down to earth or ( 2001 ) ( out of four ) by blake french representdown to earth be such a mislead and desperate comedy it make sit home on the couch watch a chris rock standup comedy act on tv look like heaven . speaking of heaven and the film be base on the 1978 movie heaven can wait . that be a good movie and and this be good to demonstrate how a group of aspire screenwriter can take decent material and turn it into garbage . director chris and paul weitz miss nearly every target . from concept to storytelling and down to earth fails miserably while this be one incredibly bad production . chris rock be a lousy standup comedian and both in his role in this movie and in the real life . he play lance barton and whose manager and ( frankie faison ) even feel sorry for him when he be boo off stage during amateur night at a local theatre . soon after the script establish his lack of talent and the character be kill by a speeding truck . death and play by eugene levy and have make a mistake and take lance before his number be up . god assistant ( chazz palminteri ) be very angry and decide to let lance make up the remainder of his time on earth and as long a he take the only available body of a 60 year old white millionaire . the old man name be mr. wellington and whose life have problem of it own . his wife ( jennifer coolidge ) be have an affair with his assistant ( greg germann ) and who be rob him of his money . but that all right because lance and inside mr. wellington and have fall in love with a young black woman name sontee ( regina king . ) meanwhile and there be plot to kill wellington and lance attempt to get a good body and and sontee confuse feeling deal with a hospital situation involve mr. wellington finance . down to earth have some good idea and but they be in a pointless and unconvincing love story fill with contrivance and recycled material . the big problem it run into be how we perceive lance a mr. wellington . chris rock be the actor with popularity and publicity and so he be not go to be absent from most of this movie while all of the character see the new lance a mr. wellington and but we see him a chris rock . this be convenient for the love story while we believe a young woman would fall for lance and but in reality and he be actually an old and gray haired geezer . that be not so convincing . the one joke comic situation be suppose to be watch an old man do funny thing that be really do by a young black man . but what inspire laughter be when character run into conflict without their knowledge . just look at there something about mary . in the funny scene the character be expose to awkward experience and and not at their will . here and lance know he be in an old man body and and do thing old men would not normally do . if lance do not know the body he be in then that may have have potential . another problem with the concept represent we never know mr. wellington in the first place and so how can we compare lance in his body when we do not know what he be like originally . to top everything off and chris rock need to be the center of attention here and and make the character too much like rock . he recite simple standup routine joke that be tedious and painful while his dialogue be so obvious and wooden and straightforward . i hat the film sense of humor . there be so many unfunny joke and horrible comic situation . it be like watch chris rock be chris rock and not a character in a movie . let emphasize the positive in down to earth . mark addy do not do any bad here than he do in the flintstone in viva rock vega . eugene levy and chazz palmentari be well cast and but they be at the mercy of a scalped script . those be all the good quality i can mention at this time and and if you give me another week to recollect and it be not likely that i will come up with any more .