This article is missing information about the film's production.(July 2016) |
All About the Benjamins | |
---|---|
Directed by | Kevin Bray |
Written by | Ice Cube Ronald Lang |
Produced by | Matt Alvarez Ice Cube |
Starring | Ice Cube Mike Epps Eva Mendes Tommy Flanagan |
Cinematography | Glen MacPherson |
Edited by | Suzanne Hines |
Music by | John Murphy |
Production company | |
Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $15 million |
Box office | $26 million [1] |
All About the Benjamins is a 2002 American buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Bray, starring Ice Cube and Mike Epps as a bounty hunter and a con artist who join forces to find a group of diamond thieves: the former for glory, and the latter to retrieve a lost winning lottery ticket. The film was released in theaters in March 2002 to negative reviews. Despite this, the film was a moderate box office hit. The film's title was taken from the popular 1997 hip-hop song performed by Puff Daddy "It's All About the Benjamins". Ice Cube and Mike Epps also starred together in the Friday series and the (2009) film Janky Promoters .
Tyson Bucum is a bounty hunter trying to acquire the funds to start a private investigation firm, and Reggie is a small-time hustler and bail skipper previously apprehended by Bucum three times. Reggie lives with Gina, his trusting girlfriend. One day, Reggie buys a lottery ticket and wins $60 million. However, he spots diamond thieves running away, and he hides in their van. Reggie escapes the thieves but runs into Bucum. The two of them cannot stand each other, but they team up to retrieve Reggie's wallet with the lottery ticket, and to catch the diamond thieves and recover the diamonds.
All About the Benjamins received generally mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 31% of 74 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.4/10.The website's consensus reads: "A sloppy, poorly directed action-comedy, All About the Benjamins is too derivative and gratuitously violent." [2] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 34 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [3]
Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine wrote that: "[T]he film simultaneously embraces and rejects the dog-whistle vaudeville of Rush Hour and the testosterone overload of Bad Boys , and the result is an absurd, sometimes elegant look at cultural emancipation via the buck." [4] Entertainment Weekly 's Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the movie an overall C− grade, writing that: "I don't know if Cube is melting as he warms up his persona to be all things to all audiences — tough but tender, rap-real but corporate-ready — or if Epps' off-spin, discount-Tucker prattle is slowing Cube's game. But something puddles to nothing in this relentless Miami sun." [5] Russell Smith of The Austin Chronicle criticized the film for being "another slice off the increasingly stale buddy-pic loaf" that came after 48 Hrs. , highlighting the "random disconnectedness" of the action scenes as "downright insulting" and the nasty violence for coming across as "benignly cartoonish silliness". [6]
A soundtrack containing hip hop and rhythm and blues music was released on February 19, 2002 by New Line Records. It peaked at #65 on the Billboard 200 and #12 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[ citation needed ]
Baby Boy is a 2001 American coming-of-age hood drama film directed, written and produced by John Singleton, and starring Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg, Ving Rhames, Omar Gooding, A.J. Johnson and Taraji P. Henson. The film follows Joseph "Jody" Summers (Gibson), a 20-year-old bike mechanic as he lives and learns in his everyday life in the hood of Los Angeles.
Barbershop is a 2002 American comedy-drama film and the first installment in the Barbershop series directed by Tim Story and written by Mark Brown, Don D. Scott and Marshall Todd, from a story by Brown. It was produced by George Tillman Jr., Robert Teitel and Brown. The film stars Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, Leonard Earl Howze, Keith David and Cedric the Entertainer. Its plot revolves around the social life in a barbershop on the South Side of Chicago.
What's the Worst That Could Happen? is a 2001 comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and starring Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito. Loosely based on a book by Donald E. Westlake, the film follows the misadventures of a skilled thief and a wealthy businessman facing financial trouble. The film did not meet expectations and performed poorly commercially.
Higher Learning is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by John Singleton and starring an ensemble cast. The film follows the changing lives of three incoming freshmen at the fictional Columbus University: Malik Williams, a track star who struggles with academics; Kristen Connor, a shy and naive girl; and Remy, a lonely and confused man seemingly out of place in his new environment.
Next Friday is a 2000 American stoner comedy film and the sequel to the 1995 film Friday. It is the first film to be produced by Ice Cube's film production company Cube Vision, and to be written by Cube himself. It was directed by Steve Carr and stars Ice Cube, Mike Epps, John Witherspoon, Tamala Jones, and Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. It is the second installment in the Friday series. It tells the story of Craig Jones as he goes to live with his uncle, who just won the lottery, and cousin in Rancho Cucamonga after the neighborhood bully Deebo escapes from prison where Craig contends with three criminal brothers known as the Joker Brothers. Next Friday was theatrically released on January 12, 2000, grossing $59 million worldwide. The film has received generally negative reviews from critics.
Save the Last Dance is a 2001 American dance film produced by MTV Films, directed by Thomas Carter and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas as a teenage interracial couple in Chicago who work together to help Stiles' character train for a Juilliard School dance audition.
XXX: State of the Union (released as XXX2: The Next Level and XXX: State of Emergency outside North America) is a 2005 American action spy film directed by Lee Tamahori and a sequel to the 2002 film XXX. It is the second installment of the XXX film series, and was produced by Revolution Studios for Columbia Pictures.
