Sunday, October 23, 2022

1986 - RUNNING SCARED, standard buddy cop film stuff.

There's nothing particularly wrong with this buddy cop film from the 1980's but it's not that special.  Comedian Billy Crystal and dancer Gregory Hines are the usual buddy cop team running around Chicago busting heads.  After taking a vacation down in Key West, Florida they decide to retire from the Chicago PD and run their own business in Florida.  The film deals with the two cops trying to finish out their time as cops before they retire without getting themselves killed.  Hence the title Running Scared.


This film was directed by Peter Hyams and per usual photographed by him as well.  It's one of Hyams rare films where he doesn't have a story or screenplay credit. The action scenes are fairly well staged particularly a chase on the famous Chicago "L" line and a shoot out in a high rise towards the end after Crystal's ex wife played by former model Darlanne Fluegel, is taken hostage by some (what else) evil drug kingpin.

 

Crystal and Hines seem like an odd pair to be playing cops but I'm going to assume the thought was to cast against type.  The actor Jimmy Smits early in his career is in the cliched role of the Hispanic drug dealer, it's all fairly standard stuff when you get right down to it.  However the actors do a fairly decent job with their roles.

No great shakes as a film but not bad.   It was written by Gary DeVore and  Jimmy Huston,  the film runs 107 minutes and was moderately successful.

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