Surprisingly funny even for a jokey movie. The acting was decent and the storyline had a few unique moments. Not terribly hokey. Just keep expectations low and enjoy the few hits.
98 Reviews
White Kong
Calicodreamin4 April 2021
Film is exclusively for rappers and Jamie Kennedy fans.
ma-cortes21 June 2006
A rich senator(Ryan O'Neal) and pending election and his wife(Bo Derek) manage for his son(Jamie Kennedy) to be abducted by a pair of actors with no job(Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson) pretending to flop his scheme to become himself in famous rapper.Meanwhile he falls in love a beautiful young girl(Regina Hall).
The film is a bemused comedy providing solid,silly laugh which results to be a Jamie Kennedy recital.The picture relies heavily on the continuous humorous acting starring but it doesn't make bored but entertained .Relief comic is essentially at charge of Jamie Kennedy,besides the bad taste language and profanities but his foul and fast talking creates most big smiles and causing misfortune,bad luck and wreak-havoc on the way .The humor is sometimes absurd and cheese but gets its moments here and there from start to finish.Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson as the stupidest kidnappers make a first rate couple. Appear known secondaries actors as Blair Underwood,Jeffrey Tambor,Damian Wayans(Wayans'family) and Bo Derek in a brief intervention, plus of famed rappers as Snoop Doggs. The picture is regularly directed by John Whitesell. It's an agreeable film for the rapper youth who will enjoy enormously with lots of fun. Rating : Average but amused.
The film is a bemused comedy providing solid,silly laugh which results to be a Jamie Kennedy recital.The picture relies heavily on the continuous humorous acting starring but it doesn't make bored but entertained .Relief comic is essentially at charge of Jamie Kennedy,besides the bad taste language and profanities but his foul and fast talking creates most big smiles and causing misfortune,bad luck and wreak-havoc on the way .The humor is sometimes absurd and cheese but gets its moments here and there from start to finish.Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson as the stupidest kidnappers make a first rate couple. Appear known secondaries actors as Blair Underwood,Jeffrey Tambor,Damian Wayans(Wayans'family) and Bo Derek in a brief intervention, plus of famed rappers as Snoop Doggs. The picture is regularly directed by John Whitesell. It's an agreeable film for the rapper youth who will enjoy enormously with lots of fun. Rating : Average but amused.
Hard to criticize a comedy that doesn't want to be anything clever
StevePulaski21 April 2011
I assume Malibu's Most Wanted is a parody of the lifestyle and career of Eminem taken in an over the top, silly format. There isn't really a message to be said here either come to think of it. It's one of those late night comedies that you watch for the hell of it. There really isn't a whole lot to criticize.
A white boy, wanna be gangster rapper from Malibu nicknamed B-Rad (Kennedy) is the son of his Governor candidate father who needs to hatch a plan to get his son out of the way so he can win the election and not be made a mockery of. He decides to send his son with two actors (Anderson and Diggs) who are told to fake carjack him when with a girl (Hall) and take him into the real hood to show him life isn't what it's made out to be.
Naturally, B-Rad still wants to pursue his gangster rapper image which proves to only land him in hot water with people at clubs and real gangbangers. I think we know the direction the film takes after that.
The film relies entirely on clichés and traditional good/bad life lessons. It's hard to review a goofy comedy like this and it's even harder to lengthen a review of it because there is only one complaint; it's too cliché.
Lots of one liners are dropped, all hit or miss, with several hitting. Still a comedy based off of one liners usually isn't a good comedy. But if the film has a great duo like Chris Farley and David Spade, the antics speak for themselves.
I did get a kick out of seeing Anthony Anderson in the movie, but sadly, he doesn't add too much here either. Jamie Kennedy is a likable character, and Kal Penn makes a cameo in the film as well. Numerous little perks here, but ruined by the storyline used one too many times. Malibu's Most Wanted isn't too impressive.
Starring: Jamie Kennedy, Taye Diggs, Anthony Anderson, Ryan O'Neal, Blair Underwood, Damien Wayans, Kal Penn, Bo Derek, and Regina Hall. Directed by: John Whitesell.
A white boy, wanna be gangster rapper from Malibu nicknamed B-Rad (Kennedy) is the son of his Governor candidate father who needs to hatch a plan to get his son out of the way so he can win the election and not be made a mockery of. He decides to send his son with two actors (Anderson and Diggs) who are told to fake carjack him when with a girl (Hall) and take him into the real hood to show him life isn't what it's made out to be.
Naturally, B-Rad still wants to pursue his gangster rapper image which proves to only land him in hot water with people at clubs and real gangbangers. I think we know the direction the film takes after that.
