July 18, 1997

Nothing to Lose

By JANET MASLIN

im Robbins is tall enough to slouch with his elbow draped across Martin Lawrence's head, thus providing an advertising gimmick for their buddy movie "Nothing to Lose." Their odd-couple teamwork is also shown off to funny advantage by the film's two-minute trailers. As anyone who has seen these previews knows by now, Robbins plays a yuppie executive who is shocked to learn that his wife (Kelly Preston) is cheating on him. This makes him think that he has nothing to lose, hence the title.

Meanwhile, Lawrence plays the mugger who picks the wrong day to try robbing the newly nihilistic yuppie. "Boy," says Robbins's character, "did you pick the wrong guy on the wrong day."

The ads present these and other central moments (like both men being slapped by Irma P. Hall as Lawrence's mother) so well that the actual movie is almost an afterthought. Having fulfilled its obligation to deliver an easily summarized plot and amiable characters, Steve Oedekerk's formulaic comedy often seems to be doing little more than running out the clock.

There are unsurprising revelations, like the news that the mugger loves his family and would be an electrician if good jobs were easier to find. Bumbling villains (Giancarlo Esposito and John C. McGinley), evil colleagues (Michael McKean as Robbins's nicely ridiculous boss) and lovable relatives help while away time. Every minor character serves some purpose to the tidy plot.

A couple of women in small roles give the story a hint of raunchiness, even though its good-humored pratfalls mostly have a slapstick, kiddie-minded tone. For instance, there's a sequence in which Robbins does a wild dance to avoid a spider on his head and then accidentally sets his feet on fire. "You must be really fast," says a convenience store owner, taking a look at Robbins's singed shoes.

Lawrence and Robbins are cast in a way that recalls Richard Pryor-Gene Wilder comedies, matching a wild-eyed manic figure with a slow-burning straight man who'd better not be pushed too far. The stars are as funny as the risk-free material allows. Lawrence is best when he can rant freely and is not fettered by the screenplay's sentimental streak, its most perfunctory part. Robbins, unexpectedly at home in the buddy-movie milieu, shows laid-back ease and a slinky flair for well-timed pratfalls.

The film includes a scene in which the two buddies are locked in a building and accidentally spy on a night watchman. Thinking he is alone, the man bursts into a crazy little dance that recalls Oedekerk's writing and direction of the sloppy but exuberant "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls." Nothing else about "Nothing to Lose" is quite that free.

NOTHING TO LOSE

Rating: "Nothing to Lose" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes profanity, facetious violence, brief nudity and sexual situations.

Written and directed by Steve Oedekerk; director of photography, Donald E. Thorin; edited by Malcolm Campbell; music by Robert Folk; production designer, Maria Caso; produced by Martin Bregman, Dan Jinks and Michael Bregman; released by Buena Vista Pictures. Running time: 97 minutes. This film is rated R.

Cast: Martin Lawrence (T. Paul), Tim Robbins (Nick Beam), John C. McGinley (Davis "Rig" Lanlow), Giancarlo Esposito (Charlie Dunt), Kelly Preston (Ann), Irma P. Hall (Bertha) and Michael McKean (Phillip Barrow).