Downtown
by Richard Benjamin
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Edwards, David Clennon, Forest Whitaker, Joe Pantoliano, Penelope Ann MillerDirector: Richard Benjamin
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 96 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-01-25
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Movie Reviews of Downtown
Movie Review: Hack Writer Alert
Summary: 2 Stars
"Downtown" is a box office crash & burn from 1990. Basically it is yet another unsuccessful attempt to follow-up on the success of "Beverly Hills Cop" (without the benefit of Eddie Murphy). These inter-racial, buddy picture, cop movie, comedy-action features simply don't work without a talented comic and Anthony Edwards of "Revenge of the Nerds" fame is only mildly funny. Add to this a more serious group of themes than Murphy had to deal with and the incongruity of mixing these conflicting genres makes the whole a lot less than the sum of its parts.
Yet "Downtown" is more entertaining than its "bomb at the box office" reputation would lead you to believe. The production design, filming, and editing are first class. Although the action scenes are unconvincing, this is due more to lamely inserted comedy elements than cheap staging.
Much is genuinely embarrassing such as when a PCP abuser holds a little girl hostage, with a gun to her head, and the subtext lamely plays the scene for laughs. What genius thought that scene would work? And they wonder why these things lose money? In this exercise in schizoid film-making, Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker are the standard odd couple partnering up to solve the murder of Edwards' former partner. Nerd boy Alex (Edwards) in his worst scenes listens to Beach Boys music and in his best scenes is paired with his girlfriend (Penelope Ann Miller).
Alex is a suburban patrolman who has been banished to the worst downtown Philly division because of a confrontation with a slimy bigwig (unconvincingly overplayed by David Clennon). Dennis (Whitaker) is a detective with a lot of baggage that makes it difficult for him to warm up to Alex.
But Alex and Dennis eventually bond (big surprise) and Whitaker turns in a pretty good performance (much too good for this material). Whitaker and Miller assist the marginally talented but generally likable Edwards enough that it is possible for the average viewer to suspend disbelief most of the time and actually get into the story. Just be prepared for a lot of extremely lame moments that would have been more entertaining had the editor relegated them to his deleted scenes bin.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
Summary of Downtown
In this comic twist on the cop buddy genre, suburban Philadelphia policeman Alex Kearney (Anthony Edwards) is unfairly reassigned to a dangerous, rundown inner-city precinct after busting a wealthy, well-connected businessman for speeding. Soon after, his partner is killed when he attempts to bust a drug transaction in the area, and Kearney seeks the aid of Dennis Curren (Forest Whitaker), a loner cop in the downtown precinct who's resistant to working with the naive suburban transfer. Despite their differences--notably Kearney's by-the-book approach and Curren's toss-the-book attitude to law enforcement--the duo begin investigating what at first seems to be an ordinary drug operation, but soon expands into something larger. The antagonistic chemistry between Whitaker and Edwards works to the film's advantage and lends itself to some poignant moments as the guarded Curren slowly opens up to his new, gung ho partner. Despite an unnecessarily Hollywoodish ending, Downtown is a charming buddy pic. --Bryan ReesmanAction & Adventure DVD Video
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