BEFORE: So I was reading the Sunday paper today (yes, I know it's Thursday...) and I saw an article about a guy walking across the country, from Rockaway Beach, NY to Rockaway Beach, OR. I remembered my co-worker telling me about her friend, who's walking across the country, so I showed her the article. Turns out it's not the same guy, there are (at least) two people who decided to hoof it from coast to coast - perhaps inspired by the movie "Forrest Gump", who knows. Maybe they just need some alone time to clear their heads. My feet are still hurting from walking up and down the convention center in San Diego - but really, aren't we all just walking across the country, in our own symbolic ways? Me, I'm 583 movies in, with 383 still on my list. Which means that, metaphorically, I'm over the Rocky Mountains, but the Pacific is not yet in sight. But I keep adding new films to the list, so the coastline keeps getting further away. Wrapping this up before the end of 2011 is still a possibility, so then I'll have at least one year to relax before the end of the Mayan calendar.
Gangs, drugs, shootings, dogs and cats living together - it's been sort of depressing these last 2-3 weeks. I'm looking for a cop film with maybe a lighter tone - and since last night's film took place in east L.A., let's swing by and see how they fight crime in Hollywood, at least according to Hollywood.
THE PLOT: Two LAPD detectives who moonlight in other fields investigate the murder of an up-and-coming rap group.
AFTER: Well, I got what I was hoping for - while not a laugh-out-loud comedy, it did have some very comedic elements. It's a spin on the grizzled veteran and hotshot rookie buddy cop film - the veteran cop is also a real-estate agent on the side, and the rookie has aspirations to become an actor. I guess they're both in the right town.
And in between selling houses, rehearsing lines, and bedding numerous women along the way, they do find time to do some police work - a tiny bit, anyway. And there's a great car-chase climax as a bonus. While investigating the shooting of a rap group, the cops encounter a famous movie producer, a yoga class, Internal Affairs, a hot radio psychic, record producers, and a famous Motown background singer. I think they could have pushed the Los Angeles stereotypes a little more - yeah, they talk on their cell phones, and make out with women in hot-tubs, but where are the no-foam decaf lattes and sushi?
My quibble with the plot is that the motivations of the people responsible for the shootings are somewhat questionable - mostly they allude to past events that involve the central characters, but happened years ago. So we have to imagine the reasons for people to have grudges against our heroes - which is murky storytelling at best.
Still, it was exciting and entertaining - maybe not on the level of "Beverly Hills Cop", but not dark and depressing like "Clockers" either. I'm feeling generous tonight because they kept it light, and gave me what I was looking for.
Starring Harrison Ford (last seen in "Firewall"), Josh Hartnett (last seen in "30 Days of Night"), Bruce Greenwood (last seen in "Passenger 57"), Isaiah Washington (last seen in "Clockers"), Keith David (also in "Clockers"), Lena Olin (last seen in "Chocolat"), Martin Landau (last seen in "City Hall"), and Dwight Yoakam, with cameos from Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, Lou Diamond Phillips (last seen in "La Bamba"), Andre Benjamin (last seen in "Be Cool"), Robert Wagner, and Eric Idle.
RATING: 7 out of 10 cheeseburgers
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