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:

There's only one way these two are going to get along... the Hard Way.

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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:

Duro de aguantar

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, Wide Release

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

Generally regarded as the template for the series "Castle."

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Goofs

When the Party Crasher loses the gun and it lands perfectly on the rim of the giant hat, fishing wire is visible attached to the handle. Likely, gun was yanked away from the edge and the shot reversed. Later, when the Party Crasher picks the gun up again, the wire is gone.

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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 Showbiz Today: Episode dated 1 May 1991 (1991)

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Soundtracks

Theme from The Today Show
aka Mission Theme
Composed and conducted by John Williams
Courtesy of National Broadcasting Co., Inc

User Reviews

Ahead of its time

There's something different about "The Hard Way", something in its approach to a well-worn genre. Buddy cop movies were all over the place back then, and here's another one to throw on the pile. But having a pampered actor hang around a disgruntled cop offers an opportunity for Hollywood satire, which freshens up the mismatched partners angle. James Woods tends to be hit-or-miss for me, but he's ideal in such a hothead role. And wired Michael J. Fox provides a great foil. The whole thing works; the script's focused, the action's energetic and it always has that meta feel to it.

7/10