The film relies entirely on clichés and traditional good/bad life lessons. It's hard to review a goofy comedy like this and it's even harder to lengthen a review of it because there is only one complaint; it's too cliché.
Lots of one liners are dropped, all hit or miss, with several hitting. Still a comedy based off of one liners usually isn't a good comedy. But if the film has a great duo like Chris Farley and David Spade, the antics speak for themselves.
I did get a kick out of seeing Anthony Anderson in the movie, but sadly, he doesn't add too much here either. Jamie Kennedy is a likable character, and Kal Penn makes a cameo in the film as well. Numerous little perks here, but ruined by the storyline used one too many times. Malibu's Most Wanted isn't too impressive.
Starring: Jamie Kennedy, Taye Diggs, Anthony Anderson, Ryan O'Neal, Blair Underwood, Damien Wayans, Kal Penn, Bo Derek, and Regina Hall. Directed by: John Whitesell.
This movie is the SHIZIT!!!
Quigles17 April 2003
When I walked into this feature I was expecting a very stereotypical movie towards black people. Fortunately, while watching, you don't really give a shizit about the story because you'll be to busy busting a gut at the hilarious jokes and acting. I thought Jaime Kennedy played the part better than anyone else could've and especially felt that Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson were extremely funny as the not-so-bad-boy actors. If you watch the trailer and laugh at least once, you'll definetly enjoy this movie, but if you don't laugh at all, don't put up to much hope. For this movie, what you see is what you get. Nothing goes past trying to have background story or character development, it all stops at being funny. But hey, who in their right mind would go to this movie expecting a very well scripted story or well thought out movie moments. All this movie is is biddy-dee-bang-bang comedy/action. Nothing more, nothing less. And luckily, that's all I care about.
I rate this movie as so:
Entertainment Value- 9/10 >>>>> Story / Premise- 4/10 >>>>> Script Writing- 7/10 >>>>> Acting- 8/10 >>>>> Directing- 6/10 >>>>> Overall- *7/10*
I rate this movie as so:
Entertainment Value- 9/10 >>>>> Story / Premise- 4/10 >>>>> Script Writing- 7/10 >>>>> Acting- 8/10 >>>>> Directing- 6/10 >>>>> Overall- *7/10*
So stupid you had to laugh
view_and_review15 March 2007
This movie was stupid, asinine, and absurd, but... man were there some funny scenes. The entire movie wasn't funny, but there were a few scenes that were a riot. MMW was so over the top that it couldn't be taken even slightly serious, hence it made it pretty funny. This movie never took itself seriously even for a second, which was actually sort of nice because you never had to analyze or look for meaning in anything that would otherwise probably be highly offensive. I want to say that MMW was a spoof, or parody even, but just not on the level of a Lesley Nielson type parody. "Malibu's Most Wanted" is not an Oscar caliber movie but from what I hear, it is a lot better than the Jamie Kennedy starred "Son of the Mask".
Mali boooo
RobTheWatcher9 January 2022
Straight outta Malibu
rigovega31 May 2019
This has some funny moments. It's ridiculously unrealistic but that's why it sort of works. Jamie Kennedy does an excellent job playing B Rad and the story is actually quite interesting. Of course, this is just an entertaining fast paced comedy with a premise that makes no sense.
It's stupid funny
emily-39235-1577618 January 2019
Not the Schizzle
qormi8 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Great premise, but they managed to muck it up. This flick was big on stereotypes; small on imagination. A lot of the humor was sophomoric and crass; indicating a not- too - mature writing staff. Some adult supervision would have greatly enhanced this predictable bore. The casting was great - all the main characters were quite capable and the movie did have its moments. Jamie Kennedy had the rap-wannabe dialect down. The movie quickly became bogged down with racial stereotyping, however: hostile blacks, lots of guns, women as sex objects. This film had lots of potential - it just needed some direction and, in the end, originality. The word "bitch" was used so frequently as it would indicate that the script writer received royalties for it. "Bitch", "bee-och"; it quickly graduated from offensive to nauseating.
