Parents' Guide to Money Talks

Failed chemistry, trite storyline, and dated, but not in a good way. That more or less sums up Money Talks, one of those '90s action-comedies that operates under the assumption that if everything is as exaggerated and over the top as possible -- be it the language, violence, or comedy through shouting -- surely something will work. Of course, movies like these aren't supposed to be groundbreaking cinema of breathtaking originality, but there's a point when all this movie seems to be is an endless succession of explosions, shouted profanities, and something about a missing diamond stash. Overall, this outdated bombast is more likely to induce a headache rather than provoke any laughter.

Playing the "unlikely partners," Chris Tucker and Charlie Sheen aren't as bad as one might suspect, but it's nothing special, either. Tucker has his moments, but they're few and far between, with so much of his trademark shouting given free rein. With director Brett Ratner, this almost feels like a practice run for the Rush Hour movies they would make together in the near future. There's a running joke involving the 1940s and '50s Italian crooner Vic Damone that almost works due to the utter absurdity of the premise, but it's soon run into the ground faster than it takes jokes to be exhausted in the lesser works of Sir Adam Sandler. It's supposed to be mindless entertainment, but it comes across more as a dated throwback to everything terrible that was hatched out of the bombastically-stupid blockbuster movies of the 1990s.