NATIONAL SECURITY Dir: Dennis Dugan. Starring: Martin Lawrence, Steve Zahn, Bill Duke, Colm Feore, Eric Roberts One of the most clear-cut warning signs for any film is the presence of Eric Roberts. Julia’s elder brother is the cinematic equivalent of the Ebola virus; seeing him on screen will invariably leave your orifices bloody in about ten minutes. Not content with one piece of Hollywood roadkill, National Security is a so-called “star vehicle” for Martin Lawrence. If this film’s a star vehicle, then it’s a black hole driving a Reliant Robin. If I see one more stupid buddy movie about a cop who breaks all the rules, I’m going to rip out my eyeballs and throw them at the screen. The story? Well, Lawrence and the once amusing Steve Zahn are security guards, caught up in a caper that goes all the way to the top. Unravelling this crazy mystery is gonna take some guts, stupid disguises, and a whole lotta jive talk. Perhaps the worst thing about this film - aside from the fact that it’s a complete rip-off of Beverly Hills Cop – is the race relations. In his feeble stabs at satire, Lawrence unwittingly conforms to all the clichés he’s so desperate to tear down. It saddens me that inter-racial relationships are still such a big deal in Hollywood.
	I should have guessed that this film was written by the same auteurs behind I Spy. National Security sparkles with the same wit, sharp screenwriting and general bon vivant that left me… shaking last year. First Owen Wilson, now Steve Zahn, which respected indie comedian are they going to take out next? If you liked the other, execrable Lawrence films, the odds are that you’ll like this one, too. There’s some car crashes, and the usual token black chicks that are inexplicably attracted to the charms of a man who sounds like an R-rated Tiny Tim, and looks like the love child of Gollum and a chipmunk. In the words of an unusually insightful IMDB reviewer; “If I was smart, I would just stop watching Martin Lawrence’s movies.” D Patrick Garson. Click here to discuss National Security on our film forum.
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