Silly but Funny
missan2net14 April 2003
MBW is one of those movies that is humorous because the characters are kinda stupid but funny. Kennedy plays the seemingly stereotypical role of "black-wannabe-gangsta-trapped-in-white-boy's-body", but i think we've seen this role in movies quite too often (actually Mitch Mullany did a better job in The Breaks). The definitely could've done a better job w/ the plot line, but I suppose they did a good job by using the equation character stupidity = loads of laughs. I think they made Kennedy's character more stupid than he deserved to be. Then again, the whole movie I think was just a big tease about how a lot of kids nowadays (whether from the 'hoods of Compton or Malibu) are trying to emulate the lifestyles/persona of real hip-hop stars. It was a silly yet funny movie, I think more of the "crack-up-laughing" kind of movie vs. lighthearted humor (like Sandler's Anger Management). So yes, don't expect a strong story but go there for the laughs. One note though, they should've made Snoop Dogg's dialogue more like the way he really talks/raps...it seemed a bit "censored" to me...perhaps they did it to make the PG-13 cut. For shizzos, my nizzos. Don't be hatin'! :)
** out of 5 for storyline ***** out of 5 for laugh factor
** out of 5 for storyline ***** out of 5 for laugh factor
This film should be right up your alley
sloopydrew20 April 2003
Warning: Spoilers
Spoiler Alert If you don't know the difference between "hip hop" and "IHOP," let me recommend that you save the chips you intended to spend on Malibu's Most Wanted and use them to attend this week's other worthwhile comedy release, A Mighty Wind. While both comedies focus on music, you don't need to know a damn thing about folk to get some solid laughs out of A Mighty Wind, but you do need to have at least an elementary knowledge of the current and past hip hop, rap and gangsta scenes to consider Malibu's Most Wanted to be "off the hizzook." So if you don't know rap from a deliciously stuffed french toast dispensary, stop reading here: you're going to inevitably disagree with this review. If even the thought of a hardcore rapper from Malibu elicits giggles, continue reading: this film should be right up your alley.
In Malibu's Most Wanted Jamie Kennedy (Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3, The Jamie Kennedy Experience) plays Brad Gluckman, but would prefer it if you called him "B-Rad." In a plot reminiscent of Tommy Boy, yet another lowbrow comedy that I enjoyed, B-Rad is an embarrassment to the family business, which this time is politics. The twist in Malibu is that, unlike the father to Chris Farley's Tommy, played with gusto by Brian Dennehy, B-Rad's dad, Bill Gluckman (Ryan O'Neal) does not approve of his son's lifestyle.
Bill Gluckman is running for Governor at the same time that Brad "B-Rad" Gluckman is running to be the first upper-class white "gangsta" from "the 'Bu." The two cultures clash and the senior Gluckman is convinced that he has to find a way to scare the black out of his Caucasian coffee-shop hangin' boy not so in the 'hood. The elder Gluckman's campaign manager Tom Gibbons (Blair Underwood) puts together a plan to have B-Rad snatched up by two "real" original gangstas, who will take him on the ride of his life by exposing him to the seedy underbelly of rap deep in the heart of Compton.
Convinced that this is the next best thing to having each of B-Rad's phat rhymes surgically removed from his brain, Bill Gluckman agrees with the plan. The only problem? The wanna-be Governor and his manager wouldn't know an original gangsta from Will Smith and end up hiring two unemployed actors that they feel fit the part due to nothing more than the color of their skin. The scheming couple winds up with Sean (Taye Diggs) and P.J. (Anthony Anderson), two of the whitest black men you'll ever see.
Once B-Rad is picked up and brought into the ghetto, Sean and P.J. wind up being the ones afraid and B-Rad turns out to love it. Comical hi-jinks ensue, some of them spot-on funny, and others as mind-numbing as those featured in director John Whitesell's horrid See Spot Run. Ironically, it isn't Whitesell's mediocrity behind the camera that nearly kills this comedy as much as the film's PG-13 rating.
A movie about hardcore rap needs to have some hardcore language to be believable. Especially when Snoop Dogg makes his appearance. It's obvious that the film was largely self-censored in its attempt to get the PG-13 rating that it finally received.
Jamie Kennedy succeeds in making a watered-down B-Rad a likable character, and I found myself laughing throughout the entire 90 minutes just thinking that the life of B-Rad is probably closer to Eminem's real life past than the life of Bunny Rabbit was in Em's own film, 8 Mile. Taye Digg's performance as Sean is tailor made for a PG-13 film, on the other hand, and he delivers in spades. I'm still waiting for Diggs to make it into the world of super-stardom. He proves that he's a superb actor in every film that he's been in (as long as you ignore his gig in last year's New Best Friend).
Although most people will have predicted the sappy ending before even watching the beginning, the comical performances throughout the film and the farcical premise of the movie make it a moderately fun ride getting there. Last year at this time, I would have leaned toward giving this film a negative review. This year, after the glut of culture-clash "comedies," bad enough to unify all cultures in a sick sort of nausea, Malibu's Most Wanted plays like A Midsummer's Night Dream.
