Bad Boys (1995)

Two hip detectives protect a murder witness while investigating a case of stolen heroin.

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers:

George Gallo (story), Michael Barrie (screenplay),

Stars:

Lisa Boyle, Will Smith, Martin Lawrence

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lisa Boyle	...	Girl Decoy
Will Smith	...	Mike Lowrey
Martin Lawrence	...	Marcus Burnett
Michael Taliferro	...	Carjacker
Emmanuel Xuereb	...	Eddie Dominguez
Tchéky Karyo	...	Fouchet (as Tcheky Karyo)
Marc Macaulay	...	Noah Trafficante
Ralph Gonzalez	...	Kuni
Vic Manni	...	Ferguson
Frank John Hughes	...	Casper
Mike Kirton	...	Andy
Will Knickerbocker	...	Officer Bill O'Fee
Theresa Randle	...	Theresa Burnett
Tiffany Samuels	...	Megan Burnett
Cory Hodges	...	James Burnett

Storyline

Marcus Burnett is a hen-pecked family man. Mike Lowry is a foot-loose and fancy free ladies' man. Both are Miami policemen, and both have 72 hours to reclaim a consignment of drugs stolen from under their station's nose. To complicate matters, in order to get the assistance of the sole witness to a murder, they have to pretend to be each other.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | heroin | murder | witness | police | 

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Taglines:

Whatcha gonna do?

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for intense violent action and pervasive strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bad boys - flics de choc

Filming Locations:

Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£843,940 (UK) (16 June 1995)

Gross:

£4,734,434 (UK) (11 August 1995)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's production was extremely grueling for Michael Bay due to script problems (Bay would later call the screenplay a "piece of shit") and budget limits that often meant Bay would get only a single day to shoot action sequences that would have taken four days of work on more lavishly-funded projects. Bay sacrificed part of his salary so a key sequence during the film's climax wasn't eliminated.

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Goofs

When Mike, Marcus and the Captain are on the Basketball court Mike is holding an ice pack. In a subsequent shot when they are in a close group Mike throws the ice pack on the court, in the next shot it is in his hand again.

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Quotes

Marcus Burnett: [after the Fouchet thug tries to shoot the gun nothing happens and Marcus slams him into a urinal] Next time, learn to work the safety with your punk-ass.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Bob Saget/TLC (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Sweet Little Lass"
Written by John Custer
Performed by DAG
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Typically stylish cop flick that is better than the average - 76%

I don't know about you but there are two words that I associate with disastrously bad films. Two words that fill my soul with dread and my bowels with fear. And those two words are... "sports drama". Two OTHER words that carry similar feelings are "Martin Lawrence" so to find a film with him in that I like is something of a surprise. "Bad Boys" is as traditional an action-cop film as you can imagine, filled with hot action sequences, fast cars and beautiful women. And Martin Lawrence.

Lawrence is Det. Marcus Burnett, straight-laced family man and partner to Det. Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) who is Burnett's polar opposite. He's a fast-living ladies man with a passion for sports car and when $100 million dollars worth of heroin is stolen from the Miami PD, he and Burnett are put on the case. But in order to trace the drugs, they need to protect murder witness Julie Mott (Téa Leoni) from local hoodlums led by suave gangster Fouchet (Tchéky Karyo).

As you'd expect from a Bruckheimer & Simpson production, this follows a strict mantra of "style over substance" which makes "Bad Boys" feel like an update of another Miami-based cop show "Miami Vice". The suits are sharp, the action is loud and the cars look way beyond the economic means of cops. And despite the characters being way too familiar ("Lethal Weapon", anyone?), Smith and Lawrence bring humour and chemistry to their roles and lift the film beyond your expectations. In truth, this is the sort of film where you switch your brain off and just enjoy it and thanks to Smith and Lawrence, you can do just that. They spark off each other really well, seeing them in good stead for the almost inevitable sequel.

"Bad Boys" is not what you'd call a classic but it is an enjoyable movie that you can enjoy if it's on TV or a rental DVD. Sometimes, you just want to relax in front of something undemanding and while that may sound like criticism, it isn't. The male half of the species will enjoy this much more than their girlfriends (well, she didn't mind it...) but this sort of thing isn't likely to expand your mind that much. Get yourself some popcorn, slouch on the couch and watch the epitome of the blockbuster cop movie.