THE MAN
US, 2005, 83 minutes, Colour.
Samuel L. Jackson, Eugene Levy, Luke Gloss, Miguel Ferrer, Anthony Mackie.
Directed by Les Mayfield.
At only 83 minutes, this comedy is not setting itself up to be the laugh triumph of the year. Rather, it is a modest comedy/thriller, a variation on The Odd Couple, setting the pair in the middle of a police investigation of gun-running in Detroit.
Eugene Levy is a talented comedian. He can do deadpan with the touch of the ingenuous perfectly. He is a master of the double-take. Just check out his performances in Best in Show or The Mighty Wind or even his naïve father in the American Pie series. Here he is a genial, if earnestly single-minded and proper, salesman for dental products from Wisconsin in Detroit for a convention. He is mistaken for an agent for illegal arms sales.
The person who should have been at the rendezvous is Samuel L.Jackson as an intense, humourless, take-no-prisoners cop. He has no hesitation in press-gang methods and the poor salesman finds himself caught in the middle of a set-up and a sting. So, the comedy is the contrast between the good salesman and the relentless cop. It involves being shot, car chases, confrontations with ruthless criminals, being sick, arguments, impersonations as well as a visit to the cop’s ex-wife and daughter and going to her ballet performance – and, of course, despite all odds, mission accomplished.
Jackson plays his role as professionally as he does in any serious drama and, therefore, serves as a strong foil for Levy’s distress. The main villain is once again, of course, British (Luke Goss).
It wouldn’t matter if you missed it but, of its kind, it is an amusing Odd Couple scenario.
1. A brief comedy? An odd couple? Sparring partners? The drama, the comedy?
2. The Detroit settings, the streets, cafes, police precincts, warehouses, convention centres, schools? A credible background for this kind of comedy? Atmospheric musical score?
3. The title, the jokes about who was the man, the jargon of the streets, the man, the bitch…?
4. The focus on Andy Fidler, at home, his wife, his rehearsing his speech about dental products? On the plane, his compulsion to talk, give away samples? The hotel, reading USA Today, getting the gun contact? The changing of his life, the encounter with Vann? His being taken in, being used, the slapstick comedy for Andy and his plight? The interactions with Van? His being the simple soul, his attempts to escape, the driving of the car while handcuffed, his flatulence, eating red meat? The visit to Vanns’s wife and daughter and his getting on well with the daughter? His saying that he always made friends with everybody eventually? His encounter with Joey, the phone calls, the mishaps with depositing the gun in the rubbish, the restaurant? The murders? His final confrontation, taking over, having Vann as his bitch? The success of the sting? His being in the water, in the pool? His finally getting away? The pressure by the authorities that he finger Vann, being wired, Vann realising this? The showdown, avoiding the bullets, the happy ending? His going to the airport – and Vann with his bullet fingering Andy to be searched? Eugene Levy’s presence, the stodgy businessman, genial, good-natured, rising to the occasion, suffering humiliation, being shot? Helping the police?
5. Vann, Samuel L. Jackson in his tough mode, undercover, drug deals? His taking on the commission, getting the money from resources? His going to meet Joey? The mishaps, his taking Andy, the rough treatment, shooting him, handcuffing him, pursuing him as he drove the car? Vann and his using his wits, discovering the dead dealer, his contact with Booty, chasing him with the car, hitting him? His later finding that Booty had been killed? The plan for setting up the gun deal? Using Andy, the phone calls, the authorities watching him? His having to be submissive to Andy? The role reversal, the set-up? The escape? The final shoot-out? The friendship with Andy, visiting his ex-wife, his daughter, eventually going to the ballet performance? His being changed by his experience with Andy?
