The Hard Way (1991)

An action movie star researching a role is allowed to tag along with a hardboiled New York City policeman, who finds him superficial and irritating.

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Lem Dobbs (story), Michael Kozoll (story)

Stars:

Michael J. Fox, James Woods, Stephen Lang

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael J. Fox	...	Nick Lang
James Woods	...	John Moss
Stephen Lang	...	Party Crasher
Annabella Sciorra	...	Susan
John Capodice	...	Grainy
Luis Guzmán	...	Pooley (as Luis Guzman)
LL Cool J	...	Billy
Mary Mara	...	China
Delroy Lindo	...	Captain Brix
Conrad Roberts	...	Witherspoon
Penny Marshall	...	Angie
Christina Ricci	...	Bonnie
George Cheung	...	Drug Dealer
Frank Geraci	...	Newsman
Sophie Maletsky	...	Pizza Waitress

Storyline

Nick Lang is a famous Hollywood actor, well known for his action movies. For his next movie, he needs the proper motivation and inspiration for his role. Thus he teams up with the reluctant New York policeman Lt. John Moss. Not only does he have to put up with Nick, who is laborious and out of touch with realities, but he also has to catch a coldblooded murderer.

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Plot Keywords:

movie star | actor | detective | film within a film | buddy cop | 

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Taglines:

Michael J. Fox as Hollywood's most spoiled movie star: James Woods as New York's angriest cop.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 March 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hard Way

Filming Locations:

McSorley's Old Ale House, 15 East 7th Street, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,301,470, 10 March 1991

Gross USA:

$25,895,485

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$65,595,485

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, The Badham-Cohen Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the movie theater where the Nick Lang movie is playing, and where the Party Crasher gets in the shoot-out with Michael J. Fox, there is a poster in the background for Bird on a Wire (1990), which was also directed by John Badham.

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Goofs

When Moss gives an interview in front of one of the latest victims of the Party Crasher he is heard saying to the interviewer, "he may not even be a man, I doubt he's got the equipment for it." Yet when the same interview appears in the Party Crasher's apartment, Moss says "I doubt he's got the right equipment for it."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Operator: 9-1-1 Emergency.
Party Crasher: Hello there! It's me - again! Well, what can I say? I'm about to crash another party.

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Connections

Referenced in Showtime (2002)

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Soundtracks

Momma Said Knock You Out
Written by LL Cool J (as J.T. Smith), Marley Marl (as M. Williams) and Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin
Performed by LL Cool J (as L L Cool J)
Produced by Marley Marl and LL Cool J (as L L Cool J)
Co-produced by Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin
Courtesy of Columbia/Def Jam Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

A Surprisingly Good Comedy...

"The Hard Way" stars Michael J. Fox as Nick Lang/Ray Casanov -- a big-time film star who is good-natured and eager to follow around real-life Detective Lt. John Moss, NYPD, played by James Woods.

When I first saw previews for this film, I thought I knew what it would be: another clichéd film, involving a snobby film star getting teamed with a cop who hates him. I was wrong.

This film, in a way, blew me out of the water, because when I viewed the film I realized that Michael J. Fox's character was not snobby, nor ignorant. He was more-or-less run by Hollywood, instead of vice versa. He is what you would call, simply put, innocent. Not in a holy context like we are used to when we hear that word in films these days, but almost like an innocent child. He really can't wait to watch, hear and learn from John Moss. Granted, he does usually mess up Moss' assignments, but not from ignorance or not caring. He messes up the assignments trying to help Woods and learn…

Woods, on the other hand, is partly what I expected, yet better. He fits into his character perfectly and plays it with such sickness towards Fox's character, that you sometimes feel like yelling at the guy for being such a jerk. I have always liked James Woods' performances in films. He just fits into his certain 'trademark' characters.

Unfortunately, the end of the film seems to stain the rest of the film's surprises, and slip into our average cop-buddy comedy, with a ridiculous climax. Luckily the very, very end of the film is slightly predictable, but Woods' outlook on Fox, while he respects him more, still hasn't changed a whole lot. He still doesn't really like the guy as a friend, but almost puts up with him because of what he did for Woods. It's a bit hard to explain, especially without throwing away the ending, but when you see it, you'll understand.

So, with that in mind, the very end of the film redeems the short five minutes or so of Hollywood cop-buddy film clichés.

'The Hard Way' was a major surprise for me, and turned out to be a very enjoyable comedy. I wouldn't really classify it in the 'cop-buddy' genre. It's too unpredictable (to a certain degree) and enjoyable.