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(About Our Ads) "ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS" (2002) (Ice Cube, Mike Epps) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Heavy Extreme *Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Minor Mild *None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Mild None Mild Extreme QUICK TAKE: Comedy/Action: A bounty hunter reluctantly teams up with a con artist he's been pursuing to get to the bottom of a multi-million dollar diamond crime. PLOT: Bucum Jackson (ICE CUBE) is a maverick bounty hunter who dreams of opening his own detective agency one day, but until then must put up with his bail bondsman boss, Martinez (ANTHONY GIAIMO), telling him he should take on a partner, a point his coworker, Pam (VALARIE RAE MILLER), thinks is a good idea. His latest assignment is to find and bring in Reggie Wright (MIKE EPPS), a petty con man who pulls off convenience store shoplifting crime with the aid of senior citizens when not buying lottery tickets for his live-in girlfriend, Gina (EVA MENDES). Reggie and Bucum have a long, cat and mouse history together, and the pursuit and fleeing begins once again. This time, however, Reggie ends up in the back of a van, hidden from the view of criminals Ursula (CARMEN CHAPLIN) and Ramose (ROGER GUENVEUR SMITH) who've just killed several people to steal millions of dollars worth of diamonds. The only problem is, the diamonds turn out to be fakes and the two know that their boss, Robert Williamson (TOMMY FLANAGAN), will be none too happy about that. When they discover Reggie in the van, he acts like he knows where the real diamonds so that he can escape, but unknowingly leaves his wallet behind. Since Ursula opened fire on Bucum during their departure from the crime scene, he's now interested in catching them as a means to some free publicity for himself. Meanwhile, upon learning that he had the winning lottery ticket in his wallet, Reggie wants to find them so that he can retrieve it. From that point on, the two men then reluctantly agree to become partners of sorts so that they can succeed in their respective quests. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of someone in the cast, they probably will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For strong violence, pervasive language and brief sexuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: ICE CUBE plays a bounty hunter who feels under-appreciated and under-paid and wants to open his own detective agency. In the meantime, he sets out to find and bring in Reggie, but then finds himself involved in a much bigger and more dangerous case. He uses strong profanity and kills several bad guys. MIKE EPPS plays a petty con man who's always on the make and/or attempting to elude Bucum. After inadvertently getting himself involved with some dangerous criminals, he attempts to retrieve his lost wallet that contains a winning lottery ticket. While doing so, he makes all sorts of jokes, acts goofily and uses strong profanity. TOMMY FLANAGAN plays the head criminal who's upset with everyone when he doesn't get the real diamonds. He's responsible for several murders (through his own doing or through his workers) and uses strong profanity. CARMEN CHAPLIN plays his lover and subordinate who uses strong profanity and shoots and kills a person. ROGER GUENVEUR SMITH plays her partner who also shoots and kills several people. EVA MENDES plays Reggie's girlfriend who wants him to find their winning lottery ticket. VALARIE RAE MILLER plays Bucum's coworker who wants to be his partner. ANTHONY GIAIMO plays Bucum's boss who wants him to get a partner. He also uses strong profanity. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated comedy/action film. Profanity consists of at least 151 "f" words, along with many other expletives and colorful phrases. Some sexually related dialogue is present, as is a brief head and shoulders shot of a man and woman having sex while standing (with movement and sounds). Other women are occasionally seen in revealing attire. Violence is listed as extreme due to several people being shot and wounded or killed (with bloody results), attempts on people's lives and various scenes of fighting or striking others. Some of those scenes could be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, but most are played in an action comedy style rather than in graphic or suspenseful realism. Those who participate in such behavior have extreme cases of bad attitudes, and even the film's "heroes" end up breaking the law in the end. Several characters drink and/or smoke, while some brief drug references are made. Meanwhile, some imitative behavior is also present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, we suggest that you more closely examine our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Some people drink in a bar where Bucum has a beer. While Reggie pretends that he's the President, he makes the motion of smoking an imaginary joint. When making a transaction with Williamson, Reggie says he wants his bag back since that's "where I keep my weed." Williamson and others have drinks. Reggie opens some champagne. BLOOD/GORE Some blood squirts out as people are shot. Later, we see some of their blood on some steps and concrete. Ramose's hand, arm and shirt are bloody after he's shot. We see a dead woman in a bubble bath with some bloody marks on her neck. A bad guy who's been hit several times has some blood on his head. Blood splatters onto a wall as a man is shot. A man purposefully shoots his girlfriend in the forehead, killing her (we see the bloody bullet hole). We see some blood on the deck of a boat. Bucum repeatedly shoots a bad guy in the chest, killing him (with bloody results). