I must admit, when I sat down to watch this, I was pleasantly surprised; it was funnier than I had imagined... however, with my expectations being very, very low, it doesn't really mean that the film is anything more than average. A pretty good amount of laughs, but nothing memorable. The ending seemed to be too much of a "happy ending" and was obviously done to open the film up to the mainstream crowd. The plot is decent enough, but it is obviously just written to put the characters in unlikely situations, and is at least a little too over-the-top. The pacing is pretty good, the film isn't really boring for the 90 minutes it lasts(then again, it isn't really *that* hard to make people laugh for an hour and a half). The characters are somewhat well-written, and one or more manage to rise above simply being tired stereotypes. The dialog is often quite humorous, and mostly well-delivered. The acting is decent, for a bunch of no-names; the only well-known actors in the cast are Jake Busey and Jamie Foxx, both of whom prove their worth as comedic actors. The humor is quite good, if a bit dull and predictable. The film has next to no memorable parts to it, though it is somewhat funny. All in all, an average comedy, and worth watching *once* if you can see it for free. I recommend it to fans of typical American comedies. If it's on TV, see it, unless you've seen it before. I have seen it once, and have no intention of seeing it again. 5/10
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TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews25 September 2004
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chrisbrown64539 September 2000Held Up is a movie that will only be liked by those few hard-core Jamie Foxx fans. Yes, it has its funny parts, but they are few and far between. The idea of a man being dumped by his woman, then having his car stolen, and then actually being caught in the middle of a robbery is somewhat ludicrous.
Jamie Foxx is funny in the movie, as he is in all his movies, and with a little help from the sexy Nia Long, who by the way you almost forget is IN this movie, together they make the movie almost bearable. The problem with Jamie Foxx's movies is that they have no feasible plot, and they just stick any comedic situations in to just try and buy a laugh from the viewers.
Now don't get me wrong, I do think that Jamie Foxx is funny, I just think that he needs to choose his scripts better. This movie is a sad attempt at creating a believable storyline. If a movie has `lucked out' and made you laugh a couple of times does it make that movie a good movie? NO! And all the laughs in the world couldn't save this one. Steer clear of this Jamie Foxx flick, and let's just hope that the soon to be released `Bait' will be better. Don't count on it. -
tbills229 October 2018If I were held up stuck in traffic, or held up stuck on a bus, or held up stuck on an airplane, or held up stuck on a train ride, or held up out in the middle of the burning desert stuck in the hot sun, or held up at a ball game, or held up at a filling station, or held up in line at the bank or stuck in line at the grocery store, or held up at a bar drinking drinks, or held up at my job stuck doing work, or held up at home with nothing to do on a Sunday, or held up inside a convenience store stuck up at gunpoint stuck with comedian man Jamie Foxx then I would love to watch Held Up on my handheld! It's really hilarious, so VERY entertaining and a really original and relatable old country living and loving life comedy with a greatly lovable cast! I love Sarah Paulson in the kiddie pool and Nia Long in her hot skimpy dress in the back of the pickup truck and Jamie the star and Barry the boss and Jake the patrolman and Eduardo the crook and Roselyn Sanchez the crook too and even Julie Hagerty the bartender and John the gas station clerk and Natalia the sheriff's secretary! I love Held Up, I think it's a little bit underappreciated in our time maybe but that's not really a big deal because time will tell since for me, Held Up held up. Watch Held Up from 1999! It's 20 years old and you'll probably love it. I do. It's hilarious!
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JABrown9 September 2000This movie was okay. It made me laugh out loud more than once. It was however VERY slow moving in parts. I fell asleep watching it on Friday night, but it was decent enough that on Saturday morning I found where I dozed off and continued watching it.
A good point is that the movie manages to be moderately funny without being crude or overly sexual... That's hard to find these days. The biggest negative is that virtually the entire plot occurs in one spot, and you get very little change of scenery throughout the entire movie.
If you're looking for continuous laughs, this may not be the movie for you. But if you can endure the slow parts, the humor will sporadically appear. -
Anonymous_Maxine2 November 2000Jamie Foxx comes forth with another dumbass comedy, but at least in this one he pretends that he can possibly portray a respectable person. Trapped in a tiny town full of rednecks, Michael (Foxx) tries to recover from his fiancee (Nia Long, whose talent was even more wasted than it was in Big Momma's House) leaving him just after his beloved car was stolen, when he finds himself stuck in the middle of a botched robbery.
