Hollywood Homicide on DVD

The buddy cop comedy is one of the most widely attempted and widely failed genres in Hollywood.

More often than not, the movies try to focus too much on the comedy aspect and not enough on the story. Lethal Weapon could very well be the perfect buddy cop movie, but in the last few years there have been so many attempts that have failed miserably (Showtime and I Spy come to mind).

Hollywood Homicide, Harrison Ford’s biggest summer flop in many, many years, falls somewhere in between the really good and really bad.

Joe Gavilan (Ford) is a veteran police detective who sells real estate on the side. His new partner, K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett) is a rookie police detective who teaches yoga on the side. When a rap group is brutally murdered in Hollywood, the two have to jump headfirst into an investigation that could cost them their jobs and their lives.

Where Hollywood Homicide fails is that it tries too hard to be funny. It offers some laughs now and then, but not nearly often enough to be worthwhile. Where it succeeds is that it doesn’t forget about the main plot, and provides some very well done action to make up for the lack of humor.

Ford has never been known for his comedy, but he shows here that, even if he’s not really that good at it, he’s willing to give it a shot. He can never quite seem to shed his serious, gruff exterior, so it’s hard to see him as a comedian. Hartnett, on the other hand, does an excellent job of playing the rookie, naïve, sexually triumphant aspiring actor. I take back all the nasty things I said about him being a flavor of the month with no actual talent.

One thing I particularly liked about the movie is that, during the inevitable climax that sees the good guy and bad guy in a fistfight on top of a building, both combatants were succumbing to pain and exhaustion by the end of the fight. They didn’t have super powers that allowed them to be at full strength the entire time.

The film may not be great, or even all that good at all when you examine it too closely, but it’s entertaining enough to kill a couple of hours. It features a few laughs and some good action that will keep you interested.

As aforementioned, this is Harrison Ford’s biggest summer flop in many moons, and it performed poorly even by summer action movie standards. Obviously not wanting to pump any more money into it, Columbia Tristar has provided the most average DVD possible. The disc features both 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen, 16x9 TV compatible, and full screen transfers on the same disc (fortunately!), a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, and an audio commentary.

Picture quality is good, but nothing spectacular. Overall there’s nothing really wrong with it, but it looks a bit soft throughout. Detail is pretty sharp and colors are good, but there just isn’t anything to rave about. It’s good, but that’s about it.

Audio is okay as well, but the volume seems a little quiet. Watching at the same volume as every other movie, it’s not nearly as loud as it should be. Dialogue, score, and most sound effects are restricted to the front channels, while the occasional sound effect makes its way from the rear. Unfortunately, there’s not nearly as much surround use as there should be.

The only extra is an audio commentary by director/co-writer/producer Ron Shelton. I enjoyed his commentary on Dark Blue, so I was looking forward to this one. Shelton is an intelligent man who loves making movies, and when you combine the two, they make for a good listen. He has a lot to say about the production, and he’s never boring.

Hollywood Homicide, from Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment
116 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, Lena Olin, Bruce Greenwood and Martin Landau
Produced by Lou Pitt and Ron Shelton
Written by Robert Souza & Ron Shelton
Directed by Ron Shelton

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