Hollywood Homicide

This movie is a lot of fun. Everyone seems to be doggin' this movie, but most negative critiques I've read sound like the person expected "Hollywood Homicide" to be bad. The movie has failings to be sure, but I laughed out loud many times and smiled throughout the whole film. All I wanted was to have a good time, and I did.

*** 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.

I've always been a fan of Harrison Ford and odds are I always will be, regardless of what comes out of his personal life now. Considering how Hollywood can screw a man up, Harrison still ranks as one of the few to have successfully held his head together. That and I usually find something entertaining his films. It's hard not to be entertained by him in the old Star Wars films, where he was hilarious as Han Solo, or to root/feel for him in the Indiana Jones trilogy and films like "Blade Runner", "Witness", the Jack Ryan films, "The Fugitive" and "Air Force One".

Thing is, "Witness" marked the turning point of Harrison's career in which he would mature into the modern day quiet, reluctant hero. Understandably, after playing this role again and again for about 20 years Ford would naturally want to go back to playing things a little funnier than he had previously been allowed. It's a bit of a shame that he picked such a weak script for a return to comedy. All in all, it's just an excuse to let Harrison reprise his Han Solo persona as an older man. But in the opinions of some, his age dried him out, preventing him from being as funny as he used to be.

This one tries very hard to be both apart OF the mismatched buddy cop genre AND to make fun of it. As a result, it never quite realizes it's potentially funny premise or even serve as usual time filler.

Ford plays Joe Gavilan, a cop working real estate on the side and Josh Hartnett is his younger partner KC Calden, who works a yoga class on the side, sleeps with his customers and is also an aspiring actor. They get assigned to solve the murder of an up and coming rap group and are repeatedly dogged by Bruce Greenwood as Ford's nemesis. The cliche of Josh's dad being a cop who got killed by way of his partner could have been left on the cutting room floor.

Ford and Josh do the young cop/old cop bit as well as anyone else, but Ford deserves a better than this, and after "Black Hawk Down" Josh should be more picky about his vehicles. The only real comic highlight is when they're being interrogated and are either mouthing off or playing quiet. This is the only gem in an otherwise dull film.

Here's hoping they both make better decisions in the future.

I went to see this movie not expecting much from a Star who you least expect to be funny, but Ford is funny, but I am not sure about Hartnet. The movie is gripping with some amazing car chases, courtesy of the Digital editors. I happen to be seeing Italian Job on the same day, I came out thinking it was well worth my money since I have squandered my earnings on hollywood decadance that started with Beutiful mind.

I was really worried going in to see "Hollywood Homicide". The reviews quoted in the TV commercials are all from smaller media outlets and articles that I've read suggest the film makers couldn't make up their mind whether it's a comedy or an action film. After seeing the movie in the sneak preview, I know the film makers knew exactly what they they were making - a flat out comedy with some good, funny action sequences. The plot seemed well thought out -- a real web of deceit plays out during the course of the film. All the actors turned in solid performances. I'm not a fan of rap music, but the film makers blended rap (which makes sense because of the rap industry crime) with Motown and incidental music seamlessly. A bad score jumps out at me, but it all fit here. It's one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. The humor is all character-driven, never slapstick or forced. Look for lots of cameos, too. My husband had one criticism - he thought things weren't wrapped up enough at the end. I think it's well enough implied that justice will be served. So five silver movie reels from me and here's hoping "Hollywood Homicide" makes a killing at the box office. -- Auriette Lindsey