After being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress in... Read allAfter being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.After being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.
- Director
- Writers
- Brett Halliday(novel "Bodies Are Where You Find Them")
- Shane Black(screen story)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Brett Halliday(novel "Bodies Are Where You Find Them")
- Shane Black(screen story)
- Stars
- Awards
- 5 wins & 16 nominations
Videos5
- Director
- Writers
- Brett Halliday(novel "Bodies Are Where You Find Them") (in part)
- Shane Black(screen story) (screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
A petty thief posing as an actor is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation along with his high school dream girl and a detective who's been training him for his upcoming role... —austin4577@aol.com
- Taglines
- Sex. Murder. Mystery. Welcome to the party.
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated R for language, violence and sexuality/nudity
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaAs a show of support for Robert Downey Jr.'s recovery from alcohol and drugs, Val Kilmer refused to drink during the entire production.
- GoofsWhen the camera zooms in on the newspaper article detailing the story about the film crew coming to the small town of Embry, Indiana to film a movie, the website www.embrystar.com is clearly visible under the name of the newspaper - the article was supposedly written and published in 1982, eight years before the first website existed.
- Quotes
Perry: My $2000 ceramic Vektor my mother got me as a special gift. You threw in the lake next to the car. What happens when they drag the lake? You think they'll find my pistol. Jesus. Look up "idiot" in the dictionary. You know what you'll find?
Harry: A picture of me?
Perry: No! The definition of the word idiot, which you fucking are!
- Crazy creditsAt the end of the movie, Val Kilmer says not to leave; to stay and watch the credits; and if you're wondering who the Best Boy is, he's someone's nephew. (The actual Best Boy credit is Jack Bauer.)
- ConnectionsFeatured in Great Movie Mistakes 2: The Sequel (2011)
- SoundtracksSleigh Ride
Written by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish (uncredited)
Performed by Al Caiola & Riz Ortolani
Courtesy of EMI Records
Under License from EMI Film & Television Music
Top review
Way better than I expected. Hip and self-aware but tons of fun!
I didn't expect much from this at all, but it turned out pretty good. Think of a Raymond Chandler murder mystery, updated to a sort of modern and enormously... self-aware buddy film-noir. Yes, a buddy-movie, film-noir, murder mystery, crime-thriller, all rolled into one hip modern self-referential update, packed with amusing references to all the clichés of the genres depicted. Before you can even think about the next cliché in the film, it grabs it, makes a mockery of it and proceeds at break-neck pace.
Petty thief Harry Lockhardt (Downey) is a lovable loser who accidentally winds up in the movie business, auditioning for the part of a private detective. Val Kilmer plays the real private eye, Perry Shrike (half the fun is picking the right name!) who has to learn him the trades of the business, but soon they both wind up in a murder mystery with so many twists and turns (and bodies), it'll make your head spin.
Downey and Kilmer seem to have the time of their lives, but not to the viewer's expense. Perhaps a bit too clever for it's own good with so many "clever" plot turns, that I was lost in the end, but perhaps I'm not as clever as I wish to. And I must say, Michelle Monaghan! Wow! She really gave one sexy performance! It derails a bit in the end and goes so wildly over the top with shaggy-dog jokes, ridiculously stupid bad guys and buddy-clichés, it makes Austin Powers look like a straight-faced classic. But as a whole very entertaining, with snappy dialogue, clever writing, and enjoyable performances. Just lots of fun.
Camera Obscura --- 8/10
Petty thief Harry Lockhardt (Downey) is a lovable loser who accidentally winds up in the movie business, auditioning for the part of a private detective. Val Kilmer plays the real private eye, Perry Shrike (half the fun is picking the right name!) who has to learn him the trades of the business, but soon they both wind up in a murder mystery with so many twists and turns (and bodies), it'll make your head spin.
Downey and Kilmer seem to have the time of their lives, but not to the viewer's expense. Perhaps a bit too clever for it's own good with so many "clever" plot turns, that I was lost in the end, but perhaps I'm not as clever as I wish to. And I must say, Michelle Monaghan! Wow! She really gave one sexy performance! It derails a bit in the end and goes so wildly over the top with shaggy-dog jokes, ridiculously stupid bad guys and buddy-clichés, it makes Austin Powers look like a straight-faced classic. But as a whole very entertaining, with snappy dialogue, clever writing, and enjoyable performances. Just lots of fun.
Camera Obscura --- 8/10
helpful•9321
- Camera-Obscura
- Sep 30, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- L.A.P.I.
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,243,756
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $180,660
- Oct 23, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $15,785,148
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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