Yes, this is your stereotypical hick town. They have to have a tremendously fat guy (remember Billy Bob from Varsity Blues?), the police force winds up running around in their boxer shorts, and the sheriff seems to care more about the local sporting events than he does about saving the hostages in the gas station.
This movie may not have been so awful had it not been for the fact that the writers were clearly trying to grab for laughs every second of the way, while ignoring the necessary elements (even in a slapstick comedy) of reality and credibility. (spoilers) The robbers become likeable, so of course the film has to have a happy ending. That's fine, but what happened? They got on the bus, rode off into the sunset, and evidently the idiot police force went back to their baseball game, because they ignored the fact that the attempted robbers just drove away. `Oh well, let's just all go home!' Even country police forces aren't that stupid.
Held Up is slow paced, it's often boring, and it takes a serious situation and tries to get stupid laughs by making ridiculous efforts to make it all funny. It tries to force a smile on unhappy material, and was therefore doomed from the beginning. Hardcore Jamie Foxx fans may enjoy his cornball antics in this movie, but anyone looking for even the smallest hint of quality in their cinematic entertainment would be best advised to ignore this garbage. -
merylfan16 October 1999I really had no expectations going into this movie, but it turned out to be the most painfully boring, humorless movie-going experience I've had so far this year. The script is completely unfunny, and as good as the cast members have been in other projects, they can't salvage this mess. What it boils down to is that we end up stuck in a convenience store in the middle of the desert with a group of thinly-written and annoying characters. I didn't care for Clerks, but it now looks like a masterpiece compared to Held Up.
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jotix10010 January 2006What a difference five years make! Judging by the performance of Jamie Foxx in this comedy, one wouldn't have thought he had the range to play the title role in "Ray". This movie will not add anything to his resume, that's for sure. As directed by Steve Rash, the movie looks as though it either had some production problems, or the studio lost faith in this project.
The movie has a flat feeling. Most of the jokes don't work and all those familiar faces one sees have done better work before. What's even worse, the two stars, Jamie Foxx and Nia Long, don't show much chemistry between them. In fact, Ms. Long is only seen occasionally. Barry Corbin, Julie Hagerty, Eduarado Yanez, Roselyn Sanchez, Jake Busey, John Cullum, are seen in minor roles that don't add much to the picture. -
PredragReviews11 June 2016This is a pretty silly movie. The idea of someone holding up a place at gunpoint, taking hostages, and the hostages eventually sympathizing and siding with the robber... well, it's been done before and much better. The talent of Nia Long is wasted in this movie. Most of her screen-time takes place at the very beginning and end of the film.
I gave this an extra star simply because Jamie Foxx has some funny moments in this. He's a major talent and really deserves to do better films than this. He's a great actor, both comic and dramatic. And the rest of the cast are all very talented actors, especially Barry Corbin, who plays the sheriff of the town Jamie gets stuck in. Unusual premise upset by too much stupid moments or plot twist. But the film is entertaining enough to made this a pleasant viewing.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10. -
Now I'm usually very forgiving of movies because each appeals to it's own crowd, but this piece of garbage is where I draw the line. Coming into this movie I figured it wouldn't have much of a story, but I thought that it would at least be a stage for Jaime Foxx to make me laugh. This is no lie, I did not crack a single smile throughout this entire movie. I felt as though the script was put together the night before because this movie just didn't make sense. I can't explain everything that was wrong with this movie, because my post would take up all of the IMDB's web space. Just know that this movie isn't even silly funny and definitely not worth the price of the ticket. As a matter of fact if someone paid me to go watch this movie I would still feel cheated. I am totally shocked that Jaime Foxx and Nia Long would even be in this movie. It I could rate this movie, it would get a negative 5 stars! I'm not joking people, this movie sucked that much! I've seen better movie scripts on Cinemax after hours! In conclusion: DON'T GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!
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This movie had to be the most poorly written, asinine movie I have ever seen. The plot was awful and the acting was even worse. The beginning sets the pace as Jamie Foxx and girlfriend (gorgeous) are driving through the desert talking about things that aren't funny and are not relevant to the story. She ends up leaving with a bunch of rednecks for reasons that I couldn't understand and Jamie is left in the dust at the gas station. From then on hardly anything happens worth mentioning. The hostage situation ends when the local cops purchase a charter bus for a small group of people. I didn't understand this part. The town was said to be broke, so why didn't they purchase an old van or something? Whatever. My point is don't watch it unless you are amused by bad writing and acting.
