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'LANES' MIRED Jackson and Affleck get a kick in the asphalt jungle
Changing Lanes: Kerry Hayes
Credits
Release Date: Apr 12, 2002; Rated: R; Video Release Date: Sep 10, 2002; Genre: Drama; With: Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson; Distributor: Paramount Pictures
All About
Changing LanesB
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a senior writer for EW and a frequent contributor to National Public Radio -- he has the tote bag to prove it
''Sometimes God likes to put two guys in a paper bag and just let 'em rip,'' seethes legal beagle Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck), reflecting on his daylong battle with luckless Everyman Doyle Gipson (Samuel L. Jackson). He almost nails it: Change ''God'' to ''a screenwriter'' and ''guys'' to ''stock characters,'' and you'll know what to expect from Changing Lanes, a hospital-corners morality play that pleasantly exceeds itself.
Filtering the Golden Rule through ''Spy vs. Spy,'' the story fates Banek to sideswipe Gipson on the FDR Drive, then hurriedly abandon him at roadside. This makes Gipson disastrously late for a child-custody hearing and ignites his ''path of the righteous man'' vengefulness (a mode Jackson might consider retiring). A Pong-like feud ensues, supposedly illustrating how ''everything decent is held together by a covenant...not to go bats---.'' Non-profundities like that are the only real potholes on this briskly morose tour of New York City -- or rather, the Hollywood version, where rain falls on Feckless White and Angry Black stereotypes alike.
Posted Sep 10, 2002
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You Might Also Like
- Review Changing Lanes (Apr 12, 2002) | Lisa Schwarzbaum
- Review Changing Lanes (Apr 12, 2002) | Lisa Schwarzbaum
- All About Changing Lanes
- Movie News See which A-list directors acted up in 2002 (Dec 06, 2002) | Scott Brown
- Spring Movie Preview The A-List (Apr 05, 2002) | Josh Wolk
- Flashes Don't Go 'Changing' | Jeff Jensen
