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Life

R Released Apr 16, 1999 1h 48m Comedy Drama List
52% Tomatometer 58 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
During Prohibition, loudmouth Harlem grifter Ray (Eddie Murphy) and the no-nonsense Claude (Martin Lawrence) team up on a bootlegging mission to Mississippi that could bring them big bucks. But they run into trouble when a crooked lawman hits them with a phony murder charge. Ray and Claude are given life sentences and shipped off to jail, where they must think of a way to prove their innocence and avoid the brutal guards while battling their biggest enemies -- their opposing personalities.
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Life

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Critics Consensus

Entertaining if not over-the-top humor from a solid comic duo provides plenty of laughs.

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Critics Reviews

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Globe and Mail Rated: 2/4 Mar 22, 2002 Full Review Rod Dreher New York Post This prison dramedy's muddled, episodic script seems to have gone on a hunger strike for humor! Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Life desperately wants to let Murphy and Lawrence be actors, but it can't imagine them as anything more than rowdy showmen. Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Cory Woodroof 615 Film Y’know, this was pretty solid. Kind of a funnier riff on The Shawshank Redemption, if not … well … as good. Feb 2, 2023 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...receives plenty of mileage out of the charming, engaging efforts of its two stars... Rated: 3/4 Jun 26, 2022 Full Review Anderson Jones The Advocate Life's base, easy laughs diminish an otherwise sweet fable about two guys who spend the rest of their lives together. Apr 19, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Daniel D Every time I see this movie playing on TV, I have to stop and watch the rest of it. It's a fantastic movie. Not many scripts like this one being made these day with laughs, drama and genuine friendship. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/10/24 Full Review Audience Member Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Sanna Lathan, and the late Bernie Mac taking place in 1932 New Orleans 2 inmates Claude Banks and Ray Gibson embark on a journey of friendship after being imprisoned after being accused of murder now they have to stick together in order to survive their life sentence Murphy and Lawrence are a dime a dozen The movie is full of laughs but also some tender moments considering these two are stuck with each other Maybe some aren’t meant to be free but live more freely being locked up If you have to rot in imprisonment it might as well be with someone you love/hate Like the movie or not these two comedians make it fun even though prison is hell for most Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/16/24 Full Review kirktheruler The old reviews of this movie are wild to read. It's a '90s blockbuster at this point. Solid 7.0/10. The production of this movie is also solid; I mean, look at the scene props. Cult classic ! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/08/23 Full Review Tabitha B Absolutely hilarious Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/11/23 Full Review Alissa H Probably one of the funniest movies I've ever seen Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/20/23 Full Review Kyle J WOW! ODD! How to bridge total historical race tragedy with fast talking and contrasting super comedy of two best comedians ever. It's odd. And you have to separate the extremes and think on both. Ultimately the upbeat genius says something. Thanks! I get it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Life

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Cast & Crew

Life

Life: Official Clip - The Real Killer Life: Official Clip - The Real Killer 2:48 Life: Official Clip - Never Said It Didn't Work Life: Official Clip - Never Said It Didn't Work 2:02 Life: Official Clip - I'm the Baby's Daddy Life: Official Clip - I'm the Baby's Daddy 2:28 Life: Official Clip - Claude's Plan Life: Official Clip - Claude's Plan 2:30 Life: Official Clip - Ray's Boom Boom Room Life: Official Clip - Ray's Boom Boom Room 3:00 Life: Official Clip - The Night Escape Life: Official Clip - The Night Escape 2:48 Life: Official Clip - The Cornbread Fight Life: Official Clip - The Cornbread Fight 2:45 Life: Official Clip - Standing on Bottles Life: Official Clip - Standing on Bottles 3:02 Life: Official Clip - The Decades Pass Life: Official Clip - The Decades Pass 1:58 Life: Official Clip - Biscuit's Release Papers Life: Official Clip - Biscuit's Release Papers 2:57 View more videos
Homegrown 44% 50% Homegrown Grace of My Heart 79% 79% Grace of My Heart Primary Colors 80% 64% Primary Colors The Hard Way 75% 53% The Hard Way Nothing to Lose 31% 68% Nothing to Lose Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis During Prohibition, loudmouth Harlem grifter Ray (Eddie Murphy) and the no-nonsense Claude (Martin Lawrence) team up on a bootlegging mission to Mississippi that could bring them big bucks. But they run into trouble when a crooked lawman hits them with a phony murder charge. Ray and Claude are given life sentences and shipped off to jail, where they must think of a way to prove their innocence and avoid the brutal guards while battling their biggest enemies -- their opposing personalities.
Director
Ted Demme
Producer
Brian Grazer, Eddie Murphy
Screenwriter
Robert Ramsey, Matthew Stone
Distributor
MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co
Imagine Entertainment, Universal Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 16, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$64.0M
Runtime
1h 48m
Sound Mix
SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround
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