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JamesL-425 June 2002I saw this film aboard a bus, in November of 2000, on my way from the Tallahassee Amtrak station and Walt Disney World (the tracks were being worked on). I was thus a captive audience for the bus driver's taste in movies; otherwise, I never would have seen it.
It's hard to imagine that Barry Corbin and John Cullum (from Northern Exposure), and Julie Hagerty (from the Airplane movies) would have wasted their time with anything this bad: nobody could be that hard up for work.
That's not to say that the movie didn't get a few laughs from me, and from the other passengers on the bus. But we weren't laughing WITH it; we were laughing AT it. -
kaitlync1629 January 2014I've read many bad reviews of this movie but I have to say, I do not agree at all. This movie was hilarious, entertaining, and had an interesting plot. Who doesn't love when someone gets into a crazy situation with a bunch of strangers? The actors were all funny and a delight to watch on screen. The whole hostage situation was extremely fun to watch and easy to get invested into. I could go on forever about this wonderful movie but you have to see it for yourself to really understand. I really urge everyone to watch this film. It's even on netflix! You can watch it with your friends, family, or just by yourself. Have a good time!
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mysteryegg17 January 2006This isn't intended to be a thought-provoking artistic masterpiece, but understandably most reviewers on IMDb are the types who try to look for sophistication in a film and as such, I believe, can't simply enjoy the simply absurd humor in a film such as this. Comparing IMDb reviews for comedies, you'll find The Great Dictator (extremely slow even by Chaplain's standards) at the top and more direct slapstick like The Three Stooges much further down the list. Simply put, most reviewers prefer irony over the kind of things you might joke about with some friends.
That said, once I got into this film, I couldn't stop laughing from all the little unlikely absurdities. It doesn't seem to try too hard to set up the comedy like, say, Club Dread. Instead, it is a pure and simple fun movie with a not-too-quirky cast thrown together in a restricted setting. This setup can be movie gold as in The Breakfast Club, but never strives for greatness and instead settles for a loosely thrown together stream of small-town comedy perfect for when you just need to laugh at practically nothing. -
Movie-1221 October 2001HELD UP / (2000) * (out of four)
You have to be pretty stupid to cast Jamie Foxx in a leading role. He is not a strong actor, if you can call him an actor at all. He can't hold our attention for five minutes, let alone 89 minutes. Give him an insipid, unfunny script, provide a production crew who would turn a Canadian location into an Arizona desert, add the creators of "I Know What You Did Last Summer," and you get an experience that makes a Chinese torture chamber look like fun.
Any one of those things is enough to trash a good movie, but "Held Up" uses all of them. Not only do we get unconvincing sets, throwaway jokes, sleep-inducing dialogue, horrendous performances, and pitiful direction, but we also have to endue them without variety. "Held Up" takes place during a dry, uninspiring day at a gas station in the middle of an Arizona desert. There aren't any neat editing techniques, innovative camera work, or eye-popping visual effects to inspire our imaginations or catch our attention. This movie is boring from the word go.
You're probably wondering how the majority of a movie can take place at a gas station set in the middle of a desert. That's a very good question. An even better question: why would anyone want to see something like that. These producers obviously thought such material would interest $15 million worth of an audience. They were wrong. According to box office records, the film only earned half its money back, proving just how interesting people found this concept.
"Held Up" even wastes the talents of Nia Long. She is a fine actress. In the press notes, she speaks highly of these filmmakers and actors. Unfortunately, actions speak louder than words. Her performance suggests she wants out of the project altogether. Probably because of the pay check and very strong self control, she bares with the painstaking agony.
Long plays Rae, the fiancee of a Chicago businessman named Michael (Jamie Foxx). The movie opens as the two argue and fight as they drive down the empty roads of Arizona in Michael's recently purchased piece-of-crap car. We spend the first ten minutes wondering what a beautiful woman would see in such a loser of a man. A few minutes later, she leaves him. GO GIRL!!!
I think we are supposed to become all hung up on whether Rae and Michael will get back together, but we don't really want them back together. Actually, we don't want any woman, or man for that matter, to endure a relationship with Michael. He is an annoying loudmouth. When a clan of stupid foreign criminals put Michael and other miscellaneous characters in the middle of a hostage situation, we actually want those gun-wielding robbers to pop him a good one.
The movie just gets dumber and dumber. The plot sinks to a new form of monotony. The only things keeping us awake is the work by one or two of the supporting actors, and I admittedly enjoyed a few scenes here and there. But overall "Held Up" is boring, trite, and desperately unfunny hokum. Jamie Foxx creates a stench so tremendously putrid he ruins almost every scene that features him.
