Lawrence.com

First, the good news: "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" doesn't quite live down to its title. Now, the bad news: That's probably the best thing you can say about it.

The set-up is entertaining, at least for a little while. Martin Lawrence plays Kevin Caffery, a burglar who robs the home of millionaire businessman Max Fairbanks (Danny DeVito). Kevin is caught red-handed, and when the police arrive, Max gets a little extra revenge by claiming that Kevin stole the unusual ring he's wearing, a "lucky ring" actually given to Kevin by his girlfriend, Amber (Carmen Ejogo).

Furious, Kevin starts harassing the millionaire at every turn, but Max is determined to keep the prize, even as his adversary's behavior gets more and more outrageous. It quickly becomes apparent that the ring isn't about Kevin's love for Amber or Max's sense of justice � it's about seeing which one of them can WIN.

The movie plays with a couple of interesting ideas, particularly that the sleazy, amoral Max is just as much of a crook as Kevin. The only difference being that Max stays (just barely) within the law while Kevin and his partner (John Leguizamo) make a point of going after people like Max, seeing them as legitimate targets in a Robin Hood-like scheme to take from the corrupt rich. For his part, Max delights in using his money and influence to obtain whatever he wants, no matter what he has to do to get it. Much of the film's humor comes from seeing both these men receive a taste of their own medicine, with Max insisting that Kevin deserves being stolen from, and Kevin using his own ill-gotten gains to turn Max's life upside down.

Unfortunately, director Sam Weisman and screenwriter Matthew Chapman skim over all this, preferring to keep things as superficial as possible. There are jokes about race, gender and sexuality that went stale 20 years ago, with dumb white snobs everywhere and a preening gay character who looks like he wandered into the wrong movie.

Of course, there are also the requisite bodily function gags � a certain quota is apparently mandated by law these days. It's as if someone deliberately rewrote the script until every last drop of originality had been removed, then replaced it with whatever seemed likeliest to get a cheap laugh.

Lawrence has mercifully toned down his hyperactive persona a bit, giving one of his most subdued performances to date. He never quite looks comfortable, though, as if he can't figure out what to do if he isn't making a fool of himself. The rest of the cast is populated with versatile pros like DeVito, Leguizamo, Nora Dunn, Bernie Mac and Glenne Headly, all of whom could provide Lawrence pointers on how to be funny without trying so hard. They still can't do much with the material they've been given, but they provide occasional moments of genuine humor. DeVito, in particular, seems to be having the time of his life � a quality he brings to most of his work. If only the audience could share his enthusiasm.

By the time "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" is over, it's hard to even care how the story is resolved or what happens to the characters. This is the kind of film that isn't quite bad enough or good enough to make a lasting impression. It will probably join that long list of movies nobody will remember having seen, even if they were there on opening night. And that really is the worst that could happen to any film.