Nothing to Lose (1997 film)

Nothing to Lose
The movie poster for Nothing to Lose.
Directed by	Steve Oedekerk
Produced by	Martin Bregman Michael Bregman Dan Jinks
Written by	Steve Oedekerk
Starring	Martin Lawrence Tim Robbins John C. McGinley Giancarlo Esposito Kelly Preston Michael McKean Rebecca Gayheart
Music by	Robert Folk
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	July 18, 1997 (USA)
Running time	98 min.
Language	English
Budget	$25 million
Box office	$44,480,039

Nothing to Lose is a 1997 comedy starring Martin Lawrence and Tim Robbins. The film was directed by Steve Oedekerk who also wrote the film and made a cameo appearance as a lip-synching security guard in the film.

The film was released in July 1997 and went on to gross over forty million dollars at the box office. The theme song was "If I Had No Loot" by Tony! Toni! Toné!, but it was remix version of the song "Not Tonight" performed by Lil Kim and featuring Left Eye, Da Brat, Angie Martinez, and Missy Elliott that garnered the most attention from the soundtrack as it gained much airplay on television and radio and even reached the top ten on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

The film was shot at various locations in California and New Jersey. The prime location used for filming in California was Los Angeles and Monrovia. Nick's office is located in the U.S. Bank Tower. The prime location used in New Jersey for filming was Bloomfield.

Plot

Advertising executive Nick Beam (Tim Robbins) thinks his life is going very well—until he returns home from work and discovers that his wife (Kelly Preston) is apparently having an affair with his boss, Philip Barlow (Michael McKean). On the edge of a nervous breakdown, Nick drives around the city until small-time carjacker T-Paul (Martin Lawrence) jumps into his SUV and attempts to rob him. Turning the tables on his mugger, Nick kidnaps T. Paul on the spot and drives him to the desert. After T-Paul robs a gas station in the Arizona desert, the mismatched pair devise a scheme to rob Nick's boss in revenge for the affair.

Nick knows the combination to a safe in his boss's office containing a large amount of cash, as well as the best time to enter, and where not to venture in the building. T-Paul knows the weaknesses of the security system, how to avoid the cameras, and how to get through any electronic locks that they might encounter.

Another criminal duo (John C. McGinley and Giancarlo Esposito) get blamed for the gas-station robbery and pursue the pair to L.A. After a brief confrontation, the two ram Nick's truck off the road.

After escaping the 'real' criminals, the pair execute their plan. During the robbery, however, Beam reveals himself to the security cameras after damaging his boss' prize fertility statue. The situation worsens further as the crooks that Nick and Paul escaped from, who are now waiting outside, follow them to their hotel and place Paul in a trap for Beam to find when he returns from the bar.

Nick calls his wife and discovers that she was not, in fact, having an affair—the cuff links he thought were his boss's were left by his boss at the Christmas party, and it was her sister and her sister's fiancee in the bed. Suddenly overcome with remorse, he quickly manages to rescue T-Paul from his (somewhat inept) kidnappers and return the money to the safe, after tying up the crooks and leaving them in an alley for the police. Nick assures T-Paul that nobody will bother to look at the tapes, unless something is missing or damaged. After trying to figure out what to do with the money, Nick and T-Paul get into a fight, ending their partnership. T-Paul decides to walk home, while Nick drives home and tells his wife what happened to him.

Of course, Nick's face is still on the tape, and (since he vandalized his boss's statue) the tapes are being closely examined. Nick races to his boss's office, but arrives too late—only to discover that 'an electrician' has recorded over the tape.

After finding T-Paul, it's revealed that T-Paul recorded over the tape, saving Nick from the life he himself was desperately trying to escape. In return, Nick gives T-Paul a legitimate job—as the electrician responsible for the security system he so easily bypassed. After the credits finish, a postman delivers a letter to the gas station T-Paul robbed. The owner opens it up and finds it full of money (to replace what was stolen).

Cast

• Martin Lawrence as Terrance Paul Davidson
• Tim Robbins as Nick Beam
• John C. McGinley as Davis 'Rig' Lanlow
• Giancarlo Esposito as Charlie Dunt
• Kelly Preston as Ann Beam
• Michael McKean as Phillip "P.B" Barrow
• Rebecca Gayheart as Danielle

Awards and nominations

• Bogey Awards
  • won in 1998

Soundtrack

Main article: Nothing to Lose (soundtrack)

A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on July 1, 1997 by Tommy Boy Records. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200 and #5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and was certified gold on September 3, 1997.

External links

• Nothing to Lose at the Internet Movie Database
• Nothing to Lose at Rotten Tomatoes
• Nothing to Lose at Box Office Mojo