Nothing to Lose

Plot

Nick is an advertising executive in LA, working for his pal PB. When he comes home early from work one day he discovers his wife Anne, in bed with PB, and has a breakdown – and on a drive through town is mugged by ‘T’. Instead of giving in – he takes T on a wild ride to the desert of Arizona.

On the drive back, they strike up a friendship, and a plan to rob PB of the almost million dollars he has stored in his safe. Hijinks ensue as they try to get back to LA, they find themselves afoul of some highway robbers they have a similar appearance to.

Cast/Characters

Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence play the lead roles of Nick and T/Terence respectively.

They are joined by (pre Scrubs and Breaking ‘Badverse’) John C McGinley and Giancarlo Esposito as the pair of highway robbers.

Michael McKean and the late Kelly Preston appear as PB and Anne.

Screenplay/Setting/Themes

Quite enjoyable ‘buddy comedy’ – have the leads working well together with good banter. Robbins as the straight man who needs to loosen up a bit, and Lawrence as the goofball who needs to grow up a bit are perfectly cast.

There are plenty of moments that are laugh out loud funny – with great dialogue. From the local Sherriff (would you look at these crazy sunsofbitches – to Henry’s verbatim repeat of ‘T’’s threat as they rob the hardware store, and finally ‘there’s a spider on your head’ are just some of my favourites.

There is a bit of action – which also adds comedy – like Nick getting “shot” and, questionable physics aside, the seat on the ledge scene).

There is also a good balance of heart, especially in the third act when ‘T’ opens up about ‘going back to his life’.

There are a significant amount of coarse language, so probably not really suitable for those under the age of 13.

Score/Soundtrack

There is a great score that matches the tone of the film, like when Nick catches Anne cheating, and later kidnaps ‘T’. Another big up for me was the soundtrack, with a couple of songs which had the name of the movie in the lyrics. Another two fun moments are when Scatman plays, and Route 6…6 plays.

Overall

I forgot how much I genuinely enjoyed this movie. It is a fun film with just enough heart. There is a bit of silly cameo by the director in the middle of the film that I didn’t particular find funny – and a couple of noticeable mistakes and cliché’s that do take away from some scenes.

Still a strong recommend.

3.5/5