All About the Benjamins

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All About the Benjamins ★★ 2002 (R)

Cube and Epps reteam (2000's “Next Friday”) as bounty hunter Bucum (Ice Cube) and two-bit con Reggie (Epps) who meet mobsters and mayhem in Miami in this hip-hop buddy flick. Bucum, who dreams of opening his own private-eye agency, is sent to track down Reggie, who seeks a lost lottery tickets which gets the mismatched duo mixed up in a diamond heist. As usual, Cube, straight man to Epps's clown, have the usual chemistry and deliver some amusing moments in this light caper comedy, but the director's penchant for gory violence interrupts the otherwise slapstick mood. The two leads would shine if not for being stuck in this nod to “Miami Vice” and Elmore Leonard without the character development and plot. Cube co-wrote with Levy. 98m/C VHS, DVD. US Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Tommy Flanagan, Eva Mendes, Carmen Chaplin, Roger Guenveur Smith, Anthony Michael Hall, Valarie Rae Miller, Bow Wow; D: Kevin Bray; W: Ice Cube, Ronald Lang; C: Glen MacPherson; M: John Murphy.