In Malibu's Most Wanted Jamie Kennedy (Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3, The Jamie Kennedy Experience) plays Brad Gluckman, but would prefer it if you called him "B-Rad." In a plot reminiscent of Tommy Boy, yet another lowbrow comedy that I enjoyed, B-Rad is an embarrassment to the family business, which this time is politics. The twist in Malibu is that, unlike the father to Chris Farley's Tommy, played with gusto by Brian Dennehy, B-Rad's dad, Bill Gluckman (Ryan O'Neal) does not approve of his son's lifestyle.
Bill Gluckman is running for Governor at the same time that Brad "B-Rad" Gluckman is running to be the first upper-class white "gangsta" from "the 'Bu." The two cultures clash and the senior Gluckman is convinced that he has to find a way to scare the black out of his Caucasian coffee-shop hangin' boy not so in the 'hood. The elder Gluckman's campaign manager Tom Gibbons (Blair Underwood) puts together a plan to have B-Rad snatched up by two "real" original gangstas, who will take him on the ride of his life by exposing him to the seedy underbelly of rap deep in the heart of Compton.
Convinced that this is the next best thing to having each of B-Rad's phat rhymes surgically removed from his brain, Bill Gluckman agrees with the plan. The only problem? The wanna-be Governor and his manager wouldn't know an original gangsta from Will Smith and end up hiring two unemployed actors that they feel fit the part due to nothing more than the color of their skin. The scheming couple winds up with Sean (Taye Diggs) and P.J. (Anthony Anderson), two of the whitest black men you'll ever see.
Once B-Rad is picked up and brought into the ghetto, Sean and P.J. wind up being the ones afraid and B-Rad turns out to love it. Comical hi-jinks ensue, some of them spot-on funny, and others as mind-numbing as those featured in director John Whitesell's horrid See Spot Run. Ironically, it isn't Whitesell's mediocrity behind the camera that nearly kills this comedy as much as the film's PG-13 rating.
A movie about hardcore rap needs to have some hardcore language to be believable. Especially when Snoop Dogg makes his appearance. It's obvious that the film was largely self-censored in its attempt to get the PG-13 rating that it finally received.
Jamie Kennedy succeeds in making a watered-down B-Rad a likable character, and I found myself laughing throughout the entire 90 minutes just thinking that the life of B-Rad is probably closer to Eminem's real life past than the life of Bunny Rabbit was in Em's own film, 8 Mile. Taye Digg's performance as Sean is tailor made for a PG-13 film, on the other hand, and he delivers in spades. I'm still waiting for Diggs to make it into the world of super-stardom. He proves that he's a superb actor in every film that he's been in (as long as you ignore his gig in last year's New Best Friend).
Although most people will have predicted the sappy ending before even watching the beginning, the comical performances throughout the film and the farcical premise of the movie make it a moderately fun ride getting there. Last year at this time, I would have leaned toward giving this film a negative review. This year, after the glut of culture-clash "comedies," bad enough to unify all cultures in a sick sort of nausea, Malibu's Most Wanted plays like A Midsummer's Night Dream.
How so easy to ruin a good comedy ....
Sherparsa17 December 2006
... Yeah! But this one's a sure success! Treating a subject like this ain't no easy feat IMHO.
A little bit of mistake and the whole thing could be turned into one of those spoiled movies that don't even sound funny.
Good one here indeed hence the 10 stars I'd give it even though it ain't win no Oscars or nothing of 'em nice awards.
(Hey, I sure am sounding a l'le ethnic in here ain't I?) :)
This movie is a fine example of those getting into a 'mixed up' society. A place where people of various ethnicities and racial or social groups do live together and mingle too but they never add up or properly get together. Mixed identities, alienated souls, badly mistaken (if not dirty) politics, and so forth ...
A little bit of mistake and the whole thing could be turned into one of those spoiled movies that don't even sound funny.
Good one here indeed hence the 10 stars I'd give it even though it ain't win no Oscars or nothing of 'em nice awards.
(Hey, I sure am sounding a l'le ethnic in here ain't I?) :)
This movie is a fine example of those getting into a 'mixed up' society. A place where people of various ethnicities and racial or social groups do live together and mingle too but they never add up or properly get together. Mixed identities, alienated souls, badly mistaken (if not dirty) politics, and so forth ...
Good for the laughs...
CPB254 May 2003
This movie is not for everyone. The story is pretty weak and the humor is very age oriented. The movie was very humorous if you enjoy the white man who thinks he's a black man humor. The most amusing piece of the movie is the dialogue that is spoken by B-Rad (Jaime Kennedy). Jaime Kennedy does a very good job portraying B-Rad,the ghetto like white boy. It comes across as hilarious because everyone finds it amussing except him. IF you are looking for a good laugh, and you like that type of humor, I would recommend going to see this movie.
