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Downtown

  • 1990
  • R
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker in Downtown (1990)
Buddy CopSlapstickActionComedyCrimeDrama

An eager rookie cop gets transferred to a tough downtown Philadelphia precinct after stopping a powerful man for traffic violations. When his old cop buddy is murdered, he wants in on catchi... Read allAn eager rookie cop gets transferred to a tough downtown Philadelphia precinct after stopping a powerful man for traffic violations. When his old cop buddy is murdered, he wants in on catching the killer.An eager rookie cop gets transferred to a tough downtown Philadelphia precinct after stopping a powerful man for traffic violations. When his old cop buddy is murdered, he wants in on catching the killer.

  • Director
    • Richard Benjamin
  • Writer
    • Nat Mauldin
  • Stars
    • Anthony Edwards
    • Forest Whitaker
    • Penelope Ann Miller
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.7/10
    2.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Richard Benjamin
    • Writer
      • Nat Mauldin
    • Stars
      • Anthony Edwards
      • Forest Whitaker
      • Penelope Ann Miller
    • 17User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos12

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    Top cast61

    Edit
    Anthony Edwards
    Anthony Edwards
    • Alex Kearney
    Forest Whitaker
    Forest Whitaker
    • Dennis Curren
    Penelope Ann Miller
    Penelope Ann Miller
    • Lori Mitchell
    Joe Pantoliano
    Joe Pantoliano
    • White
    David Clennon
    David Clennon
    • Jerome Sweet
    Art Evans
    Art Evans
    • Henry Coleman
    Rick Aiello
    Rick Aiello
    • Mickey Witlin
    Roger Aaron Brown
    Roger Aaron Brown
    • Lt. Sam Parral
    Ron Canada
    Ron Canada
    • Lowell Harris
    Wanda De Jesus
    Wanda De Jesus
    • Luisa Diaz
    Francis X. McCarthy
    Francis X. McCarthy
    • Inspector Ben Glass
    • (as Frank McCarthy)
    Kimberly Scott
    Kimberly Scott
    • Christine Curren
    Ryan McWhorter
    • Ephraim Cain
    Danuel Pipoly
    Danuel Pipoly
    • Skip Markowitz
    Maurice Hill
    • Man with Dog
    Catherine MacNeal
    Catherine MacNeal
    • Mrs. Sweet
    Stefanos Miltsakakis
    Stefanos Miltsakakis
    • Wayne
    Kathleen Jean Klein
    • Dispatcher
    • Director
      • Richard Benjamin
    • Writer
      • Nat Mauldin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews17

    5.72.2K
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    Featured reviews

    7lastliberal

    A f*ck-up. Another goddamn, four-star, class-A f*ck-up!

    OK, so it's not Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, but this cop movie deserves a look.

    It's not really a cop movie. Yes, the scumbags are dealing dope and killing cops, but this is about a black cop that lost his partner (Forest Whitaker) and a fish out of water - a white cop in the worst precinct in the inner city (Anthony Edwards). One is afraid of losing another partner, and the other just wants to learn how to do real police work.

    It's funny, it's tender, it's sickly sweet at times, but it is really a good story about relationships; not only between cop partners, but between the wives and their husbands.

    Give it a chance.
    7Radon13

    A well-done 80's Comedy with the swing of great action

    Here is another of my personal favourites 80's comedies. A solid production with a marvellous Anthony Edwards and a bad-ass Forest Whitaker. Lots of the scenes have an unique Choreography.

    A good surprise for 80's fans!!
    6DEPRESSEDcherry

    Familiertown

    This is a good movie, it looks and sounds good, has good action and acting, good characters and story... it's a good movie. But, it's not a standout movie. It's too much like the movies that paved the way towards this being made. It's Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon, and 48hrs. It's a buddy cop, fish outta water, and culture clash. It has the loud police chief, the reluctant partner, and the class divide. It's an action, thriller, and comedy. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. The problem is it doesn't reach anywhere near the heights of any of its predecessors, and it actually struggles to pull everything together. The balance of comedy and thriller is just off, it's goofy one moment and throat-slashing serious the next. Edwards and Whitaker are both good actors, but neither one is funny enough to carry the humor or convincing enough when the guns come out. It's not a classic but, it's a good movie.
    7roddick-1

    Fun buddy cop movie.

    I had been eying this movie for a while in cheap DVD bins but didn't think I would risk spending all the money I had in my pocket at the time on it. Luckily I found it at a video library so decided to check it out.

    Forest Whitaker did a good job acting in this one. He's a skilled actor. He's been in a lot of movies I've seen but I didn't know it was him at the time because he wasn't one of the main characters so I couldn't pick him in the credits.

    It is a good blend of action and comedy. There are some exciting chase scenes and good jokes.

    Overall I thought it probably isn't worth all the money I had in my pocket at the time but is still worth a rent. It is a good buddy cop movie, any fans of the Lethal Weapon series will probably find this enjoyable.
    7nath_j_h

    Better than expected, funny, some good car chases

    Downtown wouldn't have been a personal choice but i was lent it with some other movies so I watched it. I understood that Forest Whitaker was in downtown (actor of recent film The Last King Of Scotland) The film turned out to be quite reasonable, co-star Anthony Edwards was actually quite funny at times making the film that little bit better, and not forgetting the soundtracks that make a good film.

    The film included shooting scenes, car chase scenes, and a bit of comedy splashed in for good measure.Forest Whitaker played a fairly good part and is a decent actor, the problem with films these day is that 90% of them are swarming with new/fresh from drama school teens, we need to hang on to our good actors.

    overall, a good cop flick worth the 90 min. - 7/10

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    Related interests

    Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour (1998)
    Buddy Cop
    Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
    Slapstick
    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film has often been considered as being one of the knock-offs of 'Lethal Weapon' (1987).
    • Goofs
      When Alex says "Get off here!" at the exit for the Bryn Meyer Suburbs, they are definitely on a major multiple lane highway, but when Dennis takes the exit, it shows them on a side road.
    • Quotes

      Henry Coleman: A fuck-up. Another goddamn, four-star, class-A fuck-up! Every backward candy-ass shit-for-brains fuck-up in the city, I get 'em. Not Wynnefield, not South Philly, not Germantown, me!

    • Connections
      Referenced in Crazy People (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Downtown
      Written by Def Jef, Matt Dike and Michael Ross (as Mike Ross)

      Produced by Matt Dike and Michael Ross (as Mike Ross)

      Performed by Def Jef

      Courtesy of Delicious Vinyl Records

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    FAQ18

    • How long is Downtown?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 12, 1990 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Diamond Street
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Pacific Western
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $10,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,346,150
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $821,626
      • Jan 14, 1990
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,346,150
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 36m(96 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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