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 Showtime
Starring:
Robert De Niro,
Eddie Murphy, Rene Russo, Dreno DeNiro, William Shatner and Frankie
Faison
Directed by: Tom Dey
Rated: PG-13
Showtime's a fast funny laugh-a-minute! DeNiro is almost
funnier than Murphy as he mocks himself, or better put, the legend
of DeNiro. Murphy just seems to be glowing as he delivers his
lines with his signature rapid fire perfection. These two have
made the best buddy-cop film to come up since the first
Lethal Weapon dazzled us! But, you're thinking four stars
for a buddy-cop flick? Well, I am frigatini biased when it comes
to DeNiro or Murphy, granted, so you figure a half a star is there
just for each of them being them.
Right
from the get go the audience is entertained by these two pros.
Trust DeNiro to perpetually deliver. And Murphy just turns it
on and lets the camera suck it up. Both are naturals and experts
at carrying a film. I just loved this. It's a spoof of the buddy-cop
genre done well.
Story
goes crusty Los Angeles career cop, Detective Mitch Preston (Robert
" get the steak, trust me- you doubtin' me? ME you doubt?"
DeNiro) is cornered by reality television producer, Chase Renzi
(Renee - simply gorgeous - Russo) after he "attacks"
a cameraman and his equipment. Chase sees him as her Dirty Harry;
a volitale tough-guy-cop-combusting-with-streetwise-passion that's
just waiting to pop. And she wants her cameras there when he does!
The
department has to go along with her and her reality cop show idea
or face a huge financial lawsuit that will also make the LAPD
look like barbarians.
So poor Det. Preston is literally forced to become her television
cop; the one thing he depises more than generic cops that
make a joke of the badge. Det. Preston sees the whole thing as
a hellish nightmare that just can't get any worse.
Enter patrol officer and part time actor, Trey Sellars, or Ice
Trey (Eddie- super star-Murphy) as he prefers to be called.
Trey's been trying to break into the Hollywood scene for sometime
and really wants this role with Det. Preston. He stages an elaborate
scheme to audition for the new show for Chase.
She immediately sees the two are perfectly miss-matched and she
couldn't have found a better team! Trey also comes up with the
perfect name for the show...Showtime!
Det. Preston, on the verge of a heart attack from the shame, hatred
and distaste for the whole damn situation, just tries to go about
his police business as the show crew follows him and his star
struck partner around. The two have a stormy and hysterical
relationship.
His
current case involves a new kind of vicious weapon on the streets.
It's a big gun. A gun that can destroy a home with a few rounds
or open the back of an armored truck if it wants. It's a mean
mother fu%&*^ and Det. Preston knows it means trouble. Officer
Sellars knows it means ratings!
Can the vetran cop and his tag-a-long-not-worthy-of-being-a-mall-security-guard-actor
cop still solve the case while they are constantly being filmed?
Or will they kill each other before they get to that episode?
You'll have to find that out yourselves.
Would it have been this good with other actors in the role? Probably
not…but thankfully they are in the roles and the film
is comic magic.
 Bob
DeNiro is one of our greatest -living- actors. Bell'e dotato!
Don't you just get goose bumps when you hear he's in a new film?
Or is it just me? Not only can he act— with a blindfold if
he wants —but he's super seriously sexy! He's like
one of those North End Italian meals, loaded with tons of different
infused spices that tease and excite your palette as you taste
each subtle layer! I actually got light headed from excitement
when I entered the screening of The Score…DeNiro,
Brando and Edward Norton in one film. Shriek! Or how about years
ago...his uber creepy role as Louis Cyphre? I still sleep
with the light on thanks to that performance!
Eddy Murphy's nothing to sneeze at either.
Smooth as a fine merlot! He shines in this role! And starring
next to DeNiro- that's saying something. If you missed Bowfinger,
rent it as soon as you can. That too is brilliant.
Renee
Russo was radiant as Chase the cunning shrewd Hollywood producer
with an edge. She's a beautiful woman and incredible talent.
Her
assistant played by Drena DeNiro was a hoot too. Keep your eye
out for her. Sure, she's DeNiro's daughter, but she's not just
riding the family name into a career, she has something.
William
Shattner plays himself. He's the director of the show. He "trains"
Det. Preston and Officer Sellars to act. He also delivers one
of the funniest lines in the film when he nonchalantly tells Sellars
that this hack Det. Preston just can't act!
There's
lots of Hollywood "in" jokes and pokes at the stars'
celebrity. Showtime is well written and excellently executed
be some of the finest people in the industry. Lucky us! Go on
have a few laughs and enjoy.
Snack
Recommendation: Sirloin Cheeseburgers at Laylas.
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