Are we the only ones struggling to picture this film: Will Smith and Denzel Washington stepping into roles previously inhabited by Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby…and it has a "The Hangover" vibe. Whaaaaa? The film in question is a remake of 1974's "Uptown Saturday Night," and at present David Dobkin ("Wedding Crashers" and the unfairly underrated "The Change-Up") is attached to direct and Tim Dowling ("Role Models," "Just Go With It") is writing the script.
While Washington is not yet attached the project he has been circling it for some time (we last reported on his interest in March last year) but Tim Dowling has been talking to MTV News and he's hoping that Denzel will be coming on board shortly. "Will Smith is producing it. He hired me to write it because he liked the script for 'This Means War.' He and Denzel Washington both grew up loving the original. We're all hoping it's something Washington wants to do."
Firstly, Will Smith liked the script for "This Means War"? Whaaaaa? Secondly, we bet they're hoping Denzel likes it. Denzel and Will Smith in the same movie would literally (NB: not literally) cause the box office to collapse in on itself, such is their collective pull. Dowling went on to point out that Will Smith hadn't done a comedy in a while, though we'd like to point out that Smith actually hasn't made a movie that's any better than average in over a decade.
Dowling also spoke more specifically about the movie, saying that "the best way to describe it is a 'one crazy night' movie but it's not just one night. It's a similar tone to 'The Hangover.' I think it will be really fun." Well, we'll be the judge of that Mr. Dowling, but if he does manage to get both Smith and Washington on board then we think he'll probably be right. There's enough talent and charisma between those two to negate even the most average of scripts. This could be a team up of De Niro-Pacino proportions (the "Heat" kind, not "Righteous Kill") and if Washington doesn't eventually sign on we may never forgive him. Color us excited.