Showtime (2002)

A spoof of buddy cop movies where two very different cops are forced to team up on a new reality based television cop show, while tracking down the manufacturer and distributor of an illegally made semi-automatic firearm.

Director:

Tom Dey

Writers:

Jorge Saralegui (story), Keith Sharon (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy, Rene Russo

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Det. Mitch Preston
Rachael Harris	...	Teacher (as Rachel Harris)
Eddie Murphy	...	Officer Trey Sellars
Zaid Farid	...	Police Captain Ben
Alex Borstein	...	Casting Director
Holly Mandel	...	Producer
Marshall Manesh	...	Convenience Store Owner
Nestor Serrano	...	Ray
T.J. Cross	...	ReRun (as TJ Cross)
Yasiin Bey	...	Lazy Boy (as Mos Def)
James Roday	...	'Showtime' Cameraman
Joel Hurt Jones	...	Reporter #1
Chris Harrison	...	Reporter #2
Perri Peltz	...	Reporter #3
Amy Powell	...	Reporter #4

Storyline

LAPD Detective Sergeant Mitch Preston cares only about doing his job and nailing crooks. LAPD Patrol Officer Trey Sellars joined the force as a day job until his acting career took off. During an undercover drug buy Mitch was working that Trey botched by calling in for backup and drawing media attention, Mitch's partner is shot with a very exotic 12-gauge automatic weapon; Mitch then shoots the video camera out of the hands of a reporter filming the action when the cameraman refused to shut it down. Faced with a $10 million lawsuit, the department agrees to let producer Chase Renzi film Mitch's investigation for a new reality TV show, and constantly tries to make everything more "viewer friendly" by changing everything about Mitch's life to fit the stereotypical view of police officers--and partners him with Trey.

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Plot Keywords:

chase | police | lapd | buddy cop | drugs | 

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Taglines:

Lights. Camera. Aggravation.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for action violence, language and some drug content

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Trey's apartment, there is a movie poster for Serpico (1973), which stars Al Pacino. Robert De Niro, who plays Mitch, has worked with his close friend on many films. One notable project was Heat (1995), which was one of their best films to date. Pacino played L.A.P.D. Det. Lt. Vincent Hanna, while De Niro played Neil McCauley, a career criminal who Hannah tries to capture.

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Goofs

When Trey pulls into the police garage, his stunt driver is clearly white.

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Quotes

Mitch Preston: What are you gonna do, wrap me up in caution tape, Top Cop?

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Crazy Credits

Outtakes are played before the closing credits

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Connections

References The Jerry Springer Show (1991)

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Soundtracks

Que Ganas
(2001)
Written by Jorge Luis Piloto and Sergio George
Performed by Charlie Cruz
Courtesy of Warner Music Latina
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Decent buddy comedy from Murphy/De Niro

Of course, I could be wrong but I seriously doubt that the film in question, Showtime is not to too many folks the greatest movie ever made. However, Showtime is a pretty decent buddy action/comedy that is fairly entertaining. Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro are a mismatched pair of cops that are working together and are being filmed on a reality cop show called Showtime. Both of these actors are great at what they do with De Niro being an excellent dramatic actor Eddie is a comic genius and while Robert De Niro is one of the best actors of his time Eddie Murphy is equally talented in the comedic realm. Also, both of these guys worked with director Martin Breast and made two of the best action comedies, Beverly Hills Cop and Midnight Run. Showtime can't really hold a candle against either of these classics, but still is pretty fast paced, lighthearted and action packed entertainment. Both Murphy and De Niro are great here, but the film itself is nothing spectacular. You could do much worst for an evenings entertainment and this is in my opinion, Eddie Murphy's best modern comedy that suites my tastes much better than the crappy family movies he has focused on since his classic period in the 80's and early 90's.

Details

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flics en direct

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$85,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,011,430, 17 March 2002

Gross USA:

$38,082,712

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,885,672

Company Credits

Production Co:

Material, NPV Entertainment, Overbrook Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1