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Still trying hard to become a successful stand-up comic, Lance Barton (Chris Rock) meets a
sudden fatal accident. In the "other world", he meets "angel-in-charge" Mr. King (Chazz Palminteri), who tells Lance that he has been taken up 40 years before his time.
Insisting that he be sent back right away, the only body available that Mr. King could give him is that of very rich, white, and much disliked Charles Wellington III (Brian
Rhodes). Lance struggles between trying to be himself, wanting to be a successful comedian, at the same time being Mr. Wellington. It is a case of a struggling black man in a
rich white man's body, and how he manages his dual identities.
The film is burdened with to many things it wants to do. Aside from the main plot of Lance
being given a second lease on life, with a twist, there is also the attempt to develop his relations with Sontee Jenkins (Regina King), his love interest, with Mrs. Wellington
(Jennifer Coolidge) and others. There are two main problems that spoil the film. The first is the confusing shifts of Lance's two identities: when is he himself and when is he
Charles Wellington. As he wore too many hats in the making of the film—lead cast, director, screenwriter and producer—his acting does not live up to the caliber of humor
that Chris Rock is known for. The second is that the movie audience finds it difficult to appreciate his humor. This is because of the viewers' unfamiliarity with the blacks'
sense of the funny and the particular American slang they use, including its nuances. This is a comedy better understood by the blacks, or the American viewers in general.
In spite of a disappointing film, the audience may still be able to pick up something from it.
For instance, it appears that when a black person tells jokes or makes fun about blacks before a black audience, it is acceptable and tolerable, even if the jokes fall flat.
However, when a white comedian makes jokeS about, or pokes fun at blacks, that is a definite no-no. Down to Earth is a remake of the 1978 Warren Beatty movie Heaven
Can Wait which, in turn, is a remake of the original Here Comes Mr. Jordan. This is one remake that is not on par with the former films on which it is based.
(Date reviewed: November 5, 2001)
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