Metascore
37 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 28
  2. Negative: 10 out of 28
  1. Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    80
    The movie made me laugh a lot anyway. It has a big, inventive cast of loons and a great premise.
  2. Mostly a lazy string of setups and sight gags, of tongue-in-cheek confrontations between the two stars that barely amount to sketches.
  3. Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    63
    This dispensable comedy has a few unexpectedly loopy surprises, including an outlandishly gay detective (played by versatile actor William Fichtner), who loves the Ice Capades but loathes insurance fraud.
  4. Best when DeVito plays off the supporting cast surrounding him.
  5. Actually boasts a decent script with character development, a sense of pace and some well-drawn supporting roles.
  6. Filmmakers run out of ideas long before the final.
  7. Reviewed by: Carla Meyer
    50
    This sometimes funny but ultimately convoluted movie would have benefited enormously from letting Lawrence loose.
  8. Reviewed by: Jay Carr
    50
    Supposed to be a cheeky little lark but instead runs a narrow gamut from labored to aimless.
  9. This frothy little crime comedy isn't half bad, bubbling with caper-farce energy supplied by a game ensemble cast and a source novel by prolific pulp writer Donald E. Westlake.
  10. 50
    I don't know when a bad movie has made me laugh as much as this one. Most of the gags are vintage silliness: foreign double talk, characters donning funny costumes, well-timed profanities.
  11. It simply isn't that funny or clever. For a comedy, that's about the worst that could happen
  12. 40
    Struggles for any kind of movement and cohesion -- and most of all for any kind of humor.
  13. Reviewed by: Tanya L. Edwards
    40
    Among the disconnected scenes are a few that are downright hilarious, and the actors do their best to rise above disjointed material.
  14. 40
    Lawrence forgoes his knack for verbal comedy and replaces it with crude nonstop mugging.
  15. Laborious in the unfolding of its plot, and under Sam Weisman's brash direction the unabashed amorality of the material is crass rather than sly in tone.
  16. 40
    The movie turns into a cobweb of tricky spins and twists that seems like a hip-hop version of "Ruthless People."
  17. Reviewed by: Robert Koehler
    40
    The star in this case is Martin Lawrence, who is not only thoroughly upstaged by nemesis Danny DeVito but is completely boxed out of his comfort zone for broad physical comedy.
  18. Certainly grows in its own right, into a coarse-grained summer vaudeville that could have been much smarter and sharper without losing its target audience.
  19. 38
    Packed with gratuitous dumb moments -- which is too bad, given that the premise has promise.
  20. 38
    Dumbed down to the point where it's barely recognizable as coming from one of Donald Westlake's John Dortmunder novels.
  21. 33
    A film with almost zero redeeming value.
  22. Reviewed by: Robert Horton
    30
    The movie is a mess.
  23. Now and then sputters to comic life but more usually wheezes along.
  24. 25
    Too many characters, not enough plot, and a disconnect between the two stars' acting styles.
  25. 20
    Comes off as a desperate attempt to breathe life into dull proceedings.
  26. I'd rather watch a forgotten houseplant dehydrate and die.
  27. Maybe the worst thing that can happen is that every other movie at the multiplex will be sold out this weekend.