It's Alright
wcsdep23135 November 2003
Not quite Kung Fu Hustle, but pretty hilarious
tostinati16 March 2006
Trying to sell my friends on this film, which I love, I tell them to think of it as 'The Jerk' for the new millennium. You know the bit: An innocent goof lives his life seemingly oblivious to the fact that he is, eh.... um... Well, oblivious to who he is -- his talents (or lack), and most importantly, to the way every other living being perceives him.
Hijinx ensues. --Very, very world-class embarrassing hi jinx.
The idea of the world's lamest rapper may be barely weighty enough for a solid 4 minute sketch on SNL or in Living Color. But the makers, with the amazing Jamie Kennedy in the center of the thing, have gone for the burn, taking an hour and a half to shake out every possibility of the concept. Surprisingly, it's time well spent. More happens plot wise here than in the Steve Martin vehicle. The situations are multiplied, and with them the opportunities for some pretty incredible shtick.
Malibu's Most Wanted is the cult film of tomorrow. The humor may not be close to the same league as Airplane or Kung Fu Hustle, and in fact seems to issue from the pits of over-commercialized multiplex teen formula comedy that I and a lot of other people groan at with regularity. But it brushes lightly with inspired comic genius. That's pretty vague. But I don't know how else to characterize a film -- even a dumb, almost insulting one -- that renders me helpless with laughter a couple of times, and manages a carload of solid giggles and grins. It may be a special taste film. But if you are open to it, it's worth your while.
9 of 10 stars
Hijinx ensues. --Very, very world-class embarrassing hi jinx.
The idea of the world's lamest rapper may be barely weighty enough for a solid 4 minute sketch on SNL or in Living Color. But the makers, with the amazing Jamie Kennedy in the center of the thing, have gone for the burn, taking an hour and a half to shake out every possibility of the concept. Surprisingly, it's time well spent. More happens plot wise here than in the Steve Martin vehicle. The situations are multiplied, and with them the opportunities for some pretty incredible shtick.
Malibu's Most Wanted is the cult film of tomorrow. The humor may not be close to the same league as Airplane or Kung Fu Hustle, and in fact seems to issue from the pits of over-commercialized multiplex teen formula comedy that I and a lot of other people groan at with regularity. But it brushes lightly with inspired comic genius. That's pretty vague. But I don't know how else to characterize a film -- even a dumb, almost insulting one -- that renders me helpless with laughter a couple of times, and manages a carload of solid giggles and grins. It may be a special taste film. But if you are open to it, it's worth your while.
9 of 10 stars
Sweet Jesus
Jim-48015 January 2005
First off... this movie is NOT real, NOT true to life. This is NOT what it is like for a white rapper, it is NOT hard-core or an insight into an undiscovered culture. What it IS, however, is ridiculous. The actors look like they are doing their best to act and failing on a Biblical level. Every time Jamie Kennedy offered up a "For-rizzle," my friend had a stroke and/or heart attack. The direction was shoddy and the script (specifically the dialog) was terrible.
That's not to mention how downright racist this movie is. Yes, society is racist, but this movie is not attacking or pointing it out, it is simply laughing along with people at goofy white folks (perhaps saying "laughing" is giving the movie too much credit). Plus, it implies that black people are all gangsters. Send that message to your kids.
The movie had potential. It could have been an examination of the racial issues pervasive in our society. However, Kennedy and his crew made every effort to mainstream it, deciding instead to insult our collective intelligence and dumbing it down so that we wouldn't have to think about the problems we face.
I could accept a mainstream movie - if it was funny. This movie was not. When people are cringing instead of laughing, you know that you don't have a great film.
That's not to mention how downright racist this movie is. Yes, society is racist, but this movie is not attacking or pointing it out, it is simply laughing along with people at goofy white folks (perhaps saying "laughing" is giving the movie too much credit). Plus, it implies that black people are all gangsters. Send that message to your kids.
The movie had potential. It could have been an examination of the racial issues pervasive in our society. However, Kennedy and his crew made every effort to mainstream it, deciding instead to insult our collective intelligence and dumbing it down so that we wouldn't have to think about the problems we face.
I could accept a mainstream movie - if it was funny. This movie was not. When people are cringing instead of laughing, you know that you don't have a great film.
Filmgoers' Least Wanted.
MovieAddict201610 October 2003
The idea behind "Malibu's Most Wanted" came from a television show starring Jamie Kennedy named, of all things, "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment"--and it shows. I'm a big fan of the show, and I'm starting to become a big fan of the actor, and so I was thrilled to hear he had his own movie based on the hilarious television show last year. I waited quite a while to see the movie even though I had heard bad things about it. Unfortunately, perhaps some of the charm behind his B-Rad character on the TV show was that he got candid responses from startled people--here the responses are all scripted, and they don't work half as well as they should.
