Expectations can be quite misleading. Take for instance some of the best films you have ever seen. Were they even more memorable because of their unexpected result? This is a situation that can be encountered the film Showtime.
Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy collaborate in a surprisingly fun action comedy that will no doubt surpass expectations.
Tom Dey directs this awfully funny buddy-cop film that contains some surprisingly heavy action sequences.
Showtime entertains in a matinŽe-like fashion that we have not seen for a while. True, it is not fresh for our main characters to portray police officers on film. They both have had their fair share of cop roles and while these actors retain the same elements that compose their typical characters, Director Tom Dey somehow manages to extract a vivid and fresh take on the tired concept of the buddy-cop formula.
This film has its’ flaws, there is no doubt about it. Yet, for what it is worth, these inconsistencies do not mean much when as a viewer, you are laughing and simply enjoying the film for what it wants to be – mindless fun.
Robert De Niro plays Mitch Preston, an ultra-serious Detective who is extremely camera shy. Renee Russo plays a television producer who wants to create a reality based cop show and has Preston in mind for the lead.
In order to make the series more appealing, she casts Preston’s exact opposite. Here enters Murphy who steals this film (as much as I hate to say it) as he acts in all his other films. He plays Trey Sellers, a cop who has aspirations of becoming a professional actor. As they are brought together for the series, they no doubt but heads
But have you forgotten? It is a formulaic script, therefore while our two antagonists pursue the conventional foreign villain with the thick English accent, they bond, come to care for one another and even save each other’s lives when given the chance. All this while escaping colossal gunfire and wreaking havoc in their fair city.
Director Tom Dey (Shangai Noon) directs his second film and surprises many with this quirky and easy comedy. He establishes his characters quickly and inserts much predictable tension between our two characters.
Furthermore, the action scenes, while not at all the most intense and carefully choreographed are still quite effective and capture the needed tenacity to demonstrate the evilness of the under-developed villain.
In a nutshell, this film is not about good vs. evil, it centers itself upon the character clash between these two characters and their repeated attempts at getting on each other’s nerves. And, while they are on the chase for this barely noticeable villain, one remembers the formulaic format that somehow seems to work in this film.
The discerning viewer can see the low bridges, the double-crosses and the romantic relationships that are just up ahead.
The film’s highlights will no doubt be the scenes of mindless banter between De Niro and Murphy and their interplay.
As aforementioned, De Niro and Murphy’s roles are by no means a stretch. In this film it works because De Niro is typical De Niro. The hands crossed, frown gesturing, subtle, menacing character he always is.
Meanwhile, Murphy is always the loud mouth, hyper-filled character he always is. And the script calls for scenes between these two characters that just play off each other.
It seems as if Dey simply mounts the camera and lets the improvisation begin and somehow it all works.
Now that one knows how the film works, this reviewer will not dissect the film to its bitter cinematic variables. Nor will I go at length to discuss the strengths and needed improvements within the film. What I will do is wait for the DVD to be released so I can buy it and laugh whenever I deem necessary.
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