“Malibu’s Most Wanted” (Warner Brothers)
Fox TV star, Jamie Kennedy, has the lead role in the new film “Malibu’s Most Wanted.” He plays a white rapper. We aren’t talking Eminem caliber here; we are talking a bad rapper. This character thinks he is a boy from the hood, except his hood is Malibu, This makes for a funny movie for about five minutes and then it just gets tiresome.
In this movie you get stars the level of Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson inter-acting with Ryan O’Neal and Bo Derek. That is some range of talent, and a sure sign the movie is not going to be Oscar nominated. Add to that fact Kennedy is the star and you can ratchet up the irritation level about ten fold. The guy doesn’t know how not to be abrasive.
In the movie he plays O’Neal and Derek’s son. He is an embarrassment to them because O’Neal’s character is running for Governor of California. His press secretary (Blair Underwood) says B-rad (as Kennedy’s character calls himself) must go. He comes up with a scheme to hire two black actors to fake kidnapping B-rad and scare him enough to scare the black out of him. The actors he hires are played by Digs and Anderson (two very funny guys).
These two guys do “kidnap” B-rad and take him to the hood where a cousin (Regina Hall) of theirs lives. And there they begin to work on scaring B-rad into being white.
This all sounds funnier than it is. Kennedy looks much too old to be playing a teenager, and his scratchy voice could make us all age overnight. Anderson and Diggs do the best with what material they are given but it isn’t enough to brighten up or even save the movie. Hall comes across best and that is just because she is so cute and pretty.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
This movie is an equal opportunity offender. It will offend whites, blacks, men, women – you name it, it will offend them. Or maybe just bore them. All will be equally bored.
There are some funny moments toward the first of the movie but as it goes on the fun gets less and less. At least that is the way it affected me. “Malibu’s Most Wanted” certainly wasn’t wanted by me.
I scored “Malibu’s Most Wanted” an unwanted 3 out of 10.
