'The Man' is tacky, tedious and tired

"The Man" stinks. And not just because most of the jokes in this sloppy action comedy concern the odors of a dopey dental supply salesman, Andy Fiddler (Eugene Levy), who's forced to admit to a furious federal agent, Derrick Vann (Samuel L. Jackson), that red meat gives him gas. And it isn't just mild wind-breaking, either. It's ear-splitting, air-polluting, atomic flatulence.

New Line Cinema 'The Man' D The verdict: Even Pepe Le Pew would turn up his nose at this stinker. Director: Les Mayfield Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Eugene Levy, Anthony Mackie, Luke Goss, Miguel Ferrer Run time: 84 minutes Release date: September 9, 2005 Rating: PG-13 for language, rude dialogue and some violence. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "The Man"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

That sort of grade-school humor is about as funny as things get, as "The Man" revises a pretty fair comedy-of-errors plotline harking back to Arthur Hiller's hilarious 1979 film, "The In-Laws." But it quickly turns tedious, as director Les Mayfield ("American Outlaws") does his take on the tired "48 HRS"/"Lethal Weapon" buddy-cop formula.

In the setup, family man Fiddler is a bundle of nerves, traveling to Detroit to give a speech at a dental convention. But stage fright turns out to be the least of his worries when suddenly he's swept up in a renegade undercover operation conducted by Vann, whose partner has just been offed by a nasty gang of gunrunners.

What ensue are the customary car chases and shootouts, pushed along by a retro-funk soundtrack. And, of course, there's the tough-guy banter of Jackson and cringing retorts of Levy, whose characters are pretty much composites of their previous roles. Think Jackson's "Pulp Fiction" Jules getting all Ezekiel 25:17 on Levy's "American Pie" dad. In fact, at one point, Jackson's Vann uses a variation of a too-cool line from "Pulp Fiction," telling Fiddler, "It's a tasty burger."

Sly, maybe. But also a bit sad — because it may actually remind viewers that, once upon a time, Jackson made some good movies.