On the television show, Kennedy dresses up as a various assortment of odd characters and goes around tormenting people in character. His most famous of characters, B-Rad (a white rapper based on Eminem), was a highlight of the TV show. Here the character is inserted into his own world and given a background.
It starts out with a voice-over narration by Brad Gluckman (Kennedy), a.k.a. B-Rad. He says that he lives in the rough turf of Miami. (We get an aerial shot of a huge mansion resort by the ocean. He informs us, "That's my crib. It ain't much, but it's all I gots.") B-Rad hangs out with a band of rich kids who try desperately--much like B-Rad himself--to be gangstas. Their insults to one another are typically, "Your momma so poor, her [breasts] are real!" They all have excessively nice clothing, vehicles, homes, gadgets, and so on, but like to pretend they've got it rougher than they really do. (In one of the better scenes, B-Rad informs us via voice-over that one of his crew, "even went to public for a while.")
B-Rad's father, Bill Gluckman (Ryan O'Neal) is running for governor of California. (Sound familiar?) His son is posing as a serious threat to his public image--at the unveiling of his new women's rights campaign, B-Rad reveals a sign that reads, "BILL GLUCKMAN'S DOWN WITH THE B*TCHES AND HO'S!"--and so the campaign manager cooks up a crazy idea that might just work.
They hire two Juilliard-graduate black men to take B-Rad down into the ghetto, pose as gangsters, and "scare the white out of him." The two men, Sean (Anthony Anderson) and PJ (Taye Diggs) dress up with bling-bling and look through a book that reads, "A 2 Z Gangsta Slang." After becoming comfortable with their new dialogue, they kidnap B-Rad, take him to their house, and try to scare the white out of him. Not everything goes to plan.
"Malibu's Most Wanted" essentially has some funny scenes, but they are scattered. I laughed at the reference to "Training Day." I laughed when, after a violent shoot-out, a thug gangster asks B-Rad where he learned his shooting skills and he responds, "Grand Theft Auto III." I also laughed at the way B-Rad's gang like to trick themselves into thinking they have it real bad with their rich parents and nice lifestyes. I laughed at little else.
Surprising, really, because I loved the television so much and I have been looking forward to this, like I said above, for quite some time. I believe if they had put more effort into this film it would have been much better. If they had gotten a stronger director with a better sense of actual direction and consistency, made the script's humor aim more for irony of rich kids wanting to be rough thugs and how different they are (and this could have worked easily with a strong scriptwriter who finds a flair for the irony in situations), and found a talented cast to put alongside the scene-stealing Kennedy, this could have been one of the real treats of 2003. But it's not. The premise may sound stupid but if you really think about it, the plot is quite clever--given the right touch of irony and realisticness, it could have been a classic example of contrast film. But this movie trips down the rabbit hole and never returns--it eventually gets so wacky and goofy you just kind of give up all hope in the film.
"Malibu's Most Wanted" is a film that looked much better on paper--I should know, I read the script. It was laugh-out-loud funny. But when I watched the film, I realized that the jokes were handled poorly and the direction inept. It was a typical summer comedy--the cheap kind that have that cheap smell about them that reeks of nothing but money-making. Jamie Kennedy is a talented comedian with a very bright future ahead of him. He did not need this on his resume.
2/5.
On the television show, Kennedy dresses up as a various assortment of odd characters and goes around tormenting people in character. His most famous of characters, B-Rad (a white rapper based on Eminem), was a highlight of the TV show. Here the character is inserted into his own world and given a background.
It starts out with a voice-over narration by Brad Gluckman (Kennedy), a.k.a. B-Rad. He says that he lives in the rough turf of Miami. (We get an aerial shot of a huge mansion resort by the ocean. He informs us, "That's my crib. It ain't much, but it's all I gots.") B-Rad hangs out with a band of rich kids who try desperately--much like B-Rad himself--to be gangstas. Their insults to one another are typically, "Your momma so poor, her [breasts] are real!" They all have excessively nice clothing, vehicles, homes, gadgets, and so on, but like to pretend they've got it rougher than they really do. (In one of the better scenes, B-Rad informs us via voice-over that one of his crew, "even went to public for a while.")
B-Rad's father, Bill Gluckman (Ryan O'Neal) is running for governor of California. (Sound familiar?) His son is posing as a serious threat to his public image--at the unveiling of his new women's rights campaign, B-Rad reveals a sign that reads, "BILL GLUCKMAN'S DOWN WITH THE B*TCHES AND HO'S!"--and so the campaign manager cooks up a crazy idea that might just work.
