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

Details

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flics en direct

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$85,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,011,430, 17 March 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,082,712

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,741,732

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rene Russo's assistant "Annie" is portrayed by Robert De Niro's real life adopted daughter Drena De Niro.

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Goofs

In the brief low-angle shot of Robert De Niro's stuntman landing on the hood of the car during the garbage truck chase, a camera crew can be seen filming a different angle on the scene in the lower right of frame (may only be visible in 4:3 version of movie).

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Quotes

Mitch Preston: [after his home has been remodeled] It looks like a gay porn star lives here!

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Crazy Credits

After all the credits, there are some 'confessional' scenes with Murphy's character, talking about DeNiro's.

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Connections

Features When Animals Attack! (1996)

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Soundtracks

Snatch It Back and Hold It
(1965)
Written by Junior Wells and Buddy Guy
Performed by Junior Wells
Courtesy of Delmark Records

User Reviews

Time to Show Up.

Los Angeles detective Robert DeNiro and silly beat cop Eddie Murphy get partnered together in "Showtime", a funny, but honestly mediocre buddy comedy. It is modern-day L.A. and an undercover assignment has gone wrong for DeNiro. Murphy botched the whole thing unwittingly by calling for backup and not knowing that a sting was taking place. DeNiro destroys a camera and a $10 million lawsuit quickly follows. For the department to get out of the lawsuit, they agree to team DeNiro and Murphy up for a reality-based cop show. Rene Russo is the sleazy producer and ham William Shatner plays himself as he directs the odd duo. Murphy naturally has always had dreams of stardom while DeNiro is as serious as a heart attack. Thus their relationship is strained to put it mildly. Soon they end up going after criminal Pedro Damian who seemingly has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal. There is not much thought in "Showtime". It is typical Eddie Murphy fare as it is a production to show off his unique comedic timing. DeNiro has also become a comedy regular the last several years (unfortunately in my opinion) and he too shows an uncanny ability to add humor to his natural edginess. Overall though the movie plays like a long sitcom or an episode of "Saturday Night Live" as everything seems way too scripted. There is no real drama here, just cheap laughs. In the end those minor laughs make "Showtime" viewable, but not memorable. 2.5 out of 5 stars.