'Money Talks'

In the 1995 movie "Friday," motor-mouthed comic Chris Tucker’s manic performance as a hopelessly pot-addled wastrel stole the show from the star, rapper Ice Cube. In "Money Talks," Tucker performs a similar feat, but this time he’s the star and the executive producer.

When we first meet Tucker as small-time ticket scalper and hustler Franklin Hatchett, he’s cruising down the highway singing an exuberant -- and hilarious -- accompaniment to Barry White’s "You’re the First, the Last, My Everything" on the car radio. From the self-indulgent opening sequence, it is clear that this latest film vehicle was custom-built for Tucker, whose rubber-faced mugging and genial screen presence more than carry the somewhat formulaic action-comedy.

But what’s not to like about a movie that has $15 million in stolen diamonds, bloodthirsty French villains and a car chase in a vintage Jaguar (not to mention an appearance by Heather Locklear)? Well, Charlie Sheen, for one thing.

But not even the dead weight of the puffy, wooden Sheen as a has-been TV reporter can derail Tucker and his comedy juggernaut. It’s stupid, guilt-free summer fun.

MONEY TALKS (R) — Contains an abundance of profane humor, violence and explosions, along with a brief glimpse of a barely clad derriere.