I honestly really enjoyed this movie, and I still can't believe I had to go looking for movies almost identical to this to find it. Everyone who talks about buddy cop action comedies says "48 HRS", "Beverly Hills Cop",
"Lethal Weapon", "Red Heat", "Stakeout", "Tango & Cash", "Rush Hour", and then new ones, like "21 Jump Street" and its sequel, "2 Guns", and the "Bad Boys" movies. But really, this movie predated all of the aforementioned films except for the first two, and it's still not receiving the kind of credit it deserves.
This 1986 action comedy features Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines as Danny Costanzo and Ray Hughes, two Chicago cops who are looking to retire. The two are on a stakeout when they see a drug dealer they recently put away, Julio Gonzales, on the street, and this leads to the eventual bust-gone-wrong, where the two unwittingly blow the cover of two cops trying to nail Gonzales, but they do end up catching him. Gonzales makes bail however, and Danny and Ray are instructed to take a vacation, and they head to Key West, Florida. Once they get back, they put in gear and pull out all the stops to and Gonzales.
Peter Hyams did a great job directing here, and he really let Crystal and Hines carry the movie, and didn't rely on an overabundance of action to make the film work. Letting the two leads have fun really made the film both more enjoyable and memorable, but when the action did come, he directed it pretty well, and nothing was ever too far-fetched, the train track car chase aside. I'll definitely be on the lookout for future works from Hyams, and I also enjoyed his 1988 buddy cop film, "The Presidio", though this film was much more enjoyable in my opinion, both as an action film, and just a film in general.
As far as comedy goes, it's excellent, and there are some great laughs. Crystal and Hines have legendary chemistry, and they play so well off of each other it's insane. The script really gives them room to work and joke around, and a lot of their dialogue seemed improvised, which only added to the charm of the movie. There are also the scenes with the obligatory antagonistic pair of cops who dislike the protagonists, and those didn't get old either.
There is, honestly, little to offer in the action department, but what is there is slick, well-made, memorable sequences that seem at least somewhat realistic. There is a small shootout in an alley near the beginning, a shootout on a boat on a dock, a shootout in an apartment, a fast-paced car chase on train tracks, and a final, explosive shootout in which Danny and Ray head into a large building, armed to the teeth and aided by two other cops, to get Gonzales and save Danny's ex-wife. The car chase especially was very memorable, and might actually rank among my favorite film car chases.
As I said, this film is criminally underrated, and its really only recognized by 80s action/buddy cop film enthusiasts like myself, though even in those circles I feel it doesn't really get its due. It was greatly overshadowed by the obviously superior "Lethal Weapon", which started the buddy cop fad that the 80s and 90s were so in love with, though this film should get more credit for revolutionizing it, along with "48 HRS" and "Freebie and the Bean".
I would definitely recommend this film, and it's such a classic, well-made example of a buddy cop film. 10/10.
