Beverly Hills Cop
— The foul-mouthed and the feckless: remembering the good times with the buddy cop film of the 80s.”
- Director: Martin Brest
- United States, 1984
The Cold War was loosening up, Reaganomics was ramping up and America was booming: 1984 was a big year for big movies and Beverly Hills Cop was one of the biggest.
Hardened maverick cop Axel Foley leaves behind the bleak streets of Detroit to hunt down his old friend’s killer in exotic Beverly Hills. It doesn’t sound promising, but the brash confidence of Eddie Murphy as Foley improvising in his first leading role is the stuff of legends, with a memorable double act from John Ashton and Judge Reinhold as a duo of feckless cops more used to low crime and sunshine. Bronson Pinchot also steals several scenes as gallery assistant Serge.
And it could have been so different: only weeks before shooting began, producers Bruckheimer and Simpson were going to make a straight actioner with Sylvester Stallone gunning his way down Rodeo Drive. Phew, that was a close one!
See also:
Ghostbusters
Unique, ridiculous and the first great movie I ever saw at a cinéma.
- Originally published: 27 Nov 2006 in Film
Blame it on the Bellboy
If there’s any proper comedy in this film, I must be Venetian blind.
- Originally published: 19 Apr 2007 in Film
Shaun of the Dead
Genre parodies based on the smalltown nature of little England. It’s becoming a whole subgenre unto itself.
- Originally published: 8 Jul 2007 in Film
The Darjeeling Limited
Riveting rail movie: terrific casting and a sparkling script make this an enjoyable passage to India.
- Originally published: 3 Dec 2007 in Film
The last night of Hobson’s Choice
Treading the boards is John Savident as the cobbler who must tread carefully.
- Originally published: 3 Dec 2007 in Theatre
Who you gonna call?
Hello you, I'm Mike Padgett. I'm not a Princeton curator, Knoxville mayoral candidate, Kentuckian pastor or Arizona journalist, I just share the same name. In fact, I am a consultant working in user experience and information design.
I also enjoy travel, concerts, films and walking.
I'm originally from Yorkshire, England but nowadays I live in Belgium. My current favourite Belgian beer is Black Albert.
Shameless self-promotion
Over a year in the making, Dopeology.org is my latest personal project: a topology of doping in thirty years of European pro road cycling.
I collected information from thousands of sources, then I modelled and published it via a lightweight user interface.
Comments
No responses yet to Beverly Hills Cop
Why not give me your comments?