Running Scared (1986)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers:

Gary DeVore (story)
Gary DeVore (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 June 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Two of Chicago's Finest?

Plot:

Danny and Ray are two street wise cops in Chicago. When they are almost killed on a case, they are forced to take a vacation by their captain...

Plot Keywords:

Vacation | Undercover | Florida | Key West Florida | Drug Dealer

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins

Cast

Gregory Hines	...	Ray Hughes
Billy Crystal	...	Danny Costanzo
Steven Bauer	...	Det. Frank Sigliano
Darlanne Fluegel	...	Anna Costanzo
Joe Pantoliano	...	Snake
Dan Hedaya	...	Captain Logan
Jon Gries	...	Det. Tony Montoya (as Jonathan Gries)
Tracy Reed	...	Maryann
Jimmy Smits	...	Julio Gonzales
John DiSanti	...	Vinnie
Larry Hankin	...	Ace
Don Calfa	...	Women's Room Lawyer
Robert Lesser	...	Supoena Lawyer
Betty Carvalho	...	Apartment Manager
Louis Perez	...	Thug

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Canada:PG | Canada:G (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

On the television series, "The Directors", Peter Hyams stated that when MGM offered him the project following the success of 2010: The Year We Make Contact, the script focused on two old New York City cops who want to retire. Hyams suggested his idea of two young Chicago cops who don't retire and MGM agreed.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the limo carrying Gonzalez is hit by the El and flipped upside down, the two cylindrical housings for the pyrotechnic effects are clearly visible on the belly of the car.

Quotes:

[as a trash compactor is about to crush their car, with Danny and Ray inside]
Danny Costanzo: Oh, sure. Nag at me! Nagging's good! You still owe me ten bucks and I never said anything!
Ray Hughes: You want it now?
Danny Costanzo: YEAH, I WANT IT NOW!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Century of Black Cinema (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

I Just Wanna Be Loved

When it's good, it's very, very good.... but when it's bad it's horrid.

Peter Hyams is a director who always delivers exhilarating action sequences but struggles to fill the quiet moments in his films with anything of substance. Yet again he has fashioned a film which is intermittently terrific - especially when the emphasis is on action - but during moments when plot and character development are thrust to the fore, things become decidedly mediocre. Still, at least Billy Crystal is on hand to provide some memorable verbal wit.

Two Chicago cops, Crystal and Gregory Hines, are busily trying to put various scumbags behind bars for drug crimes. Their main target is Julio Gonzalez (Jimmy Smits), a big-time drug lord who constantly eludes their grasp. For a while, the guys leave wintry Chicago and sample the good life in Key West, Florida, but ultimately they just can't let unfinished business lie. Against their better judgement, they return to Chicago to finish the one job they've still got to complete.... the capture of Gonzalez.

Hyams delivers one simply awesome chase in which the heroes pursue their quarry by car, but somehow end up driving on the city's elevated-railway tracks. He also manages to squeeze in a genuinely funny scene in which Crystal makes a wacky anonymous phone-call, complete with goofy voice. However, Hyams is let down - yet again - by the periodic lulls in his story. The whole Key West sequence is boring, even though it bears relevance to the plot. And on too many occasions, Crystal's marital troubles interfere with the story (again, they are certainly relevant, but are played in a very dull way). It's worth watching Running Scared once, but during subsequent viewings it might be advisable to fast-forward through the dreary scenes to get to the good bits.