Rated PG-13 for action violence, language and some drug content.
92 Minutes
Directed By: Tom Dey
Written By: Jorge Saralegui and Keith Sharon
Staring: Robert DeNiro, Eddie Murphy, Rene Russo, Mos Def, William Shatner, T.J. Cross, and James Roday
No, this is my batcave. There’s a tunnel in here leading to my cliffside mansion a few miles north.-Detective Mitch Preston
Synopsis
A spoof of buddy cop movies where two very different cops are forced to team up on a new reality based T.V. cop show.
Review
Eddie Murphy and Robert DeNiro are no strangers to playing the role of a police officer. Some very dramatic, and some more comical, and some that quirky “buddy flick”. Showtime takes the idea of a “buddy flick” and makes it an almost comedic, almost action film. The success of this film is the fact that it does over-exaggerate the formula of the “buddy film”, but it also cleverly displays that the idea does work when the two main actors have chemistry, and DeNiro and Murphy have some exceptional chemistry.
Robert DeNiro’s character, Mitch Preston, is a hard working detective who despises the kind of cop movie he’s in, because it’s unrealistic. He’s about doing the job and going home, while his counterpart (Murphy) is an actor playing police officer because he’s terrible at waiting tables. The two are brought together by fate and more melodramatic cliches. Rene Russo shows up as a producer for a reality cop show and wants the polar opposites to work together as partners while they investigate a crime involving an automatic shotgun.
Everything in Showtime is down excessively. All the hero’s, villains, and action sequences are all done to the extremes, but it’s pretty funny when you know the movie is making fun of the brand of movie it’s portraying, but there is also a very potent affection for the kind of movie it’s making fun of as well. That combined with the excellent chemistry and delivery of DeNiro and Murphy make this film worthwhile, not to mention some gut busting moments with William Shatner playing a cop showing the cops how to be “TV Cops”.
Showtime isn’t going to blow your socks off, but it’s a clever little satire that will thoroughly entertain you. It’s an enjoyable movie that has an appeal to the action/comedy audience. They will undoubtedly appreciate it. There is nothing wrong with a simple plot when it entertains you and Showtime will do just that.
