Freebie and the Bean

San Francisco police detectives Freebie (James Caan) and Bean (Alan Arkin) are doing everything and anything to take down crime boss Red Meyers (Jack Kruschen).

It's a lot of car crashes. James Caan and Alan Arkin have a lot of banter. It's all mildly humorous without being all that funny. I'm not sure that Caan and Arkin make a good comedic team or a good action team. Caan is not nearly funny enough to be comedic. Arkin is not hard enough to be dangerous. It's an odd couple of police partners. On the other hand, it is fascinating to see them paired up like this. It's the platypus of police movies.

One of the best of the cop-buddy-movie genre. Although there is just enough realism to keep the story's premise afloat, Director Richard Rush makes sure that this film doesn't take itself too seriously. Alan Arkin turns in a first-rate performance as the "Bean", the straight guy (with a couple of kinks of his own) against James Cann's maverick "Freebie" character.

There are a few surprising twists, even though a flick this funny doesn't really need much of a plot.

With a strong supporting cast including Valerie Harper and Loretta Swit, I found this feature outrageously funny when I saw it in the theater in 1975, and it's still just as good today. There is a scene with Alex Rocco as the "D.A.", at which my dad, a real-life D.A. at the time, nearly fell out of his seat laughing.

If you can find this classic, by all means watch it. As long as you remember that it's just a spoof, no more a serious look at policing than "Police Academy" was, you'll enjoy yourself. If we're lucky, maybe a DVD release is in the cards.

A fairly atypical off the wall love-hate relationship between two cops as they try to bring down a tongue-in-cheek bad guy. The story centres around the wacky verbal and non-verbal relationship between Alan Arkin and James Caan more than it does the fairly week plot. This is the whole point of the movie - the story line is in fact incidental! The scene where Freebie steals Bean's gun is a classic example of this, as is the button ripping scene earlier in the film. To add to the drama Bean thinks his wife is having an affair and Freebie offers advice...terrific stuff. Perhaps those of you who gave it a poor review should find the time to watch it again - a little more closely - and savour the unique banter between these two excellent actors.

A mainstay on cable in the 70's, Freebie and the Bean is by no means "great" but it certainly is thoroughly entertaining to anyone who doesn't let political correctness stand in their way.

This is no doubt a film that can offend; the two cops (especially Caan) use muscle whenever they can; a crossdresser is treated horribly and insulted; there's some racial humor. But hey, this was made in 1974 when people simply weren't as uptight as they are now.

It's a goofy movie, it has goofy music, goofy comedy and a goofy script. The goofiness, violence and non-political correctness of this flick make for an odd mix, but it's an entertaining mix. Cann and Arkin are great in their roles, and show geniune affection and friendship for each other as they try to keep a criminal alive to break a case.

Car chase fans especially like this movie, and there are some classic chases here! The highlight chase shows the duo chasing after a blue car with some truly amazing stuntwork.

All in all if you aren't the easily offended type, and like some goofy comedy mixed with action, it's worth a spin, if only to see how movies were made when not under a watchdog's microscope.

Most buddy cop films are just that, a pair of mismatched boys in blue in pursuit of an evil bad guy. "Freebie and the Bean" has a bad guy, however he is neither important or particularly bad. What is important about this movie is not the story itself, it is all about James Caan and Alan Arkin's deadpan humor while crashing police cars . There certainly have been longer police chases. There certainly have been more crashed vehicles. There never has and never will be a more hilarious chase than in "Freebie and the Bean". The chemistry between Caan and Arkin seems so natural, that it can't all have ben scripted. So forget plot inconsistencies and take a ride with the best buddy cop film ever. Highly recommended. - MERK