They hire two Juilliard-graduate black men to take B-Rad down into the ghetto, pose as gangsters, and "scare the white out of him." The two men, Sean (Anthony Anderson) and PJ (Taye Diggs) dress up with bling-bling and look through a book that reads, "A 2 Z Gangsta Slang." After becoming comfortable with their new dialogue, they kidnap B-Rad, take him to their house, and try to scare the white out of him. Not everything goes to plan.
"Malibu's Most Wanted" essentially has some funny scenes, but they are scattered. I laughed at the reference to "Training Day." I laughed when, after a violent shoot-out, a thug gangster asks B-Rad where he learned his shooting skills and he responds, "Grand Theft Auto III." I also laughed at the way B-Rad's gang like to trick themselves into thinking they have it real bad with their rich parents and nice lifestyes. I laughed at little else.
Surprising, really, because I loved the television so much and I have been looking forward to this, like I said above, for quite some time. I believe if they had put more effort into this film it would have been much better. If they had gotten a stronger director with a better sense of actual direction and consistency, made the script's humor aim more for irony of rich kids wanting to be rough thugs and how different they are (and this could have worked easily with a strong scriptwriter who finds a flair for the irony in situations), and found a talented cast to put alongside the scene-stealing Kennedy, this could have been one of the real treats of 2003. But it's not. The premise may sound stupid but if you really think about it, the plot is quite clever--given the right touch of irony and realisticness, it could have been a classic example of contrast film. But this movie trips down the rabbit hole and never returns--it eventually gets so wacky and goofy you just kind of give up all hope in the film.
"Malibu's Most Wanted" is a film that looked much better on paper--I should know, I read the script. It was laugh-out-loud funny. But when I watched the film, I realized that the jokes were handled poorly and the direction inept. It was a typical summer comedy--the cheap kind that have that cheap smell about them that reeks of nothing but money-making. Jamie Kennedy is a talented comedian with a very bright future ahead of him. He did not need this on his resume.
2/5.
Jamie Kennedy doesn't transfer to film well
porcpuff7 August 2004
This was a very poorly written film. It was made worse by Jamie Kennedy's over-acting. He might be ideal for TV, but as a lead in a feature-film,
it was at times, painful to watch.
The sound track was the best thing about the film, with some great 'old-school' hip-hop which helps to bring the level up somewhat.
The 'Eminem 8-Mile' take-off was not nearly as well done as other recent parody films and this spoils things even more.
In essence, it's a kids film, but even many kids may be to street-wise to want to sit through this.
it was at times, painful to watch.
The sound track was the best thing about the film, with some great 'old-school' hip-hop which helps to bring the level up somewhat.
The 'Eminem 8-Mile' take-off was not nearly as well done as other recent parody films and this spoils things even more.
In essence, it's a kids film, but even many kids may be to street-wise to want to sit through this.
Very Funny But Just Plain Stupid
funky_cherry8623 December 2004
Malibu's Most Wanted is one of the craziest films of 2003 Jamie Kennedy delivers a hilarious performance as Brad B-rad Gluckman a white rapper who acts like a black rapper. His father (O'Neal) wants to run for governor but his son's antics are hurting his chances of winning so he hires actors to be gangsters who kidnap B-rad and try to scare him into being a white man again. Regina Hall is amusing as Shondra who in the beginning thinks he's strange but towards the end she falls for him and accepts him for who he truly is. Malibu's Most Wanted is one of those films that leaves you feeling funny and stupid all together but has some hilarious scenes and can be enjoyed by anyone who prefers this brand of comedy. I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
Horrible
Xceler819 April 2003
This movie was horrible. they couldn't even make fun of posers and make it funny. I would not reccomend this movie to anyone. a waste of my money it was.There was no plot to speak of the comedy wasn't there and the jokes were lame at best. A white wanna be gangsta whos father wants to "Scare the black out of him" i am still beating my head for even thinking about seein this movie.
Funny cast, funny movie!
JP-2314 April 2003
I thought this movie was very funny. The 2003 black/white culture conflict comedy mini-genre (BRINGIN' DOWN THE HOUSE, HEAD OF STATE, etc.) gets a big lift with MALIBU'S. Taye Diggs is hilarious as a Julliard-trained commercial actor hired to play a thuggish gangsta kidnapper. Jamie Kennedy and the rest of the cast are solid as well. I especially liked the little bald campaign advisor in Ryan O'Neal's camp. I've seen him in a bunch of stuff and he's always great.
