Life MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -3

Ray Gibson (Eddie Murphy) picks the wrong pocket when he steal a wallet from Claude Banks (Martin Lawrence). Both of them owe money to the owner of a 1930's speakeasy. To pay their debts, they accept a job to drive a supply of bootleg whiskey back to New York from Mississippi. But Ray loses their traveling money in a poker game. When the winner is killed, Ray and Claude are framed for the murder and sentenced to life on a Mississippi prison work farm. They spend the next forty years in various escape attempts, passing time and watching other prisoners leave. Although it has a few humorous moments, the constant bickering of the leads and the slow pace makes watching seem like a life sentence.

Ray is a pickpocket with dreams of owning his own nightclub. In one scene, his imagination helps other prisoners momentarily escape their surrounding to be part of his dream. At least two of the prisoners are admitted homosexuals and one is seen in Ray's dream dressed as a female performer. Claude is approached by a woman in a bar who he later talks about giving money after sex. She is later seen at the prison with Claude where she bribes the guard for a "conjugal visit." The guard issues a "temporary marriage license" since the visits are only for married prisoners. One warden's daughter is seen flirting with a prisoner and later shown pregnant. When the baby is black, all the prisoners claim to be the father. Murphy, noted for having a foul mouth in past films, frequently spews obscenities and racial slurs into the dialogue. Although the characters persevere in prison, filthy language in particular makes for a degrading LIFE.

Preview Reviewer: Paul Bicking
Distributor: Universal Pictures, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608