to-beÕs family of rich Italians.
There are even fewer funny scenes in ÒMoney TalksÓ than there were in ÒNothing to Lose,Ó and the chemistry between the two leads is completely nonexistent. The only respectable humor in the film comes from a four-way shootout at the end, with has entirely too much blood to laugh at in good conscience.
Chris Tucker is probably now confined to a career of television comedy specials, and Charlie Sheen ought to get roles previously reserved for soap stars. And I probably wonÕt watch either of them.
Grade: F