*** out of ****
Hollywood Homicide had the misfortune of being released alongside bigger, "f/x" oriented blockbusters, so it unfortunately got lost in the box office shuffle of summer 2003, putting up some rather disappointing numbers. The reviews weren't kind (though a number of reliable critics, including Ebert & Roeper, Rob Blackwell, and David Cornelius gave it positive marks), so undoubtedly low expectations on my part made this a more enjoyable venture for me, or maybe it's just a solid action/comedy. Either way, this continues my personal Harrison Ford streak (dating back to Star Wars, there hasn't been a movie of his I've seen that I've genuinely disliked, not even the strictly mediocre Random Hearts).
Ford stars as Joe Gavilan, a Hollywood detective moonlighting as a real-estate broker who's desperate to sell a house just to pay off his mortgage and alimony payments. His partner, the much younger K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett), is also a yoga instructor/aspiring actor. Their latest case involves the murder of a group of rappers, a hit possibly called by producer Antoine Sartain (Isaiah Washington). But their attempts to solve the crime are hindered by an I.A. investigation led by Bennie Macko (Bruce Greenwood), an old rival of Gavilan's who's determined to make his life a living hell.
For about the first twenty minutes, Hollywood Homicide stumbles and sputters with awkwardly placed jokes involving food orders and real estate deals. But the randomness of the jokes and the situations improved and grew on me. It's part of the movie's appeal, basically focusing on two cops who have more pressing concerns on their minds than the homicide case they're on. As a matter of fact, the "main" plot is barely given any genuine development, it's just there to provide the movie with a frame with which the leads can interact and get into some physical action.
The movie's success lies mainly with leads Ford and Hartnett, who, surprisingly, aren't the typical mis-matched buddy pairing I was expecting (they actually get along pretty well). Ford's talent with comedy is not a surprise, his gruff manner and deadpan approach is perfect for this material. The running cell phone and real estate gag would normally feel out of place and probably fall flat, but in Ford's capbable hands, the gags are often hilarious. Hartnett is just right as the playboy movie star-wannabe, not exactly a stretch for the young actor, but still a decent performance.
Despite virtually no action in the opening hour, the movie climaxes with a twenty-minute, non-stop action sequence that's filled with car and foot chases, shootouts, and a couple of scuffles and fistfights. It's a thrilling segment that's easily the movie's highlight. There are several memorable comic setpieces: a chase involving a paddleboat, an I.A. interrogation constantly interrupted by cell phone calls, Ford chasing a villain with a girl's bike (actually my favorite scene of the whole film), Hartnett commandeering an SUV with a family of passengers still inside, and a bloodied Ford brandishing a gun and making the finishing touches on a real estate deal in an elevator full of frightened women. Incidentally, three of those scenes are set in the final half-hour, accompanying the action sequences.
Hollywood Homicide's not without its fair share of flaws. The film boasts one subplot too many, mainly in Ford's underdeveloped romance with a psychic (Lena Holin), Hartnett's acting goals, and a silly "father who was a cop, but was killed in the line of duty" cliche storyline that should have been completely excised. The Gavilan-Macko rivalry is lazily resolved, more of an afterthought on the filmmaker's part than an actual conclusion. One scene involving a handcuffed prisoner with a loaded gun is just pointless; I said before the movie's random storylines were part of its charm but this is a little too random.
But the movie succeeds at what it intends to be, a buddy-cop comedy where the cops actually feel like buddies and not hot-headed partners always at each other's throats over trivial matters. Such an approach may be what you're expecting, but believe me, the movie feels much fresher the way it is and is all the more enjoyable for that reason.
