User Comments:
5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful:-
lackluster comedy with a few laughs, 17 March 2002
Author:
Roland E. Zwick ([email protected]) from United States
About the best thing that can be said for `Showtime' � a throwaway cop buddy
comedy starring Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy � is that it demonstrates
that an inferior script can be at least partially overcome by first-rate
performances.
You can't go too wrong when you have acting talent of this caliber working
for you. De Niro and Murphy portray two LAPD officers who are recruited to
be the central `characters' for a new `Cops'-type reality TV show, wherein a
camera crew will follow the two on their appointed rounds as they chase
suspects, round up criminals and, all in all, make the streets of LA safe
for the common, decent citizens who reside therein. De Niro's Mitch Preston
is a reluctant participant in the series, while Murphy's Trey Sellars is a
wannabe actor with stars in his eyes who sees this as his golden opportunity
to make it big in show business.
The initial problem with `Showtime' is that it feels more like a `high
concept' exercise than an actual movie. Despite the fact that there are a
number of funny moments in the film, too many of the scenes fall flat both
as comedy and as action drama. The saving grace is that De Niro's
understated cynicism provides an effective counterpoint to Murphy's
over-the-top enthusiasm, resulting in just enough comic tension to wring
laughs out of even the weakest of material. It is a joy to watch these two
pros at work and they are nicely complemented by Rene Russo as the driven TV
producer whose brainchild serves as the excuse for the story. William
Shatner, playing himself, also generates some laughs, often at his own
good-natured expense.
Yet the film itself is a failure. One of the prime dictums of the
screenplay is to try to show the discrepancy between police work as it is
portrayed on the screen and police work as it really is. In fact, the film
opens with veteran De Niro instructing a class of elementary school children
about the mundane realities of life on the job. Yet, the film betrays its
own theme by itself indulging in all the inane shoot-em-up and car chase
scenes it is supposed to be satirizing (the scenes are not exploited for
comic effect, which might have lent some much needed satirical bite to the
proceedings). Even worse, the `serious' side of the story, involving drug
deals and gun running, fails to generate any interest or suspense.
Oh well. De Niro and Murphy are such likable comic actors that the movie,
for all its many weaknesses, manages to whiz by without inflicting too much
boredom and pain. `Showtime' is a completely forgettable and innocuous
little time waster, but fans of these particular actors will at least
appreciate their efforts.
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