quick movie review: “Beverly Hills Cop”
February 2nd, 2008The heat is on, y’all!
If you’re a few years younger than I am, then you don’t remember what kind of hold Beverly Hills Cop had on the nation in 1984. So let me tell you it was huge, dude.
You wanna talk about just the soundtrack alone? Kenny Loggins’s “The Heat Is On” and The Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance” (I still don’t know what a “neutron” dance is) open up the movie. “The Heat Is On” kicks in with the Eighties-est saxaphone you’ve ever heard over scenes of urban Detroit in the midst of summer. Moments later, after a brief introduction with Eddie Murphy, there’s a high speed truck chase to the tunes of “The Neutron Dance”–a song that I believe was solely responsible for resurrecting the careers of the Pointer Sisters, who are supposed to have been some kind of hit in the disco era, but I’ve never heard any of their songs so how famous could they have been?
And then there’s Axel F. Check this out: every third kid in America learned how to play Axel F on the piano that year. Kids who didn’t know how to play anything else on the piano, kids who had never touched a piano before learned how to play Axel F. And if you don’t believe me, have a look at the co-worker on your left and on your right. One of them can play Axel F, I guarantee it. And if neither of them can, that means that you are the one who learned how to play Axel F way back in ‘84. Go ahead, try to deny it.
The movie’s opening truck chase includes a lot of smashed cars and even an explosion or two. This isn’t so surprising when you note that the movie was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, a man who is known for big explosions and large things smashing into each other. It was a bit shocking, now in 2008, to see his name pop up in the credits. Who knew he’d been producing that long? Must have been a young buck back then.
Bruckheimer isn’t the only name that you’ll be surprised to find here. My DVD cover promises cameos by Paul Riser, Bronson Pinchot, and Damon Wayans. I think “cameos” is a bit of a retrofitted word here–chances are that you didn’t know who any of them were. It was years before Mad About You, Perfect Strangers, and In Living Color would hit the air. But there they all are, chewing the scenery with Eddie Murphy.
Eddie Murphy, by the way, is in top form here. I don’t know what’s been going on with him during these last few movies (Norbit was a nominee in a ton of categories t this year’s Razzie awards)–and to be honest, even The Nutty Professor isn’t my cup of tea. But Beverly Hills Cop shows off his incredible comedy chops, and even his ability to reign himself in for more serious scenes.
That’s right. Despite that opening truck chase, this movie is not simply non-stop action or non-stop comedy. There’s a quite a bit of well-used silence and emotion here. It feels somehow a little more “real” than a lot of the comedy blockbusters I’ve seen lately. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but I think that it has something to do with characters that have a bit more depth than I’m used to in this kind of movie. Eddie Murphy underplays a lot of his more quiet moments, and I think that gives his character a lot more sympathy. I’m contrasting this with the over-the-top brooding of someone like Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon series, or the I’m-just-an-angry-jerk-who-doesn’t-play-by-the-rules cop given to us by Nick Nolte in 48 Hours.
Incidentally, Beverly Hills Cop was one of my big introductions to Hollywood Trickery. When I was nine or ten, I was watching our family’s copy of the movie on VHS for the seventy-third time. I got to the scene where Axel approaches Victor Maitland at Maitland’s private club. One of Maitland’s hired goons tries to confront Axel, but Axel throws him over a buffet table.
Except that Axel doesn’t throw him over a buffet table. Check it out:
Who the heck is that linebacker player dressed like Eddie Murphy??
I don’t know why I hadn’t caught it all of the other times I’d seen the movie–it seems to glaringly obvious now.
At the time I felt really clever for having caught on to the film editor’s clever ruse. But now when I see it, I just think “Gee, could they not find anybody that even closely resembles Eddie Murphy? This stuntman’s qualifications seem to be 1) He’s black and 2) he’s got a mustache.” I mean, even though it’s a pretty quick shot it’s still on screen for a pretty long time.
That one revelation at age 12 has made me keep an open eye for other stunt doubles who don’t quite match the lead actors and actresses they’re meant to resemble. It can a fun game to play when you’re watching any of your favorite action movies. 
