5 UNDERRATED BUDDY FILMS YOU NEED TO OWN
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MIDNIGHT RUN (1988)
Back of the Box (Shout Select)
Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) is a tough ex-cop turned bounty hunter. Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (Charles Grodin) is a sensitive accountant who embezzled $15 million from the mob, gave it to charity and then jumped bail. Jack’s in for a cool $100,000 if he can deliver The Duke from New York to L.A. on time… and alive. Sounds like just another Midnight Run (a piece of cake in bounty hunter slang), but it turns into a cross-country chase. The FBI wants the Duke to testify, the mob wants him for revenge and Walsh just wants him to shut up.
Why You Should Get It
While moderately successful when released and a favourite for many 80s film fans this impeccably executed, near perfect, comedy thriller still does not get the attention it truly deserves. Now reclusive Beverly Hills Cop helmer Martin Brest, injected new life into the chase film by giving us scene after scene of sharply funny, layered and quotable character driven comedy. Dennis Farina, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton and Joe Pantiliano are all absolutely stellar not wasting a morsel of meat on the bone of George Gallo’s dynamite script. Robert De Niro has never been better (or less effected) in a comedy and Charles Grodin’s gift in the art of dry delivery with the mildest of passive aggression has never been put to better use making this the rare buddy film where the growing respect between the two butters of heads feels truly earned. It’s all down to how seriously De Niro and Grodin take getting under each other’s skin and how the script uses conversation NOT capering to get its humour. What makes these characters tick and the reasons behind their poor decisions are carefully unravelled as the Grodin character pokes and prods at De Niro’s tough facade giving us comedy more based in character than situation. It’s the hallmark of a confident studio picture that knows it’s funny, trusts its actors and doesn’t need to jingle car chases in front of you to keep you on board. It has its action where it’s needed (and it’s terrific) but it’s the interplay that’s the focus and the results are as satisfying as any buddy film you could hope to see.
THE HARD WAY (1991)
Back of the Box (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)
From John Badham, the acclaimed director of Saturday Night Fever, Dracula, Blue Thunder, Stakeout and Bird on a Wire comes this action-packed crime comedy starring Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future, The Secret of My Success), James Woods (Cop, The Onion Field), Stephen Lang (Tombstone, Don’t Breathe) and Annabella Sciorra (Jungle Fever, The Hand The Rocks the Cradle). Nick Lang (Fox) is a popular movie star who joins forces with tough New York cop John Moss (Woods) in order to break out of his “nice guy” screen image. On the trail of a serial killer (Lang), the last thing Moss needs is a pampered Hollywood sidekick.
Why You Should Get It
Packing a sharp, delightfully vulgar script and a (to put it mildly) hammy villain that I dare you to try and forget, this little seen twist on the ‘tough cop/annoying partner” formula is just too much of a blast to be ignored the way it was. The impossible task of hating Michael J Fox has never been more crucial to a film working since his character is just so hilariously punchable, meanwhile you have James Woods doing an almost impression of himself in one of his more scenery chewy performances. The palpable anger oozing out of Detective John Moss proves to be a goldmine for Woods’ typical rapid fire rants while, in response, we get a perfectly unflappable Fox confused as to why hanging out with the great Nick Lang ISN’T his dream assignment. It’s all just so much fun and the film keeps finding new ways to explore this “method actor/no nonsense cop” scenario. For example Lang using his acting prowess to help Moss get to the bottom of his relationship troubles is a notably inspired scene that a lazier screenplay wouldn’t have. Genre film maestro John Badham ups the energy here… a LOT! There’s a furious, snappy, always-on-the-move buzz in this film that’s refreshing for a period when the cop comedy was languishing on life support and studios were just churning out sluggish dross (K-9 anyone?). This is one buddy cop comedy that decided to not let the genre die without a fight.
KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005)
Back of the Box (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
They say love and money don’t mix, but you can’t blame Harry Lockhart for trying. He’s been whisked from a life of petty crime to Hollywood, where he’ll audition for the role of a movie detective and be tutored for the part by a private eye. Now all he has to do is convince the dream girl he meets that he’s a real detective. Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan play the thrust together trio - a naive schemer, a tough as nails gay detective and a hopeful actress clinging to the dream.