One of the worst movies I have ever seen.
twitchyx23 April 2003
Watching Malibu's Most Wanted is sheer torture. This is without a doubt the least funniest movie I have ever had the misfortune of sitting through. Jamie Kennedy plays B-Rad, a white guy who acts like he is black. In the usual formulaic b-movie plot (ala Black Sheep), B-Rad's father is running for governer and needs to have "the black" scared out of his, or he will not win the race. It is more than painful to watch Jamie Kennedy do his hour and a half "wigger" routine. After the first five minutes all I could think about is how bad I just wanted him to shut up. This movie stinks!
Don't be hatin
badtothebono5 August 2006
OK, so its not the shiznits. Its just funny. I give it a 10 because: 1. Jim Howell from Michigan can't like it because it failed to be "an examination of the racial issues pervasive in our society". What the @$&*! are you talking bout Jim. They learn you that stuff in film school, Jim? 2. Bo Derek. 3. Kumar. 4. SOme other guy says its only for rappers or J Kennedy fans. Huh? I never heard of JK before & I hate rap/hip-hop/etc. Get real. It is for people who know how to laugh at other people. 5. Its not for people who take themselves soooooooooooooo seriously. You still there Jim? Go give a "10" to some poorly-made film about deep-thoughts. 6. JK was OK, but A Anderson and T Diggs were great. Shondra, who I think is the girl from Scary Movie, was good & so was R Oneill. As for Bo? Oh yeah!
Surprisingly funny
MovieLuvaMatt8 June 2004
Like many others, I had very low expectations of this movie. I just think the premise of a white man acting black has been done to death. But for some reason, this movie worked for me. As you can expect, there are some lame moments and I absolutely hate that gibberish vocabulary that Snoop Dogg created (hizzle fashizzle and all that crap). Of course, some of that vocabulary pops up in certain parts of the movie. However, for the most part the gags work. I enjoyed Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson as two white-collar (no pun intended) black actors, who have to learn to be "ghetto" in order to get into character. Anderson isn't totally convincing in the role, since some of his ghetto slang pops up even when he's not playing the part of a stereotypical black man from the hood, but he's still very funny. When is he not funny? That's right, the answer is never. Diggs, on the other hand, is much more convincing in his role. But the two actors have great chemistry, and they create a Laurel-and-Hardy-esque comedy team. Jamie Kennedy co-wrote the script, so I have to give him partial credit for the effectiveness of the material. Kennedy can be funny when he works up to his potential, as he has shown in his WB series "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment." He plays the role with a certain charm, and the movie itself is not mean-spirited, which is another reason why it works. Ryan O'Neal is entertaining as Jamie's father, and has some funny moments of his own. However, I don't understand why Bo Derek took the role of his wife, since she barely has anything to do. I didn't grow up in the seventies, so I'm not too familiar with her work, but I'm pretty sure she was big in her hayday and it's a shame that she took on such a thankless role.
If your expectations of this movie are low, don't let that prevent you from checking out "Malibu's Most Wanted." I always enjoy it when a movie supersedes my expectations, and this is one of those cases. I know this is a clichéd line, but this is not the type of film that deserves any awards. But it is a lot of fun. And thankfully, Snoop Dogg has only a 3-minute voice cameo as a talking rat, because I stand by my word when I say that he should be banned from movies altogether. I'm sure if Tom Cruise were to make an album, people would be ticked, yet Snoop Dogg is able to receive acclaim for his movie appearances without having acting talent. Snoop is the poster boy for the statement, "Don't quit your day job."
My score: 7 (out of 10)
If your expectations of this movie are low, don't let that prevent you from checking out "Malibu's Most Wanted." I always enjoy it when a movie supersedes my expectations, and this is one of those cases. I know this is a clichéd line, but this is not the type of film that deserves any awards. But it is a lot of fun. And thankfully, Snoop Dogg has only a 3-minute voice cameo as a talking rat, because I stand by my word when I say that he should be banned from movies altogether. I'm sure if Tom Cruise were to make an album, people would be ticked, yet Snoop Dogg is able to receive acclaim for his movie appearances without having acting talent. Snoop is the poster boy for the statement, "Don't quit your day job."
My score: 7 (out of 10)
Theater's Least Wanted
Troy2Slick23 April 2003
I wasn't expecting anything off the wall when I went to view Malibu's Most Wanted last night with my wife. However, I was expecting a somewhat coherent movie, with SOME laughs in it. There were a mildly few scattered laughs in the movie, but so far and few, that this movie isn't worth recommending, even for laugh factor alone. You can tell this movie was shot together quickly to try and cash in on the comedy spurge that's been filling theaters as of late. This movie was NOT the Shiznit. It was my most wanted... dose for putting me to sleep. 1/2 * out of 4 *'s.
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