The Man

Director: Les Mayfield Les Mayfield

Overview

Les Mayfield directs Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy in the buddy action comedy The Man. Jackson plays ATF agent Derrick Vann. His partner, who it turns out was corrupt, has been killed after a cache of guns were stolen from the ATF office in Detroit. Internal affairs believe Derrick was in on the gun theft, forcing him to go off on his own to bring the bad guys to justice. Dental supply salesman Andy Fiddler (Levy) happens to be in Detroit for a business convention. During the course of figuring out who is responsible for his partner's death, Derrick arrests Andy because of a miscommunication. Soon the hard-edged law enforcer and the meek businessman team up to extricate themselves from their life-threatening predicament.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/25/2016
UPC:	0888574444426
Original Release:	2005
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:23:00
Sales rank:	38,233

Special Features

Deleted Scenes; Hilarious Bloopr Reel; Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Samuel L. Jackson	Derrick Vann
Eugene Levy	Andy Fiddler
Luke Goss	Joey/Kane
Miguel Ferrer	Agent Peters
Susie Essman	Lt. Rita Carbone
Anthony Mackie	Booty
Gigi Rice	Susan
Rachael Crawford	Dara Vann
Philip Akin	Second L.A. Agent
Horatio Sanz	Diaz
Joel Keller	Laptop Guy
John Hemphill	Ted
Kathryn Greenwood	Flight Attendant
Carrie Cain Sparks	Big Kim
George Ghali	Cab Driver
Leni Parker	Cashier
Matt Cooke	Uniform Cop on PA
Joe Sacco	Rookie
Neville Edwards	Tall Agent
Scott Wickware	Booking Officer
Tomorrow Baldwin Montgomery	Kate Vann
Geoff Bowes	Phone Agent
Randy Butcher	Guard
Jessica Kelly	Female Prisoner
Eldridge Hyndman	Muscular Prisoner
Peter Oldring	Young Guard
Leonard Thomas	Mark
Max McCabe	Pinto Driver
Frank Spadone	Conventioneer
Andrew Stelmack	Conventioneer
Gordon Bolan	Conventioneer
J.J. Authors	Waiter
Toby Proctor	Cavity Search Guard
Peter Kosaka	Asian Man
Beatriz Yuste	Nun
Jackie Laidlaw	Nun
Dina Pino	Nun
Patricia Brown	Nun
Lindsay Ames	Waitress
Michael Cameron	IA driver
Jason Gautreau	Bicycle Cop
Kevin Rushton	Thug
Christopher Murray	Homeless Man
John Murphy	Composer

Technical Credits

Jim Piddock

Margaret Oberman

Steve Carpenter

Les Mayfield	Director
Jim Piddock	Screenwriter
Margaret Oberman	Screenwriter
Steve Carpenter	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
John Stoneham Jr.	Stunts
Robert N. Fried	Producer
Amanda Mackey Johnson	Casting
Kent Alterman	Executive Producer
Matthew Hart	Executive Producer
Toby Emmerich	Executive Producer
Bruce Carwardine	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

By teaming up for the mismatched buddy comedy The Man, Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy have once again reinforced their reputations for taking each and every role they're offered. At least in this case, both actors are absolutely suited for their parts -- in fact, it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Derrick Vann, the short-tempered ATF agent, or Andy Fiddler, the loquacious dental equipment salesman. Perfect casting does not a perfect movie make, but The Man is better than it should have been, which is as much as anyone can hope for. Yes, there's a lot of humor about flatulence, cavity searches and getting shot in the butt, but Jackson and Levy embrace their parts enough to make the most of their odd-couple pairing. In particular, it's nice to see Levy's character portrayed as something other than a total doofus. It's an easy joke to make the painfully white guy in the glasses a coward and a blowhard, and while Andy Fiddler does display those traits to some degree, he's also reasonably courageous and perceptive. Derrick Vann is more of a one-dimensional Jacksonian character, with plenty of the badass yelling that's been Jackson's trademark since Pulp Fiction. His police skills are also questionable, but not because he bends the rules like rogue officers always do -- rather, he repeatedly and brazenly jeopardizes what should be a delicate undercover operation. (Most prominently: He gets on a bullhorn at a crowded intersection and bellows at a gathering of police officers for hampering a federal investigation). The Man wraps itself up in a scant 83 minutes, lending more credence to the notion that director Les Mayfield et al were just trying to get it out the door as quickly as possible. Still, even comedy snobs will probably find themselves laughing here and there.