An action movie star researching a role is allowed to tag along with a hardboiled New York City policeman, who finds him superficial and irritating.An action movie star researching a role is allowed to tag along with a hardboiled New York City policeman, who finds him superficial and irritating.An action movie star researching a role is allowed to tag along with a hardboiled New York City policeman, who finds him superficial and irritating.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
Luis Guzmán
- Pooley
- (as Luis Guzman)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to James Woods, his role in this film was one of his toughest because his character had to constantly be angry with Michael J. Fox's character, who he found very likeable in real life.
- GoofsEarly in the movie a car is released from a tow truck and it flips. The piston and the metal frame used to flip it are clearly visible during the flip and the subsequent roll of the car.
- Alternate versionsIn addition to the usual cuts for broadcast standards, the version aired on NBC (and later on USA, etc.) showed scenes out of sequence. Just after John first meets Nick at the police station, the movie jumps to the two of them at the hot dog stand. After that entire scene plays out, it then goes back to the scene that would have originally preceded it, with John taking Nick to the ghetto to question the Dead Romeos. The re-edit probably would have been unnoticeable to a viewer if not for the fact that at the hot dog stand they are seen with a new, garish police car to replace one that was destroyed in the Dead Romeos scene.
- SoundtracksMomma Said Knock You Out
Written by LL Cool J (as J.T. Smith), Marley Marl (as M. Williams) and Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin
Performed by LL Cool J (as L L Cool J)
Produced by Marley Marl and LL Cool J (as L L Cool J)
Co-produced by Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin
Courtesy of Columbia/Def Jam Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Featured review
The buddy-cop action movie certainly has been a staple in cinema for a while now. And the makers of this film know that the success lies in a successful clash of well-defined personalities. That's the appeal of this long, loud, silly, over the top, but very fun slick picture from mainstream action specialist John Badham ("Stakeout", etc.). It's got some hilarious lines (the script is by Daniel Pyne and Lem Dobbs, based on a story by Dobbs and Michael Kozoll) perfectly delivered by its well cast stars.
James Woods is John Moss, a hard charging, volatile NYC detective hot on the trail of utterly deranged serial killer The Party Crasher (Stephen Lang), who kills innocent children and lowlife criminals with equal fervor. The already ill-tempered Moss has his patience tested even further when he's ordered to chaperone a spoiled-brat Hollywood star, Nick Lang (Michael J. Fox), who wants to do research for a role he covets and has decided that Moss will provide the perfect inspiration.
The high strung Woods and the endearingly annoying Fox are an ideal pairing; they're both perfectly cast. They're supported by a rich lineup of top character players. Annabella Sciorra is absolutely lovely as Moss' frustrated potential girlfriend. Lang is a riot as the unhinged villain; wait until you get a load of the kinds of things he does. Delroy Lindo is Moss' starstruck boss, and Luis Guzman, LL Cool J, Mary Mara and John Capodice play his colleagues. A young Christina Ricci is amusing as Sciorra's daughter. Penny Marshall has a fun cameo as Langs' agent.
As Nick notices, Moss is a very quotable guy, such as when he's lecturing the naive Nick on what being a *real* cop is like. "We don't get 17 takes to get it right!" But it's also a hoot to see a pampered, naive person like Nick get plunged into the realities of life on the streets of NYC. Another of the highlights is when Nick insists on playing the part of Susan as he attempts to tell Moss what he's doing wrong with his lady.
It all culminates in one of those great movie moments where our heroes are doing battle with the psycho on an enormous replication of Nick's head and hand, created to advertise his latest film vehicle.
Highly recommended to action-comedy fans.
Eight out of 10.
James Woods is John Moss, a hard charging, volatile NYC detective hot on the trail of utterly deranged serial killer The Party Crasher (Stephen Lang), who kills innocent children and lowlife criminals with equal fervor. The already ill-tempered Moss has his patience tested even further when he's ordered to chaperone a spoiled-brat Hollywood star, Nick Lang (Michael J. Fox), who wants to do research for a role he covets and has decided that Moss will provide the perfect inspiration.
The high strung Woods and the endearingly annoying Fox are an ideal pairing; they're both perfectly cast. They're supported by a rich lineup of top character players. Annabella Sciorra is absolutely lovely as Moss' frustrated potential girlfriend. Lang is a riot as the unhinged villain; wait until you get a load of the kinds of things he does. Delroy Lindo is Moss' starstruck boss, and Luis Guzman, LL Cool J, Mary Mara and John Capodice play his colleagues. A young Christina Ricci is amusing as Sciorra's daughter. Penny Marshall has a fun cameo as Langs' agent.
As Nick notices, Moss is a very quotable guy, such as when he's lecturing the naive Nick on what being a *real* cop is like. "We don't get 17 takes to get it right!" But it's also a hoot to see a pampered, naive person like Nick get plunged into the realities of life on the streets of NYC. Another of the highlights is when Nick insists on playing the part of Susan as he attempts to tell Moss what he's doing wrong with his lady.
It all culminates in one of those great movie moments where our heroes are doing battle with the psycho on an enormous replication of Nick's head and hand, created to advertise his latest film vehicle.
Highly recommended to action-comedy fans.
Eight out of 10.
- Hey_Sweden
- Aug 4, 2013
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $24,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $25,895,485
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,301,470
- Mar 10, 1991
- Gross worldwide
- $65,595,485
- Runtime1 hour 51 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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