I suppose you could laugh at this. You would have to be drunk out of your mind and be a huge fan of Foxx-but if you are drunk, you would probably fall asleep during this movie. Actually, writing about it is forcing me to remember certain scenes in the movie that were so incredibly boring that Zzzzzzz. Zzzzzzz. Zzzzzzz. -
tfrizzell10 February 2006Jamie Foxx has nothing but trouble when his girlfriend (Nia Long) leaves him after a fight in desolate Arizona and then his car gets stolen. Foxx then has more good luck by being held hostage at a convenient store after a botched robbery by ringleader Eduardo Yanez. Country-hick sheriff Barry Corbin becomes the negotiator in this light-hearted "Dog Day Afternoon"-styled fiasco. Admittedly hilarious to an extent, but begins to drag its feet late with plot resolution and a somewhat dramatic twist. Foxx is on the ball when it comes to his comedic timing and execution, but the flick is really beneath his wide range of talents. Adequate little time killer and truly funny---if you are in the right mood. 2.5 out of 5 stars.
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The beautiful 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk is the best thing in this movie. The beginning has a few chuckles as Jamie Foxx's girlfriend, Nia Long, gets an education about 8 track players. Once the "Sip & Zip convenience store is taken over by some inept robbers, the movie begins a steady slide downhill. In other words, as the supposed hostage situation becomes more ridiculous, so does the film. None of the cast of misfit characters is developed, and the simplistic script is stretched beyond belief. It's almost like they said this is what we have, now what can we do with it? I absolutely will add "Held Up" to my DVD collection, but only because of the magnificent car. - MERK
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willhowcoop26 August 2020A big snooze. Almost nothing happens in this film; the "plot" (such as it is) involving Jamie Foxx as a hostage goes nowhere with little action or humor. I've seen Zoom meetings with more excitement. Incidentally, Nia Long's screen time amounts to nothing more than a cameo appearance. Despite top billing with Foxx, she's barely in the movie.
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butchfilms25 October 2008There is no discussion that "held up" is a bad movie, the only reason to watch it is because of Jamie Foxx who is very funny even in the worst comedy movies.
The plot of the movie is about a couple Jamie Foxx and Nia Long who are traveling in their new car until they get to a store and they begin to discuss and she leaves to the airport without him in another car, from there Jamie Foxx will have real problems when his car is stolen and the store where he is at is robbed too.
I would recommend to watch "held up" only if you are a fan of Jamie Foxx. -
jojofla27 May 2000I genuinely enjoyed this movie. It's not perfect--a number of the jokes fall flat--but when the jokes do work, the movie can be side-splittingly funny. It helps that the script manages to create real characters that one cares about and pushes an agenda of understanding. Plus, it has the funniest final scene I've seen in a movie in a long time.
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fmwongmd10 December 2018I asked myself why am I watching this? Jimmy Foxx had his moments otherwise this is a forgettable movie.
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egypt2414 September 2005This movie is a comedy but not for chunk eaters. It tells a typical story of a gang band robbery by a group of Hispanic's in a deserted land store somewhere before the borders with Mexico.At the beginning of the move the Hispanic's kidnap an African-American, some weirdos and the store owner. The local authorities are totally incapable of managing the situation (hostage) and the funny thing is that, when the local sheriff calls for help, help cant find its way to the small deserted village where the story unfolds. This is to show how central governments neglect near border or small cities in USA. Many other examples of USA government, social and racial mockery through the movie, always funny. I didn't like the end. It was so typical that it didn't fit to a movie like this one, a sort of "political" slapstick comedy.
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mattymatt4ever30 March 2001Even Jamie Foxx himself was embarrassed to be part of this mediocre comic vehicle. But it really isn't as bad as most critics and audiences felt. The problem is Jamie is about the only lifeforce in this badly written comedy. He noticeably wasn't reciting lines straight from the script, b/c his one-liners were the main elements that kept this movie afloat. He holds his own, even when it reaches the peak of comic lameness. And I did laugh a few times, chuckled more though. But you can't help but feel "Held Up" didn't reach up to its potential, in fact it comes far from it. However, it's not a bad film. It's overall pretty harmless and mildly likeable. But there are much better comedies out there. And this is the least funniest of Jamie's work.
