If you think back to last week, you should remember that in basically this exact same space (unless I'm on Page 3 today), I rambled on and on about how `The Italian Job' was more about the action and chases than the dialogue. Prepare for a flip as I break down `Hollywood Homicide' (see what I love about this job-the opportunity to flop two different ways in two weeks).
In the ritz and glamour of Hollywood, often one job-even a decent job like police work-is not enough to get by. Thus, Police Detectives Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford) and K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett) have found themselves moonlighting as a real estate broker and a yoga instructor, respectively. Neither lets their side jobs be interfered with too much with the major case plopped before them-the murder of four breakout rappers.
The main suspect thrust at the dynamic duo is one Antawn Sartain (Isaiah Washington), the head of the deceased rap group's record company, who cuts a sinister profile along with his head henchman, Wasley (Dwight Yoakam). Now Calden and Gavilan have found themselves waist-deep in a mess of a murder case, an internal affairs investigation, major business deals, acting auditions, etc.-leaving the audience to wonder if either one of these officers ever invested in a PDA.
Unlike last week's adventure in the cinema, `Hollywood Homicide' features an extremely witty and fun give-and-go dialogue between its two stars, Ford and Hartnett. Once the movie ended, I felt that for once in a summer action/comedy, I could depart the theater feeling like I knew the main characters.
But despite coughing up a snappy repartee, the writers failed to do one thing-develop a coherent plot. Half of the time I was in the dark as I pondered where this new bit of information would take me, leaving me with the distinct impression that one too many red herrings can cause one heckuva lousy smell.
Plus, the writer and director Ron Shelton chose to impart a wonderfully implausible device, known in Greek as dues ex machine, which translated here, means the mother of all implausibilities to help bring the beginning of the end to us.
Next on the agenda is my beef with the chase scenes. When I was younger, I reveled in watching reruns of `Dragnet', set basically right in the same area as `Hollywood Homicide'. At no time do I remember Friday and Gannon embarking upon a massive car chase replete with gunfire and massive civilian damage-rather they served (oh my gosh!) warrants on the wrongdoers. I guess in 35 years, the modus operandi has changed in the City of Angels, as warrants are basically unheard of and the only way to catch the bad guys is in a car chase. But I digress.
About the only homicide that I could remember after all of the twists and non-twists in `Hollywood Homicide' was the murder of a coherent plot. Still, the movie did feature some of the snappiest and better examples of dialogue that I have seen in a while, so I guess that, like last week, a 5 out of 10 serves as my verdict.
In the ritz and glamour of Hollywood, often one job-even a decent job like police work-is not enough to get by. Thus, Police Detectives Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford) and K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett) have found themselves moonlighting as a real estate broker and a yoga instructor, respectively. Neither lets their side jobs be interfered with too much with the major case plopped before them-the murder of four breakout rappers.
The main suspect thrust at the dynamic duo is one Antawn Sartain (Isaiah Washington), the head of the deceased rap group's record company, who cuts a sinister profile along with his head henchman, Wasley (Dwight Yoakam). Now Calden and Gavilan have found themselves waist-deep in a mess of a murder case, an internal affairs investigation, major business deals, acting auditions, etc.-leaving the audience to wonder if either one of these officers ever invested in a PDA.
Unlike last week's adventure in the cinema, `Hollywood Homicide' features an extremely witty and fun give-and-go dialogue between its two stars, Ford and Hartnett. Once the movie ended, I felt that for once in a summer action/comedy, I could depart the theater feeling like I knew the main characters.
But despite coughing up a snappy repartee, the writers failed to do one thing-develop a coherent plot. Half of the time I was in the dark as I pondered where this new bit of information would take me, leaving me with the distinct impression that one too many red herrings can cause one heckuva lousy smell.
Plus, the writer and director Ron Shelton chose to impart a wonderfully implausible device, known in Greek as dues ex machine, which translated here, means the mother of all implausibilities to help bring the beginning of the end to us.
Next on the agenda is my beef with the chase scenes. When I was younger, I reveled in watching reruns of `Dragnet', set basically right in the same area as `Hollywood Homicide'. At no time do I remember Friday and Gannon embarking upon a massive car chase replete with gunfire and massive civilian damage-rather they served (oh my gosh!) warrants on the wrongdoers. I guess in 35 years, the modus operandi has changed in the City of Angels, as warrants are basically unheard of and the only way to catch the bad guys is in a car chase. But I digress.
About the only homicide that I could remember after all of the twists and non-twists in `Hollywood Homicide' was the murder of a coherent plot. Still, the movie did feature some of the snappiest and better examples of dialogue that I have seen in a while, so I guess that, like last week, a 5 out of 10 serves as my verdict.