...like apparently all the ones you could have watched before. This effort cranked out by Ron Shelton rests on basic bases. Two cops from Los Angeles are compelled to work together. There's Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford), a seasoned policeman who has recourse to unconventional methods to do his job. He has to team up with young Calden (Josh Hartnett). Both of them are involved in an investigation revolving around a series of murders in the world of rap. But in parallel, the former also works as an estate agent to make ends meet while the latter teaches yoga and dreams of becoming an actor...
American cinema has already offered us products boasting two mismatched cops who are compelled to work together to solve a murder or to clarify a judicial affair like "48 Hours" (1982) or "the Lethal Weapon" saga. "Hollywood Homicide" finds itself deeply rooted in this tradition with the portraits of the two men I described earlier. But it is different from the other buddy movies because the viewer discovers another face of the American police. Some members are obliged to occupy a second job to provide for their needs. Thanks to this, Shelton renews a little the genre his flick belongs to with the contribution of Robert Souza who was a former cop.
The director turned to this perspective with a playful eye and thus his film has strong comedy accents. Is it enough to ensure the vision of the film? Well, Shelton's venture and his intentions are rather commendable but they amount to a lame movie. It oscillates nearly all the time between comedy of manners and detective film and has trouble to keep a unity and a stable pace. It is at times monotonous especially in the first half and it sometimes takes a boisterous turn. Shelton also obviously tried to bestow his work with an action-packed side in his story, notably with an endless chase in the second hour; first in car then on foot which throws the film off balance. The options chosen by Shelton to showcase the two heroes' private lives also get the film embroiled in shallow subplots. Then as the film boasts two stars, Shelton and Souza seemed to proportion correctly Ford and Hartnett's roles so that each of them could have equal parts on the screen. You can check this remark throughout the film by the numerous signs or clues related to the respective lives of our duo.
If this film had been more tightened and fluid, it could have been the perfect contender to completely transcend and renew the buddy movie.
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