At first sight Kevin (Lawrence) and Max (DeVito) are an unlikely pair of adversaries. Kevin is a professional thief who makes a living by robbing the mansions of the rich, while Max is a billionaire media owner with connections in all the right places. But under the surface they're both alike - crooked chancers who think the law doesn't apply to them.
So when Max catches Kevin robbing his beach house, the scene is set for an obsessive tit-for-tat battle that threatens to spiral out of all proportion.
With its story of two feuding enemies, "What's the Worst that Could Happen?" is reminiscent of Barry Levinson's "Tin Men", where DeVito and Richard Dreyfuss squared off against each other as ruthless door-to-door salesmen.
But such comparisons only serve to illustrate just how far off the mark Sam Weisman's comedy is.
"Tin Men" was a hilarious story of manic one-upmanship that had a beautifully polished script. "What's the Worst that Could Happen?" has nothing more than a series of second-rate gags that appear to bore the performers as much as the audience.
The best scenes in this unfunny mess belong to DeVito, who knows how to play this kind of madcap belligerence in his sleep.
The supporting cast doesn't get much to work with, but William Fichtner gives a very camp turn as a dandy police detective who loves walking his pet poodles ("Pull Daddy like a chariot, babies!"). As you might have guessed, the comedy pickings are very slim indeed.
What's the worst that could happen? The words 'make' and 'sequel' spring to mind.
What's the Worst that Could Happen? (2002)