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Williamson, Ramose and Ursula have extreme cases of both for nonchalantly killing various people and committing other crimes. Bucum drops trash from his car and then pushes it beneath it (littering). Various people try to shoot Bucum while he does his job of rounding up a criminal-at-large. An old Bugs Bunny cartoon shows a typical (for the time) caricature of a black character. Bucum tells Pam that you have to be old or Puerto Rican to win the lottery. Reggie is a petty con artist who eats some chips before buying them and employs some old ladies to shoplift for him (and mockingly imitates the store's owner). He steals someone's motorized scooter while fleeing from Bucum, and steals items from a safe he discovers in a person's house that he's illegally entered (with Bucum). Some viewers may take offense at Reggie (who's handcuffed and told to jump from a boat in storage down to the floor) saying he doesn't want to end up like Christopher Reeve (the actor who's paralyzed from a horse riding accident). The same holds true for a character asking another if he's "retarded or something." Bucum and Reggie end up taking a great deal of money that isn't theirs. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" and/or "Blood/Gore" may also be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, but most of the violence is played in an action comedy style rather than in graphic or suspenseful realism. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Shotguns/Rifles/Stun gun/Missile: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill people or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Don't you f*cking move," "F*ck what you're talking about," "I hate this f*cking job," "You f*cking twit," "Do you think I'm f*cking stupid?" "F*cked up," "Who the f*ck are you?" "Mark my f*cking words," "You've got to be f*cking kidding me," "Un-f*cking believable," "Let's get the f*ck out of here," "What took you so f*cking long?" "We're gonna f*ck you up," "You f*cked him up," "What is this f*cking sh*t?" "What the f*ck is this sh*t?" "F*ck off," "I wouldn't give a flying f*ck," "F*ck you," "Take it up the ass, m*therf*cker," "So f*cking what?" "F*ck all that," "Shut the f*ck up," "You're f*cking crazy," "(That's) Bullsh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Stop bullsh*tting," "Dipsh*t," "Shoveling sh*t," "Full of sh*t," "Piece of sh*t," "What the hell /are you watching/are you looking at/is wrong with you/are you talking about/was that?" "What's shaking? Nothing but ass," "Nigger" (said by black people), "Poop dog," "Skinny ass," "Bitch" (said about women, toward a man, and a boat), "Shake your ass," "Tight ass," "Smart ass," "Bad ass," "Dumb ass," "Hell, no," "Shut up," "Punk," "Bastard," "Raggedy ass," "Black ass," "Are you screwing with me?" "Monkey ass," "Are you retarded or something?" "Punk ass," "I'll be G*ddamned," "Get your ass back over here," "That's like asking me to stick my tongue in Oprah Winfrey's ass," "You black bastard," "Leonardo De-faggio" and "Blow this." Bucum drops trash from his car and then pushes it beneath it (littering). Some kids could be enticed to imitate Reggie's mugging, other exaggerated behavior (including mockingly imitating others), etc. Reggie gives the finger to someone, while Gina later does the same. JUMP SCENES A person suddenly shows up and surprises some people. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A mild amount of some suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None that we heard, but various songs contained lyrics that couldn't be understood (thus opening up the potential of them possibly containing objectionable lyrics). PROFANITY At least 151 "f" words (47 used with "mother," 2 used sexually), 72 "s" words, 3 slang terms using male genitals ("d*ck" and "c*cks*cker"), 3 slang terms using female genitals ("p*ssy"), 45 asses (1 used with "hole"), 17 damns, 11 hells, 2 S.O.B.s (with another incomplete one), 7 uses of "G-damn," 2 of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "For Christ's sakes," "God" and "Swear to God" as exclamations. SEX/NUDITY In the opening credits, there are various quick shots of shapely women in bikinis and other revealing swimwear (and the camera focuses on their body parts). Reggie spots some older ladies picking out a box of condoms in a convenience store. Later, when we see that they're working for him, one of the women keeps the condoms and states that she's doing so "For when I need to get my freak on." As those women then walk away, we see that one is wearing a t-shirt that has a full-sized cartoon drawing of a shapely woman in a bikini on it. As Ursula poses for a mock photo shoot, we see a great deal of her legs and part of her butt in her bikini type bottom. She also shows some cleavage. Ramose complains to Ursula that he doesn't know what their boss