Hollywood Homicide

I went with a friend on opening night to see my idol Harrison Ford in this action/comedy extravaganza. I've been a Ford fan since The Empire Strikes Back and have seen everything he has done past and present. What I saw this evening was my hero finally trying a comedic role and let me say he was absolutely outstanding. Ford and co-star Josh Hartnett worked wonderfully together. I don't want to give away any of the plot but I will say there is an awesome car chase, foot pursuits, fist fights, gorgeous women, and funny sub plots about realty and yoga. The rap music and score of the film were pretty good too. For anybody who is a fan of Harrison's work such as myself go see this movie, you won't be disappointed! *** out of ****

Harrison Ford carries this movie on his shoulders. It's supposedly an action comedy. It isn't. The jokes fall flat. Comedy is about timing. This movie times with an hourglass. Without humor we're left with the action. There's so little it isn't worth mentioning. With small action and no comedy, at least there's a story. Right? Nope. The plot is so convoluted, with trivial and annoying side plots involving personal bankruptcy and real estate deals and IA investigations and marital infidelity and psychics and personal vendettas and aspiring actors and yoga instructors and I'm getting bored listing the side plots. It's absurd. I defy the viewer to explain what is going on with the murder investigation at any point in the film. It's the primary plot line and most of the time no one is even working on it. When they are, they're giving it five percent of their attention because of the aforementioned side plots. Five stars for Ford. Minus one for whoever wrote this travesty. Four stars.

I feel this movie is a bit in the vein of Get Shorty. It's a comic take on Hollywood and cop movies. I feel it just falls short of being as great of a movie as Get Shorty. For one thing, Harrison Ford's character is not that likable. His main schtick is trying to run real estate deals while solving a murder case. If we had some sympathy for him, this might work better. His partner is slightly more interesting, but also falls a bit flat in his role as a yoga loving, womanizing wannabe actor. That being said, the movie is good for some laughs. I found the interrogation scene pretty amusing. I found the final chase scene pretty amusing. Failing to find a better comedy on cable, this might be a possible choice for some mindless viewing. I should note that the plot is moderately complex, so you kind of have to pay attention at times IF you really want to understand the whole plot (I was surfing the internet while watching the movie, and missed some plot points.)

There were reports that the studio considered scrapping "Hollywood Homicide" because early returns on it were not favorable, but it was a very pleasant surprise. Harrison Ford hasn't done a lot of work lately, and most of it has not lived up to his high standards- it was good to see he's still got it. Josh Hartnett has not been a favorite, preferring to take on fluffy roles like the one he had in "Pearl Harbor," among other things. But he, as much if not more than Ford, is responsible for this movie's enjoyable storyline, which represents a revival of the "buddy" film with a new take on it- it's a fast-paced, masked comedy, and one that should not be raking in 1/100th of what "The Hulk" is taking in this week.

The big problem with this movie is that it thinks it's Beverly Hills Cops. It isn't, mainly due to the fact that it's not funny. When it's being serious it's OK - no more than OK, but no worse either. But when it's trying to be funny it's pitiful. The best example of this is the overlong climactic chase, the early part of which is played for laughs (Ford commandeered a girl's bike, and pratfalls madly all over Hollywood). My wife thought it was pitiful to see someone who had once been in 6 of the top ten box office movies of all time reduced to such straits. But once the chase gets serious, it's OK. Lena Olin is one of the hottest mature women in movies, by the way.