Nothing To Lose
"Welcome to HELL, beeeeeeeetch!"
Summary Capsule
Down on his luck white boy and up on his wit black guy plan the perfect crime
Justin's Rating: The Louisville Hotfoot
Justin's Review: What would you do if you lost everything you had - wife, job, your life - in the space of one day? What if you had that ironclad feeling of temporary insanity that would enable you to not give a flying crap about anything? What if you were the freakishly tall and liberal Tim Robbins in the movie Nothing To Lose?
There's honestly nothing to expect from this comedy premise. Nick (Robbins) has everything in life, when he comes home to find his wife in bed with his disgusting boss. With TITLE, he wanders around the city and ends up being mugged by T. Paul (Martin Lawrence), who in turn is hijacked by Nick. Nick, the sane white guy, has gone a bit loopy. T, the stereotypical black thief, turns out to be the stereotypical black thief with a heart of gold and an engineering degree.
Together, the two embark on a journey that explores the human spirit. With Martin Lawrence, you know that this metaphysical journey will be laced with repetitions of the F-word. Nick tries to teach T to be more intelligent in his robberies, while T tries to teach Nick to understand that there are logical and racial reasons why people have to resort to mugging. Heck, it's practically a patriotic duty, this film points out!
So there's nothing to expect from this crime caper/mismatched buddy flick, right? We've seen this type of thing a million times before, and plus Martin Lawrence isn't entertaining 8 flicks out of 9. But something actually works in Nothing To Lose. Perhaps it is that there is a presence of comedy, the type that can be classified next to "funny" and under "memorable". Not to be confused with the types of comedy that are morbidly depressing and extremely dull. Even after multiple viewings, I still get a deep belly laugh from Nick coming up with ways to flip off the security camera and his revenge on a very Happy statue.
Lots of little things make NTL a comfy sit in your fully-decked lazyboy. Robbins and Lawrence make good repartee, mocking each other's lives and differences with abandon. The two criminals who get confused with Nick and T are terrific as they are sinister and wily (and they listen to classical music, how's that for culture?). The final crime caper is a writhing bucket of craziness, and a good handbook for future criminals. The exchange between the pair and an old hardware store owner about which one of them was scarier is practically priceless. Plus, there is just a lot of fascination of seeing what a man will do when he has... NOTHING TO LOSE. Coming soon to a theater near you. Or my VCR and a bucket of KFC.
 1997 Rated R Buddy Comedy/Crime Caper Director
Starring
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The Route 66 song is interrupted when one guy gets out to pee
After the credits are finished a mailman brings a letter to the hillbilly who's gas station they robbed. The letter is marked "Hillbilly at the gas station". Inside is a few hundred dollars cash.
Running out of the hotel, Nick runs down the down escalator, while T is in the background running down the up escalator and falling
The Movie Store!
Nothing To Lose: Movie [VHS]
Nothing To Lose: Movie [DVD]
Nothing To Lose: Soundtrack [CD]
Groovy Quotes
Nick: We need our space. You kinda gross me out. In the beginning it was different. In the beginning it was better. But then I got to know you more, and I came to realize that you're a fat idiot.
Nick: It looks like Zippy is walking around crapping all over the place! Listen, when you're about to take a big bite out of a chocolate chip cookie, what is the last thing you want floating through your mind?
Zack: Excrement?
Ed: Excrement.
PB: [looking at a statue with a large phallis] What do you think?
Nick: I think it likes me.
T: Welcome to HELL, beeeeeeeetch! Car, keys, wallet, now!
Nick: Boy did you pick the wrong guy on the wrong day.
T: I'm a student of human nature.
Nick: You're a freak of human nature.
T: That's okay, I forgive you. It's clear you have woman problems.
T: What is "Beetle-headed"?
Nick: It's a synonym for stupid!
T: Well, here's a synonym for procreation...
Cop: If there's so much as a sneeze out there, I want to feel the mist!
T: There's a spider on your head.
Nick: I'm sorry, I'm not up on all your homeboy jive-talking lingo. What does that mean, there's a spider on my head?
T: It means, there's a spider on your head.
Nick: There is an onslaught of initials coming at me.
T. Paul: Okay, okay, no disrespect. What should I call her? "Monogamously challenged"?
Nick: You don't say "sorry" when you shoot somebody. You can say "sorry" when you step on someone's toe, or accidently break their glasses, or when you fart while they're eating.
T. Paul: I never noticed before, but you really got nice eyes.
Nick Beam: Shut up!
T. Paul: But you do!
T. Paul: [looking at Nick's flesh wound] Yo, maybe if you wrap your arm in ice they'll be able to reattach it!
T. Paul: Please stay with me forever Mr. Beam!
Mamma: What kind of man stays out till 2:30 in the morning and comes back looking like a bruised turd?
Nick: I'm actually grabbing a gun and going after bad guys.
If you liked this movie, try these:
48 Hours
Stakeout
Lethal Weapon
