Double Take

A well-heeled Wall Street banker (Orlando Jones) finds himself framed for murder and goes on the lam to Mexico; trailing him all the way, like a dog he can’t get rid of, is a jive-talking street clown (Eddie Griffin). In the first third or so, the film is amiably sloppy, but it becomes more sloppy and less amiable as it goes along. Writer/director George Gallo’s script has more twists than is good for it, and his direction becomes more unstable and desperate with each outlandish turn in the disorderly plot. At the center of it all, Jones and Griffin have real star chemistry, and their early scenes are very funny, but the laughs grow sparser as the plot thickens. The stars get through the film with aplomb, but they deserve a better showcase than the mess and clutter Gallo saddles them with here.