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Rent Malibu's Most Wanted on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, or buy it on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video.
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The son of a wealthy politician (Ryan O'Neal), Brad Gluckman (Jamie Kennedy) tries to emulate urban street culture and aspires to be a rapper, going by the name of "B-Rad." In order to discourage Brad from pursuing his thug-inspired antics, his dad hires two African-American actors, Sean (Taye Diggs) and PJ (Anthony Anderson), to pose as gang members and introduce the naïve youth to real ghetto life. Things don't go as planned when it becomes clear that Sean and PJ are as sheltered as Brad.
Rating:PG-13 (Sexual Humor|Language May Offend|Violence)
The world needs stupid movies. You may be thinking that I'm crazy and that there's something wrong with me. But, bear with me here. Actually, I don't really have a justification for my thoughts on this. I will say, however, that you can make a stupid movie that's actually legitimately good. And by stupid I don't mean like Adam Sandler stupid, the guy has built an entire career on that. I just mean silly movies that rely completely on goofy characters and even goofier situations. You can make a good comedy out of these elements. Undercover Brother (a severely underrated film, in my opinion) comes to mind, immediately. Hot Rod comes to mind as well. Wet Hot American Summer is another. I digress, the point is that it can be done. This brings us to this movie. Admittedly speaking, prior to watching this, I was expecting to hate it. I had seen it once before, like when it first came out on DVD, but it's been over a decade since then and I, really, have absolutely no recollection of this movie whatsoever. I don't remember if I hated it or if I liked it. I remember some scenes, but not enough to make a real determination on it. Having said all of that, and the fact that I've never been the biggest Jamie Kennedy fan, this movie was actually surprisingly decent all things considered. Yes, this movie looks, and reads, like an unmitigated disaster. A wanna-be white rapper, from the tough streets of Malibu, bringing embarrassment to his father and his campaign for governor, finds himself in the real 'hard streets' as it were. These two actors, hired by Brad's father's campaign manager, attempt to play these gang bangers in order to scare the white out of Brad. Again, it sounds kinda awful and not necessarily racially sensitive. But, in execution, the movie has some entertaining scenes and good ideas to play with to be sure. I will say this right out of the gate, Jamie Kennedy, in all honesty, is really kind of annoying in the role of B-Rad. But it's an endearing sort of annoying. I don't really even know how to explain it. Sort of like a Steve Urkel type, except I find Jaleel White more likable than Jamie Kennedy. I'd like to compare Kennedy's performance to Sandler's performance as Jill in Jack and Jill or his performance in Little Nicky. Those are the types of annoying performances that you just wanna go through the screen and just strangle Sandler. Kennedy doesn't ever come close to reaching that level here. I'm not saying he's hilarious in this movie or anything, like I said he's still somewhat annoying, but it never reaches Sandler levels and that's all I can ask for. The character of B-Rad, honestly, feels more suited to a sketch show, which Jamie Kennedy had around this time as well. So it wouldn't surprise me if this character originated there and they found the character so entertaining that they felt it'd be a good idea to give him a full-length film. That's never a good idea, as characters who originated on sketch shows have a sketchy (heh) track record when it comes to basing feature-length films around them. A lot of the best stuff really happens in spite of Jamie Kennedy. I found Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson to be the best part of the entire movie. Their chemistry is excellent and they really did make me laugh quite a bit in some scenes as these actors who are in way over their head playing gang bangers. The film has some interesting ideas about the roles black actors and actresses usually play, but those are, really, only limited to one scene where Sean laments the fact that he's still getting the same roles as a gang banger. The movie also plays with cultural appropriation but, again, it's relatively minor in the long run. The film is more about being true to who you are, regardless of who that person may be. So, at least, it's a good message, even if I would have used another character to tell this story. I don't wanna say the movie is good, because it's not, but it's better than I could have expected. I'm sure most movie nerds will hate this, but I was perfectly fine with it. I'd even recommend it if you're in the mood for something that's rich in silliness. Not a perfect movie, for sure, but it's perfectly decent with some entertaining scenes.
It made me laugh for a tiny bit but it is still a mindless film. One of those "I always wanted to make a film about..." films.
Super Reviewer
Jan 22, 2012
Jaime Kennedy's magnum opus about a white kid/wannabe/ghetto hood makes valid social commentary while garnering a few chuckles. Its point is made by the fact that everyone by now knows a least one somebody "keepin it real!" who really ain't, but don't know it yet.
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