All About the Benjamins

This article is about the film. For the song by Puff Daddy, seeIt's All About the Benjamins.

All About the Benjamins
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kevin Bray
Written by	Ice Cube Ronald Lang
Produced by	Matt Alvarez Ice Cube
Starring	Ice Cube Mike Epps Eva Mendes Tommy Flanagan
Cinematography	Glen MacPherson
Edited by	Suzanne Hines
Music by	John Murphy
Production company	Cube Vision Productions
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date	March 8, 2002(March 8, 2002)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Box office	$26 million

All About the Benjaminsis a 2002 Americanbuddyaction comedy filmdirected byKevin Bray,starringIce CubeandMike Eppsas a bounty hunter and a con artist who join forces to find a group of diamond thieves: the former for glory, and the latter to retrieve a lost winning lottery ticket. The film was released in theaters in March 2002 to negative reviews. Despite this, the film was a moderate box office hit. The film's title was taken from the popular 1997 hip-hop song performed by Puff Daddy "It's All About the Benjamins". Ice Cube and Mike Epps also starred together in theFridayseries and the (2009) filmJanky Promoters.

Plot

Tyson Bucum is a bounty hunter trying to acquire the funds to start a private investigation firm, and Reggie is a small-time hustler and bail skipper previously apprehended by Bucum three times. Reggie lives with Gina, his trusting girlfriend. One day, Reggie buys a lottery ticket and wins $60 million. However, he spots diamond thieves running away, and he hides in their van. Reggie escapes the thieves but runs into Bucum. The two of them cannot stand each other, but they team up to retrieve Reggie's wallet with the lottery ticket, and to catch the diamond thieves and recover the diamonds.

Cast

• Ice Cubeas Tyson Bucum, a bounty hunter who has a hatred for his job due to low-budget payment and teams up with Reggie, eventually befriending him.
• Mike Eppsas Reggie Wright, a con artist who teams with Bucum.
• Eva Mendesas Gina, Reggie's girlfriend.
• Tommy Flanaganas Robert Williamson, the main antagonist, a speed boat dealership owner trying to get his hands on $20 million in diamonds.
• Carmen Chaplinas Ursula, a diamond thief working for Williamson and also his lover.
• Valarie Rae Milleras Pam, Bucum's girlfriend who is also his co-worker.
• Roger Guenveur Smithas Julian Ramose, a diamond thief working for Williamson.
• Anthony Michael Hallas "Lil J", a con artist and drug dealer who is arrested by Bucum earlier in the film.
• Anthony Giaimo as Martinez, Bucum's Boss.
• Robert MacBeth as Mr. Dwight Sheldon, a local store owner who shows great annoyance of Reggie.
• Bob Carter as Mr. Barkley, a wealthy man who has a batch of diamonds, wanted by Williamson.
• Bow Wowas Kelly (Lil Bow Wow), a neighbor of Reggie.
• Barbara Barron as Mrs. Barkley, the wife of Mr. Barkley.

Reception

All About the Benjaminsreceived generally mixed reviews from critics. On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,31% of 74 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "A sloppy, poorly directed action-comedy,All About the Benjaminsis too derivative and gratuitously violent. "Metacritic,which uses aweighted average,assigned the film a score of 34 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.

Ed Gonzalez ofSlant Magazinewrote that: "[T]he film simultaneously embraces and rejects the dog-whistle vaudeville ofRush Hourand the testosterone overload ofBad Boys,and the result is an absurd, sometimes elegant look at cultural emancipation via the buck. "Entertainment Weekly'sLisa Schwarzbaumgave the movie an overall C− grade, writing that: "I don't know if Cube is melting as he warms up his persona to be all things to all audiences — tough but tender, rap-real but corporate-ready — or if Epps' off-spin, discount-Tuckerprattle is slowing Cube's game. But something puddles to nothing in this relentless Miami sun. "Russell Smith ofThe Austin Chroniclecriticized the film for being "another slice off the increasingly stale buddy-pic loaf" that came after48 Hrs.,highlighting the "random disconnectedness" of the action scenes as "downright insulting" and the nasty violence for coming across as "benignly cartoonish silliness".

Soundtrack

Main article:All About the Benjamins (soundtrack)

A soundtrack containinghip hopandrhythm and bluesmusic was released on February 19, 2002 byNew Line Records.It peaked at #65 on theBillboard 200and #12 on theTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

External links

• All About the BenjaminsatIMDb
• All About the BenjaminsatBox Office Mojo
• All About the BenjaminsatRotten Tomatoes