The Players Club is a 1998 American dark comedy drama thriller film written and directed by Ice Cube in his feature film directorial debut. In addition to Ice Cube, the film stars Bernie Mac, Monica Calhoun, Jamie Foxx, John Amos, A. J. Johnson, Alex Thomas, Charlie Murphy, Terrence Howard, Faizon Love and LisaRaye McCoy in her first starring role.
Euphemia LatiQue"Tika" Sumpter is an American actress and producer. Sumpter began her career as the host of Best Friend's Date. From 2005 to 2010, she appeared in the daytime soap opera One Life to Live. In 2010, she made her film debut in Stomp the Yard: Homecoming and later featured in supporting roles for What's Your Number? (2011), Sparkle (2012), and A Madea Christmas (2013).
Love & Basketball is a 2000 American romantic sports drama film written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood in her feature film directorial debut. The film is produced by Spike Lee and Sam Kit and stars Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps. It tells the story of Quincy McCall (Epps) and Monica Wright (Lathan), two next-door neighbors in Los Angeles, who are pursuing their respective basketball careers before eventually falling for each other.
ATL is a 2006 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film, and the feature film directorial debut of music video director Chris Robinson. The screenplay was written by Tina Gordon Chism from an original story by Antwone Fisher, and is loosely based on the experiences of the film's producers Dallas Austin and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins growing up in Atlanta, Georgia (ATL). The film is a coming-of-age tale concerning Rashad, played by Atlanta native and hip hop artist T.I. in his film debut, and his friends in their final year in high school and on the verge of adulthood. The film also stars Antwan Andre Patton, more commonly known as Big Boi of the hip hop group OutKast; Evan Ross; Jackie Long; Jason Weaver; Lauren London; and Mykelti Williamson.
Half Nelson is a 2006 American drama film directed by Ryan Fleck and written by Fleck and Anna Boden. The film stars Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie. It was scored by Canadian band Broken Social Scene. 26-year-old Gosling was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, becoming the seventh-youngest nominee in the category at the time.
Bad Company is a 2002 American action-comedy film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins. The film became somewhat famous for its connections to the September 11th terrorist attacks; amongst other things, it was the last major production to film inside the original World Trade Center. The film plot, written years before the attacks, involved a variety of Serbo-Balkan extremists planning a huge attack in New York City. The film's release date was moved out of its late 2001 spot and into a summer 2002 release, similar to several other films with terrorism or violent crime-related stories, including Collateral Damage.
I Got the Hook-Up is a 1998 American crime comedy film, starring Anthony Johnson, Master P, Ice Cube, C-Murder and directed by Michael Martin. This was No Limit Records' first theatrical release. The film was distributed by Dimension Films.
Lucky Numbers is a 2000 black comedy film directed by Nora Ephron. It stars John Travolta, Lisa Kudrow, Tim Roth, Ed O'Neill, Michael Rapaport, Richard Schiff, Daryl Mitchell, Bill Pullman, and Michael Moore in a rare acting role.
Marci X is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin, written by Paul Rudnick, and starring Lisa Kudrow as Jewish-American Princess Marci Feld, who has to take control of a hip-hop record label, as well as the controversial rapper Dr. S, played by Damon Wayans. The film was produced by Klasky Csupo and Reno & Osborn Films and released on August 22, 2003, by Paramount Pictures. It received negative reviews and was a box office flop, grossing $1.7 million worldwide against a $20 million budget.
Friday After Next is a 2002 American stoner comedy film directed by Marcus Raboy and starring Ice Cube, Mike Epps, John Witherspoon, Don "D.C." Curry, Anna Maria Horsford, and Clifton Powell. It is the third installment in the Friday trilogy as tells the story of Craig and his cousin Day-Day getting jobs as security guards at a shopping center when a robber dressed as Santa Claus breaks into their apartment and steals their presents and the rent money that is to be given to their landlady. The film was theatrically released on November 22, 2002, to generally negative reviews.
Perfume is a 2001 American film directed by Michael Rymer, and featuring an ensemble cast, starring Paul Sorvino, Leslie Mann, Jeff Goldblum, Mariel Hemingway, Rita Wilson, Jared Harris, Joanne Baron and Michelle Williams. All dialogue was improvised by the actors. The film premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
Lottery Ticket is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Erik White and starring Bow Wow, Brandon T. Jackson, Naturi Naughton, Keith David, Charlie Murphy, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Terry Crews, Mike Epps, Loretta Devine and Ice Cube. The story follows a young man from Atlanta who wins a $370 million lottery, and soon realizes that people from the neighborhood are not his real friends, but are after his money.
Michael Elliot Epps is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He played Day-Day Jones in Next Friday and its sequel, Friday After Next, and also appeared in The Hangover and The Hangover Part III as "Black Doug". He was the voice of main character Boog in Open Season 2, replacing Martin Lawrence, with whom he starred in the comedy Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, playing "Reggie", cousin of Roscoe. He played Lloyd Jefferson "L.J." Wayne in the films Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). He has had starring roles in the sitcoms Uncle Buck and The Upshaws.