Mismatching the two principal characters in a movie has become a comedy staple in Hollywood, and the tradition continues in director Les Mayfield's The Man. Andy Fidler (Eugene Levy) has a cheery outlook on life. Even a less than exciting job selling dental products can't wipe the smile from his face. But when he winds up in Detroit for a dental convention and is wrongly identified as an arms dealer, his smile is in danger of disappearing for good. Tough-as-nails cop Derrick Vann (Samuel L. Jackson) has set up an operation to catch the gang who run with the villain Fidler has been mistaken for. Eager to find him after the group of gun runners put a permanent end to his partner's career, Vann concocts a screwball scheme in which Fidler will impersonate the crook he resembles, while also trying to shake the Internal Affairs agents who are closely trailing him.