DVD Movie Rating for: Down to Earth

3 out of 5

Movie Plot of: Down to Earth

It seems everyone is trying to get into heaven; at least those whose time is up. For Lance Barton, a struggling comedian and bicycle messenger, it's the last thing on his mind. His due date upstairs is 50 years away. In the meantime, he's got big dreams to pursue on Earth, such as landing a slot at the final Amateur Night Contest at the famed Apollo Theatre. Lance's has one little problem though - he ain't that funny. Thanks to an over-cautious emissary from heaven, Mr. Keyes (Eugene Levy), he's going to get hit (literally) with a much bigger problem. Showing that even God has difficulty finding good help these days, the inept minion mistakenly plucks Lance from a traffic accident - before it takes place. Transporting him to the Pearly Gates, or more accurately, the velvet roped-lines of the hottest club around, the error is finally addressed by Mr. King (Chazz Palminteri), the streetwise, no-nonsense head angel who manages the place from his plush windowed office. Since returning to his own body on Earth is impossible, the urban dwelling Lance reluctantly agrees to a normally unthinkable proposal. He'll occupy the body of a wealthy old white mogul, Charles Wellington, until a more suitable body can be found. Strangely enough, in a Park Avenue penthouse, servants and butlers become his new homeys as Lance works on his streetwise comedy routine for the big Apollo showdown. Living in the body of a callous old white man would be bizarre enough for Lance without falling in love with Sontee (Regina King), the beautiful woman publicly battling Wellington's company at the same time. And if that wasn't enough, he's got to deal with the love affair between Wellington's wife (Jennifer Coolidge) and his personal assistant (Greg Germann), and their plot to have him killed. Can reincarnation lead to self discovery, true love and a better stand up routine? Lance Barton is about to find out.

DVD Production Details of: Down to Earth

Starring: Chris Rock

Director: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz

Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen

Studio: Paramount Studio

DVD Release Date: July 10, 2001
DVD Features:
Theatrical trailer(s)

Deleted scenes

Exclusive cast and crew interviews

Widescreen anamorphic format

Cast of the movie: Down to Earth

• Chris Rock .... Lance Barton/Charles Wellington, III/Joe Guy
• Regina King .... Sontee Jenkins
• Chazz Palminteri .... King
• Eugene Levy .... Keyes
• Frankie Faison .... Whitney Daniels
• Mark Addy .... Cisco
• Greg Germann .... Sklar
• Jennifer Coolidge .... Mrs. Wellington
• Wanda Sykes .... Wanda
• John Cho .... Phil Quon
• Mario Joyner .... Apollo M.C.
• Bryetta Calloway .... Gospel Singer
• Martha Chaves .... Rosa
• Brian Rhodes .... Charles Wellington, III
• Herb Lovelle .... Trashman

Photo Gallery of the movie: Down to Earth

Click on one of the thumbnails to see the full size, high resolution photographs

Down to Earth

Reviews of the movie: Down to Earth

A tepid reworking of Warren Beatty's Heaven Can Wait (itself a remake of 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan), Down to Earth tries to mold comedian Chris Rock into an amiable romantic lead, but it softens the scathingly observant humor that made Rock a standup successor to Richard Pryor. Rock's aggressive style is bracingly expressed in a few good scenes, but through most of this movie--from the directors of American Pie--he struggles with dialogue that would barely pass muster in a low-rated sitcom. Edgy potential loses out to crowd-pleasing with the familiar body-switch formula: by way of premature death and bad timing on the part of heaven's Vegas-styled gatekeepers (played by Eugene Levy and Chazz Palminteri), Rock--as struggling comedian Lance Barton--is reincarnated as a 55-year-old white billionaire with a nasty reputation.

Adjusting (too easily) to his racial transition, Lance charms a hospital administrator (Regina King) who's amazed to see the selfish white billionaire turning into romantic philanthropist. This allows plenty of black/white-contrast jokes (did you ever see a fat, middle-aged white guy who's into hip-hop?), and Rock, who cowrote the screenplay, still manages to work some pointed politics into the movie's good-natured tone. It's guaranteed that some will find Down to Earth quite entertaining, but others will wonder how potent this comedy could have been if Rock had been more willing to confront the harsher truths that lurk beneath the humor.

Chris Rock is in the movie, so of course there is going to be the usual amount of humor that when a black guy says it to be black people, its hilarious, but when a white guy says it, its racist and the black people have to raise holy hell about until George Bush himself practically has to get involved.

The movie's jokes ARE sometimes funny, but the whole plot wasn't all that good. The cast members are pretty good: Chazz Palmeterri, Eugene Levi, Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Giamatti, and many others are among the victimized actors/actresses who have the misfortune of playing in this stupid movie.

Even the soundtrack wasn't that good, most of it is rap, so it should have been, but wasn't. Just like the movie itself. You might laugh, you might like it...if you're stupid. But all in all, DOWN TO EARTH is not a movie to see very often. Maybe after you have seen it once, wait about three years and then see it again, maybe you might like it better the second time around