Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence in Life

Okay, so I don’t normally do this but… for this post I will be providing a look directly into one of my recurring thoughts. Or as Lupe Fiasco would say,

“Welcome all of y’all to my dark recesses
This is where I keep the bars like bathtub edges
My Ivories and my Doves, my Levers and Zest’s
It takes half of your bubble bath to match the freshness”

There was a time in my life that I wanted to do anything related to film. Production, direction, writing, acting – you name it, I wanted to do it. I still catch the bug sometimes, especially when I’m watching one of my favorite films.

Speaking of my all-time favorite films, remember Life? Of course you remember the extremely dramatic and touching comedy, starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, about two down-on-their-luck bootleggers from New York who get arrested and falsely convicted of murder in none other than my home state of Mississippi. I often think about that film and the many messages it conveyed about coming of age, about the injustice within the legal system, and about never giving up hope. Simply put, it’s a classic.

With that said, however, I sometimes think the film deserves a sequel. Before you get ready to post a comment and call me something other than a Genius, I know what you’re thinking. The two main characters were really, really old by the end of the film and it would therefore be hard to make a sequel. You’re right.

Except that there are all types of prequels in film. In fact, Will Smith is said to be working on an I Am Legend prequel – entitled I Am Legend: Awakening – that will be released some time in 2011. Prequels have been and can still be done.

It might be hard, but not impossible. It would pick up at what I consider one of the best scenes in the film (sorry for the low quality).

That’s right. If I had any pull in Hollywood, I’d start working on Life 2: The Boom Boom Room.

I’d bring back as many of the original cast as I could (RIP Bernie Mac) and have the film take the form of a frame narrative – in this case, a dream – similar to Don Quixote. It would begin with the two old men living in their Harlem apartment and Ray (Murphy’s character) would dream about his beloved Boom Boom Room and what it would have been like to open it and have all the guys he had met in prison there. From there, the plot would be brand new and would concern Claude (Lawrence’s character), Ray, and the happenings and personalities in and around the nightclub during the great depression.

I have to admit that there are a few problems with this idea.

1. The concept – a nightclub during the 1920s could turn out to be a lot like Harlem Nights, which Eddie Murphy starred in, directed, and produced.

2. Secondly, it could end up being a lot like Idlewild. I’m not so worried about this one, though. Idlewild was a musical, and it was set in the south – Georgia, to be exact. This film would be set in Harlem (see #1) and it’ll strictly be a comedy.

Other than that, I would love to see Murphy and Lawrence team up again – to the point that even if I had a more fleshed out idea, I would still post it right here and hope that someone could make it possible (in exchange for a lesser role that pays, of course). I’ve had that one (and many other film proposals that I may post later) on my mind for quite some time. I’d love to hear what you think.

If you think it’s far fetched, you might want to consider this fake trailer as proof that there’s nothing Martin (as well as most stand-up comedians) won’t do – even if it is only a spoof. You know you would see this movie if it were real.

It should also be considered that Eddie Murphy starred in last year’s Meet Dave.

What do you think? Would you be willing to go and see a sequel to Life? Should the film just be left as a standalone classic? Can Eddie and Martin get together and make movie magic again this late in their careers? Do you have a film proposal? Hit up the comments section and let us know!

Main Image: IMDb

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