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Tiger_Mark28 July 2002I love this film. I have always thought that Jamie Foxx was talented, but never really cared for many of his movies. However, in "Held Up" he and the rest of the talented cast are just terrific. The story is well written and the dialog is very clever. The film revolves around a stick-up that goes comedically bad. With so many bad comedies floating around out there, this was truly a breath of fresh air. I am not sure where all the knocks on this film are coming from. This movie is fun and with an IQ. Perhaps people wanted a more "dumb" comedy, too bad. This movie is clever and very enjoyable. Rent it!
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RightOnDaddio8 June 2023I can remember seeing a copy of this title on videocassette on the shelves in the video store back in the day. One way or another I just never have gotten around to seeing this movie.
I love Jamie Foxx and Nia Long.
By the time this film hit theaters, Foxx had already been in In Living Color and Booty Call (one of my all time favorite comedies, for real!) and Nia had been in Boyz n the Hood and of course, Friday (another all time fave, duh!) I just didn't see it.
Not in the theater, on video, or on cable.
Finally, almost a quarter of a century since, I finally watched it.
I liked it, okay. Definitely seen better from both stars before, as noted, and since then as well.
Director Steve Rash made Can't Buy Me Love and the Pauly Shore vehicle, Son in Law. These were just a couple of his priors at the helm. Since, he has kept himself busy with all those American Pie: Band Camp and Bring It On straight to dvd releases.
Yeah, that's him.
This movie also has oddly casted former Cicely, Alaska residents and Northern Exposure stars Barry Corbin as the Sheriff and. John Cullum behind the counter of the Sip & Zip.
But they work out here great in characters and residents of this small town in Arizona.
Sarah Paulson is also in this before her career began its great ascent.
And for years, when seeing images and stills from this production, I thought this was Mira Sorvino.
I don't know why I did, but I just did.
This movie is amusing more than funny.
One scene that made me laugh out loud is when Foxx tries to flee the store at the onset of the robbery, he gets called out at the door, and throws his leg up on the push bar of the door, and acts like he's stretching like a ballerina.
The rest of the movie is just kind of there.
It's hard to make good comedy out of a hostage situation. It has to have excellent writing somewhat rooted in reality. Not so much here.
Roselyn Sanchez as Trina is stunning. Her part is small but she electrifies every second on screen.
And Julie Hagerty-a legend! Here again as a small town desert diner waitress! (U Turn, 1997) What a joy!
They just don't make movies like this anymore.
Sadly.
Silly little meaningless comedies released into theaters, taking a quick hour and a half of your time. Just meant to entertain if not merely amuse.
Movies like this can hold me up anytime. As I write this review, Jamie is undergoing a recovery for unspecified medical concerns. Hope he heals completely and soon. This world needs him. -
There are a couple of these movies you catch on cable that manage to sneak some real wit and sympathy into a no-man's-land of stylistic boredom that doesn't even earn the name B-movie ( where this kind of movie is concerned, it's always 1986. )
There are rules to watching a movie like this. You never call them by their real name, because you can't remember their real name, but are to be referred to instead by embarrassed asides to your girlfriend that go entirely ignored while she flips through a Zagat guide, such as "I saw this piece of s--t with Burt Reynolds and Sinbad that was actually kind of funny." Also, you never watch them from beginning to end, but catch them in the middle. Failure to obey this law could result in a meteoric drop in self-esteem and feeling of productivity. That feeling like "the day's being wasted."
The art of a car-wash movie consists of brushing against cliché then pulling back at the last moment. The trick isn't to get you to laugh, but to keep you smiling internally. It's all in the delivery. When Jamie Foxx first encounters a vaguely hostile Little League team and says "Children of the corn," it could very easily come off like a hokey black pop-culture reference to get the Magic Johnson Cineplex crowd roaring. But in this movie, he says it quietly, as if to himself, with a girlishly shocked tinge to his voice. The result is that you find yourself chuckling about the line a half-hour later or after the movie has ended, instead of while it's happening. Most of the jokes here work like that.
And Jamie Foxx is so charming in this film. He looks "street" enough but acts the ninnyhammer as well as Woody Allen, and there's a refreshing lack of explanation about why he's such a nerd. Who else can play the badass, the geek, the samaritan, the tormented artist, the preening genius, and every shade in between, and never coast on the support and shared background of a presumed black audience? There is no pandering in Foxx's performances, no trace of the veiled minstrel show that otherwise plagues most black performers who fall back on those tricks for easy laughs.
A prescription: If you don't believe me that there's a finesse to making even a good bland film, then watch Legally Blonde 2 back-to-back with this one and learn the error of your ways.