All About the Benjamins - R\nStarring: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Eva Mendes\nDirected by: Kevin Bray\nShowing: Showplace East 11\nThe latest film from prolific rapper/actor O'Shea Jackson (otherwise known as Ice Cube) is titled "All About the Benjamins," and as the title might suggest Cube probably did this mediocre action comedy for the "phat" cash.\nCube stars as a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter by the name of Bocum (pronounced "book 'em," subtle, huh?). Bocum's a weird cat: He buys $600 fish, blatantly steals Allen Iverson's 'do and for some reason, actually digs the Miami Heat. He begins the film by shocking '80s teen movie star Anthony Michael Hall (playing the hilariously dubbed hillbilly thug Lil' J) in the nads with a tazer. The rest of Cube's screen time is spent glaring at and doling ass-whoopings to Reggie (Cube's "Next Friday" co-star Mike Epps), a two-bit hustler to whom he grows attached in a convoluted scheme to retrieve stolen diamonds and a lost winning lottery ticket.\nCube not only stars in, but also co-wrote "All About the Benjamins," and the results are only slightly better than the P. Diddy effort of a few years past. He pens many funny lines, most of which are spouted by the acerbically-tongued Epps (i.e. "When I get my welfare check I'm gonna put a hit on you!"), but quips are about the only thing this script has to offer. Much of the action is dull and nonsensical; so much so that villains fire a misdirected rocket at Bucum and Reggie's hoopty one second and disappear the next without furthering the skirmish. It's like Cube and his boys were sitting around chilling when all of a sudden he decided it would be dope to throw a rocket launcher into the flick for no apparent reason. \nWhile Cube is a likeable presence in whatever he does, Epps is the real find in this flick. He may be, as many will most assuredly call him, the poor man's Chris Tucker, Chris Rock or yes, even Dave Chappelle, but what's wrong with that? Those guys are funny, and Epps is as well. Although the leads are appealing, "Benjamins" suffers from the lack of a convincingly evil primary villian, and this brings the proceedings down considerably. Tommy Flanagan ("Braveheart") portrays Williamson -- the Irish heavy with an annoying accent lacking the strength necessary to knuckle his way into a pint on St. Paddy's Day.\n"All About the Benjamins" isn't a good flick but it's entertaining enough to catch at home with friends -- it's more a Lincoln or a couple Washington's and less a Hamilton.\n
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