Best Defense (1984)

A military weapons engineer struggles to do his job responsibly, while a hapless tank commander has to live with the consequences in combat years later.

Director:

Willard Huyck

Writers:

Robert Grossbach (novel), Gloria Katz

Stars:

Dudley Moore, Eddie Murphy, Kate Capshaw

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dudley Moore	...	Wylie Cooper
Eddie Murphy	...	Lieutenant T.M. Landry
Kate Capshaw	...	Laura Cooper
George Dzundza	...	Steve Loparino
Helen Shaver	...	Clair Lewis
Mark Arnott	...	Harvey Brank
Peter Michael Goetz	...	Frank Joyner
Tom Noonan	...	Frank Holtzman
David Rasche	...	Jeff the 'KBG' Agent
Paul Comi	...	Chief Agent
Darryl Henriques	...	Col. Zayas, San Salvador
Joel Polis	...	First Agent
John A. Zee	...	Col. McGuinn
Matthew Laurance	...	Ali, Landry's Tank Crew
Christopher Maher	...	Sayyid, Landry's Tank Crew

Storyline

Wylie is a lazy engineer. Landry is a Sergeant specialising in Armour. They have never met but their lives become entangled when Landry must take the tank Wylie designed into combat. Wylie is waiting for his employer to go out of business when he meets another engineer who gives him a disk with the plans for a system that will save his employer. The other engineer is dead moments later leaving Wylie with the disk and credit for the design. Suddenly Wylie is no longer a hack, but the saviour of his company and finds his life is no longer the same.

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Plot Keywords:

lingerie | woman on top | engineer | tank | military | 

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Taglines:

Unfortunately, they're both on our side.

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Genres:

Comedy | War

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Mexican dinner scene, the song "Moon River" is playing in Spanish in the background.

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Quotes

Wylie Cooper: Fat girls tend to come a lot.

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Alternate Versions

To receive a 15 certificate the UK cinema version was cut by 2 minutes with heavy edits to the opening sex scene. The cuts were waived for the upgraded 18 rated video, and the certificate downgraded to 15 for DVD in 2004.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Platoon/Lady and the Tramp/No Mercy (1986)

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Soundtracks

Moon River
Written by Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini

User Reviews

bad, BAD BAD!

I actually had a bit part in this film. It was filmed in Israel around 1985 in the desert and I got to work with Eddie Murphy. In one scene I appear (for about 10 seconds)standing in a jeep behind Eddie Murphy's jeep. I only mention this because I told my parents to see the film in the theater. My biggest regret is that they had to pay FULL PRICE to sit through an awful experience. I would not recommend this film to anyone.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Best Defense

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,872,297, 22 July 1984

Gross USA:

$19,265,302

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,265,302

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Group Ventures, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1