Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is a wise-cracking Detroit detective that doesn't play by the rules, dresses like a hoodlum and is always on the edge of the law, much to the dismay of his superior Inspector Todd (Gilbert R. Hill). One night, after a bust of a cigarrette smuggling ring backfires, Foley's childhood friend Mikey Tandino (James Russo) comes by his apartment with a handful of valuable counterfit Bonds that he has apparently stolen from his job in Beverly Hills as a security guard at an arthouse warehouse. After Tandino is assassinated and the Detroit police bury the case into the system, Foley heads out to the wealthy suburbs of Beverly Hills.
He claims to be on vacation, but Foley's really there to touch base with childhood friend Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher) about their mutual friend Mikey Tandino. This leads to Foley snooping around Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff), the art dealer that owns both the warehouse where Tandino worked (and from which he stole the Bonds that got him killed) and the gallery where Jenny works. Trouble ensues, and Foley ends up tagged by two Beverly Hills detectives named Taggart (John Ashton) and Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) as he tries to find evidence that will prove the crooked dealings of Maitland. But who will the Beverly Hills police department belive, a respected member of the local community or a renegade cop on a vendetta hundreds of miles away from his jurisdiction?
"Beverly Hills Cop" was on track to become a run-of-the-mill action vehicle for Sylvester Stallone. Circumstances conspired to make Stallone move on to do "Cobra" (no joke), and give Eddie Murphy one hell of a lucky break. A break being polished with the formula that characterized the Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson 1983 hit "Flashdance": flashy visuals, great musical score and slick marketing. The heavily-retooled script and the direction of Martin Brest, however, are an important reason why this 1984 action/comedy went on to become a box office hit. Besides being an amusing asshole with an attitude that defies authority at every turn, Axel Foley's lack of resources (other than his street smart wits) make him an underdog worth rooting for, especially since he's sticking it to snobby rich folks in their own little backyard.
His motive is a sincere desire to find out who killed his best friend, which is brilliantly juxtaposed with Victor Maitland's coldness, the violence of his men and the stooge-like behavior of Taggart and Rosewood. Murphy sells the illusion of Foley as both a jokester and a human being, a grasp that Martin Lawrence and Chris Tucker have yet to grasp. The only roadblock to "BHC's" renewed prominence might be the familiarity everyone with pay cable and VCR's have with the plot, characters, jokes and situations of the movie. From Bronson Pinchot's small but hilarious role as a gay art dealer to the infamous (and often parodied) banana-in-the-tail-pipe gag, "BCH" is as funny today as it was 17 years ago.
The Disc:
Paramount has given this first installment of "BHC" more extras than the two sequels, which have also been released on DVD (and will also be reviewing soon). Along with its Theatrical Trailer (2:40), Photo Gallery (32 behind-the-scenes and publicity pictures), Location Map of the key places in the movie (Maitland's mansion, the police department, the warehouse, etc.) and feature-length commentary by director Martin Brest (who does as much watching and 'aww, look at that' schtick as sharing some interesting facts), the DVD of "BHC" features three new documentaries about the making of the film from the perspective of seeing the film with the hindsight of the 17 years that have passed sinceits release.
'Cast & Crew Interviews' (29:04) brings back behind-the-scenes crew members and most of the actors (including Murphy, via some shared footage from 20th Century Fox) talking about how the project came together, how its success affected their lives, and how much fun they had working together. 'Casting Beverly Hills Cop' (9:27) features "BHC" casting director Margery Simkin recounting how she came about the likes of Paul Reiser, John Ashton (Taggart), Judge Reinhold (Rosewood) and Steven Berkoff (Victor Maitland). Finally, 'The Music of Beverly Hills Cop' (7:49) is a tribute to not only Harold Faltermeyer's outstanding synthesizer score, but also to the licensed songs used throughout the soundtrack. Decent extras for fans of Murphy or the movie, even if it's a little too close to the edge of being self-promotional instead of informative.
The quality of the digital transfer in the film's visuals and remixed audio, on the other hand, have a few issues to criticize. The 5.1 Surround track is only OK, with very limited directionality or remixed audio features to distinguish it from the Surround English or Stereo French tracks also offered. The picture looks sharp-enough but comes across a little washed-out. It also has its fair share of dirt and artifacts popping from time to time (along with those lovable edge enhancements we all crave and love :-P). It's nice to see "BHC" in its intended 1:85:1 aspect ratio, but no visual richness has been lost in the pan-and-scan VHS/TV versions we've been watching since '85.
And BTW, WHY DO SO MANY RECENT PARAMOUNT DVD'S FEATURE SO FEW CHAPTER SELECTION? "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" had a dozen, but "BHC" tops that insult with only 11 chapters (on of which is the final credit sequence); What is up with that? English subtitles are also available for the hearing impaired.
bottom line:
Though more of a cop/buddy movie than an outright comedy (big body count for a so-called funny movie), "Beverly Hills Cop" is both light-hearted and funny while also doing some subtle commentary about society's prejudices toward the poor. An 80's pop-culture classic resurrected, and worth $20.
By - J.M. Vargas
1/2
