Martin Lawrence is a thief who seeks revenge against super-corrupt and unscrupulous businessman Danny DeVito in the comedy "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" DeVito catches Lawrence robbing his mansion, then forces Lawrence to hand over a ring given to him by his new girlfriend. Lawrence vows not only to get his ring back bust also to rob super-rich DeVito blind. And so the mayhem begins as DeVito and Lawrence try to destroy each other.
If this sounds like a mismash of recycled old scenarios, you're right. The filmmakers tried to fill almost every second with a funny gag, but "What's the Worst" consistently falls flat on its face. Lawrence is very funny sporadically, but all the main characters are such one-dimensional stereotypes that the schtick humor becomes more boring than funny.
It's got the feel of a B-grade movie playing it safe by overloading you with comedy stunts that wore out their welcome long ago. Instead of carefully placed hilarious jokes, director Sam Weisman force feeds viewers too many lame comedy routines with no big payoff at the end.
If you have nothing better to do, must get out of the house and don't mind trekking through mud for a few good belly laughs, then "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" might just do the trick. It really comes down to asking yourself "what's the worst that could happen if I check this film out?"
"What's the Worst That Could Happen?" is rated PG-13 and is playing this week at Market Square East.