Why You Should Get It
Something of a career refresh film for Shane Black (creator of Lethal Weapon), Robert Downey Jr and the late Val Kilmer, this zesty, modern Raymond Chandler style yarn makes for terrific late night viewing, as long as you don’t scrutinise the plot too much. Loosely based on the Brett Halliday novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them the film relishes in piling on its convoluted murder mystery plot just to have it metaphysically deconstructed by the characters, especially Downey Jr who narrates the film completely aware that this IS indeed a film he’s narrating. Yes it’s one of those films that flirts with the fourth wall and if that isn’t your thing then you can stop reading here. However you would be missing out on the very underrated paring of Kilmer and Downey Jr who dig their heels into the absurd material and give the audience what they want: license to just enjoy the bickering and banter and forget whether the plot machinations add up. In other words it’s a film noir that knows it’s a film noir (complete with chapter headings), hell even the TITLE is a piss take on what these things amount to when you grind them down to their basic elements. While the films sense of irony might wear on some the core chemistry of Downey and Kilmer is really something to savour and its a shame they didn’t work together more.
RUNNING SCARED (1986)
Back of the Box
Ray (Gregory Hines) and Danny (Billy Crystal) are the wild men of the Windy City’s police force. The pair’s unorthodox methods get results in a tough town until they come up against Julio Gonzales (Jimmy Smits-NYPD Blue), a smooth talking gangster who’s bucking to become Chicago’s first Spanish Godfather. Trying to nail Gonzales, they blow a delicate undercover operation and are sent on a forced vacation to Key West- where they discover the good life of warm weather and warm women. The new locale makes them decide to retire…but not before putting Gonzales behind bars first.
Why You Should Get It
When you think of tough, inner city cops Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal don’t exactly LEAP into ones mind. Not only that but this is a buddy cop movie where the buddies QUIT being cops and retire to open a bar together… in the MIDDLE of the picture! Yeah this one’s kind of an odd duck but under the steady hand of Peter I’ll shoot my own damn movies Hyams (he’s always his own DOP in case you’re wondering) this is a crackling mid 80s action comedy treat. Smart ass quips, the two leads bickering like an old-married couple, a pissed off police commissioner, it’s all here… AND it’s in Chicago for a change, as opposed to the overused cop movie hubs of NY or LA. If you’re wondering what difference that makes trust me there is one car chase with a distinctly Chicago flavour. The relationship between Hines and Crystal feels fleshed out and natural, yes we may have seen something like this many times but you really believe these guys have been partners for years and have an organic shorthand. The mid film vacation from the snowy streets of the “second city”, while a bit indulgent, is a good example of how this film wants us to believe these two are real guys with a real history together, not cardboard cliches stapled together by a screenplay. Peter Hyams treats the action picture set pieces with the same deft touch as the relationship of Crystal and Hines, by keeping things relatively grounded. Having said that, there are some legitimately impressive and butt clenching sequences that push the film into pure action thriller territory making you forget you’re watching a comedy. Running Scared gives you everything you want from an 80s cop movie in a surprisingly offbeat package that is hard to resist.
MIKEY AND NICKY (1976)
Back of the Box (Criterion Collection)
Set over the course of one night, this restless drama finds Nicky (John Cassavetes) holed up in a hotel after the boss he stole money from puts a hit out on him. Terrified, he calls on Mikey (Peter Falk), the one person he thinks can save him. Scripted to match the live-wire energy of its stars—alongside supporting players Ned Beatty, Joyce Van Patten, and Carol Grace—and inspired by real-life characters from May’s own childhood, this unbridled portrait of male friendship turned tragic is an unsung masterpiece of American cinema.
Why You Should Get It
Definitely the most grim film on this list, Elaine May’s acerbic two hander is a criminally under seen treasure that is, thankfully, getting talked about more and more in recent years. Peter Falk and John Cassevetes tear at, tear down and tear apart each other in this unrelentingly tense, knot-in-your-stomach drama about two childhood friends turned mobsters who’s friendship crumbles over one exhausting night. A demented and desperate call for help slowly turns into a heartbreaking and at times excruciating portrait of two low lives with decades of jealousy, resentment and mistrust between them to pour over while the sword of Damocles hangs over at least one of their heads. Elaine May taps into the Cassavetes filmmaking format using two of its veterans in a very loose, unpolished verite style that slowly builds the agitation in the air, making us uneasy as we witness this very private and very ugly unraveling of two detestable men who never truly grew up. A raw and ragged little film that, despite the mobster backdrop, will strike a chord with anyone who has that one lifelong friend who knows you better than you know yourself... for better or worse.
- Christopher Attrill