Eddie Murphy, for a time, was the biggest name in film comedy, and even if his star has dimmed somewhat in the years since then, he’s still one of the most recognizable faces in comedy, and many of his movies are considered modern classic. Heck, Trading Places got a law named after it. I even saw an SNL rerun once where he, while still a regular cast member, was also the host for the week.
So, it’s somewhat hard to believe that in his first big role, he got second billing to Nick Nolte. And yet, that’s what happened in 48 Hours.
Career criminal Albert Ganz (James Remar) has escaped from a prison chain gang thanks to his old associate Billy Bear (Sonny Landham). That means San Francisco police inspector Jack Coles (Nolte) is on the case. However, when two other cops are killed in a shoot-out with Ganz and Billy, Jack figures the best chance to get the pair is to gain custody of one of Ganz’s former associates, a con man named Reggie Hammond (Murphy). Reggie is in prison, but Jack can take him out for 48 hours to try and bring down the bad guys.
Of course, there are complications in that Jack and Reggie will obviously not get along. This goes beyond simply the fact the two are on opposite sides of the law. Reggie wants to enjoy some of his time on the outside while Jack won’t let him. Jack is a slob with poor manners while Reggie is interested in looking good and being smooth. Oh, and Jack is a racist. Can these two guys get along well enough to find the bad guys?
Honestly, I didn’t care much for this one. Nolte’s character is played largely straight near as I can make out, and Murphy doesn’t show up until about a half hour into a 90 or so minute movie. That in and of itself isn’t necessarily a problem since the first third is there to set up the story. But that story is a rather generic cop 80s cop movie. Jack isn’t that interesting a character on his own. He’s the slob whose girlfriend (a young Annette O’Toole) seems to be angry at him half the time. The thing is, I’ve seen the slob cop pulled off better by Gene Hackman in The French Connection, and the cop with woman troubles is probably best exemplified by Bruce Willis’s John McClane. Here, Jack seems more like a cliche.
And quite frankly, the racist cop trope hasn’t aged well.
As for Murphy, he has his moments, and he’s always a charming presence, but Reggie is no Axel Foley, Prince Akeem, or even a Sherman Klump. It’s to be expected that Murphy hadn’t yet perfected his onscreen persona, but there doesn’t seem to be much going on just yet. This movie on the whole just didn’t work for me. I’ve enjoyed both Nolte and Murphy in other things, but in this one, not so much.
Grade: C
0 Comments