Held Up (1999)

I must admit, when I sat down to watch this, I was pleasantly surprised; it was funnier than I had imagined... however, with my expectations being very, very low, it doesn't really mean that the film is anything more than average. A pretty good amount of laughs, but nothing memorable. The ending seemed to be too much of a "happy ending" and was obviously done to open the film up to the mainstream crowd. The plot is decent enough, but it is obviously just written to put the characters in unlikely situations, and is at least a little too over-the-top. The pacing is pretty good, the film isn't really boring for the 90 minutes it lasts(then again, it isn't really *that* hard to make people laugh for an hour and a half). The characters are somewhat well-written, and one or more manage to rise above simply being tired stereotypes. The dialog is often quite humorous, and mostly well-delivered. The acting is decent, for a bunch of no-names; the only well-known actors in the cast are Jake Busey and Jamie Foxx, both of whom prove their worth as comedic actors. The humor is quite good, if a bit dull and predictable. The film has next to no memorable parts to it, though it is somewhat funny. All in all, an average comedy, and worth watching *once* if you can see it for free. I recommend it to fans of typical American comedies. If it's on TV, see it, unless you've seen it before. I have seen it once, and have no intention of seeing it again. 5/10

"Held Up" is one of the those feel good comedic movies that doesn't require a whole lot of thought. "Held Up" is an enjoyable comedy that played like a comedy of errors. Jamie Foxx is a comedian that almost matches the comedic level of someone like Chris Rock. This was the perfect match for Foxx and the movie because I don't think "Held Up" could have been made without him. I enjoyed how Foxx mixed the comedy with scenes of drama. It gave a nice balance to a light-hearted and good natured film. Everyone played a comedic part in this film from Barry Corbin to Nia Long and Jake Busey. "Held Up" is just good fun.I would disagree with those who call "Held Up" the worst movie made.

With so many movies out there that just want to show people in a rage, this one gave me hope. The fact that the main character is black, and racial issues were not the main focus was the best part for me. It was a sweet story of two people who belong together just trying to get back to each other, no matter what it takes. That's sweet. I think everyone should rent this and just laugh, because the "no matter what it takes" part is hysterical.

I saw this film aboard a bus, in November of 2000, on my way from the Tallahassee Amtrak station and Walt Disney World (the tracks were being worked on). I was thus a captive audience for the bus driver's taste in movies; otherwise, I never would have seen it. It's hard to imagine that Barry Corbin and John Cullum (from Northern Exposure), and Julie Hagerty (from the Airplane movies) would have wasted their time with anything this bad: nobody could be that hard up for work.That's not to say that the movie didn't get a few laughs from me, and from the other passengers on the bus. But we weren't laughing WITH it; we were laughing AT it.