is thinking since "I'm not the one who's f*cking him." Bucum's boss tells him to get "some p*ssy," but Bucum replies that money "feels better than p*ssy." Gina shows some cleavage. After realizing they won the lottery, we see a montage of Reggie and Gina celebrating, including a quick shot of him lying on top of her on the bed (both are clothed), apparently humping her from behind, and then of her suggestively running a bill along her clothed rear end and then his. As Bucum gets Reggie and Gina to passionately kiss (after he and Reggie were just fighting) to fool some passing police officers into thinking nothing is happening, he asks if they have a condom. Reggie comments about how much "p*ssy" he'd get if he had some large diamond earrings. Reggie shows (with his hands) how long his "d*ck" is and comments that it would take four of Williamson's to equal that. We hear sexual sounds and then see a head and shoulders shot of Williamson and Ursula having sex against a wall while standing (that shows movement and includes more sounds). Reggie worries in one scene that Bucum is going to "f*ck" Gina (but that doesn't happen as far as we know). We see Gina and Pam in bikinis on a boat. SMOKING Williamson, Bucum (cigar) and Martinez each smoke once, while some miscellaneous people do the same or have cigarettes with them (one miscellaneous man has one over his ear). Bucum's boss, Martinez, complains that he's on his second pack of cigarettes today and that he just quit this morning. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The life of a bounty hunter. That Bucum and Reggie end up taking illegally obtained money. VIOLENCE Bucum holds his gun on a criminal-at-large and then throws him to the floor. A woman then comes out and fires a shotgun at Bucum several times until he jumps and crashes through a glass window. As that woman comes out, he clotheslines her, knocking her to the ground where she lies stunned. A different woman then comes out of her trailer and fires a handgun at Bucum. The original criminal then jumps on Bucum and they struggle. Bucum then thrusts this man's head through a closed car window and then zaps him several times (in his clothed rear and/or crotch) with a stun gun/zapper. Reggie knocks over some people while fleeing from Bucum and then crashes into the side of a car (and flips over it) while riding a motorized scooter. Bucum then throws a rock at him when he realizes he can't get him. Ramose shoots several people dead and Ursula then shoots another person dead (with some blood squirting out). Ursula and Ramose open fire on Bucum, and he in turn shoots at them as they escape in a van. Ramose holds a gun on Reggie and then shoots at him several times as the latter runs away. We see that Bucum's $600 fish (in a bag) is dead from previous action. Upset about the fake diamonds, Williamson smashes something into a wall, smacks Ursula to the floor, and moments later shoots Ramose through the hand or arm (resulting in lots of blood). Bucum suddenly tackles Reggie. Bucum tells Reggie to jump down from a boat in storage and that he'll catch him. He doesn't, however, and Reggie falls and crashes into the boat below him. Bucum hits and knocks out Ramose. We then see that he has Ramose with his hands cuffed to a shower curtain rod. To make him talk, he tightens the screws on a brace on Ramose's arm that inflicts a great deal of pain. Reggie then joins in and tightens the screws as well. Reggie and Bucum get into a fight (played for comedy rather than upsetting realism). Reggie repeatedly tries to punch Bucum who then grabs him and the two struggle, with Bucum having Reggie in a headlock (and Reggie supposedly biting Bucum's clothed nipple). A person hits Bucum on the head with a golf club, knocking him out. Reggie then hits that man over the head with a vase, knocking him out. Bucum then kicks that unconscious man and later smashes a large vase onto that man as he starts to come to. We see a dead woman in a bubble bath with some bloody marks on her neck. A car smashes into a showroom, breaking through large glass windows/panels. A thug holds a gun to Gina's head. Bucum spots a sniper ready to shoot Reggie and so he shoots him dead first (with blood splattering onto the wall). Ursula then shoots at Reggie and more gunfire then erupts. Bucum drives into a person who's prepared to shoot Reggie, and thus flips that person through the air. The car then goes through a glass wall. As Bucum drives after the bad guys' car, Reggie shoots at it, blowing out their back window. A person fires a missile at Bucum and Reggie in a car, but it misses and hits a truck instead, causing it to explode. Gina pushes something that knocks two thugs into a body of water. Williamson aims a gun at Reggie's head. A man purposefully shoots his girlfriend in the forehead, killing her, and then shoots someone else in what looked to be his shoulder. Bucum and Williamson get into a fight where many punches are exchanged as the boat they're on goes out of control, thrashing them around inside it. That boat then crashes through part of an in-sea dock and then runs aground, causing a person to smash headfirst into an interior wall (presumably killing him). Bucum repeatedly shoots a bad guy in the chest, killing him (with bloody results). Reviewed March 4, 2002 / Posted March 8, 2002