'Worst' is not these actors' best work

MGM Pictures

Danny Devito (left) and Martin Lawrence star as two different kinds of crooks in 'What's the Worst That Could Happen,' a putrid new movie opening today

   It's tempting, but I'll refrain from answering the question straight away.
   In the new film "What's the Worst That Could Happen?," two boyish grown men are in a heated race to the whoever-dies-with-the-most-toys-wins finish line. It showcases the pompous class bully 40 years later - only the film's humor is stuck back at the playground.
   Even if you still enjoy a game of Red Rover every now and then, your sense of humor is overdeveloped for this film.
   Kevin Caffery (Martin Lawrence) is a thief with tastes for expensive estates. When he's directed to the simple heist of millionaire Max Fairbanks' (Danny DeVito) summerhouse, he encounters the fiery Fairbanks and is later towed away by the police. But while the cops and robber are leaving the scene of the crime, Fairbanks swipes Caffery's good luck ring.
   Predictably, the crook spends the entire film trying to retrieve the ring.
   "Worst," for lack of a better abbreviation, doesn't come close to explaining why the ring warrants death-defying lengths for its retrieval. Sadly, the depth of the film stops at DeVito's bulging belly.
   Not that the crowds that will flock to this film for entertainment beyond what Lawrence is known for.
   (His massive fan base is used to highly physical and superficial shenanigans a la "Big Mama's House").
   But writers Matthew Chapman and Barry Fanaro could have at least thrown a bone to the audience in the form of a somewhat believable premise.
   The few strong performances are dimmed by basically everything else in the lackluster film.
   Glenne Headly's shot as Fairbanks' astrological secretary and Nora Dunn as Mrs. Fairbanks both deserve a spotlight of applause.
   Their characters are endearing, and if nothing else they distract from having to watch DeVito act out a very unfunny script.
  
  

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