Showtime (2002)

Robert De Niro, Academy Award winning actor in such classic films: The Godfather: Part II, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Heat, and Analyze This. Eddie Murphy, one of Hollywood's box-office hit comedians in such classic films: Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hrs., The Nutty Professor, Shrek, and Dreamgirls. Who would have thought that "Shanghai Noon" director Tom Dey brought two of Hollywood's greatest actors to star in the action-comedy-buddy cop movie SHOWTIME. A buddy cop movie spoof about two very different L.A.P.D. police officers: Mitch Preston (De Niro), a hard-nosed detective who cares only about his job and nailing crooks. Trey Sellars (Murphy), a wannabe actor who would rather play a cop on television than be an actual one. After a drug bust that goes sour, A TV producer (Rene Russo) pairs the two unlikely cops for a new reality show, kind of like COPS, that follows them through the streets of Los Angeles. And while their chasing bad guys, they begin to track down a dangerous criminal who has created a much more dangerous gun than anyone has ever heard or seen before. The first time I heard about this movie was looking thru an Entertainment Weekly magazine and seeing a photograph of De Niro and Murphy handcuffed to each other while hanging on the top of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in L.A. I went to see this movie on the day of 74th Academy Award show on March 24th, 2002, nine days after its release. This movie has some funny moments, a cast of familiar faces from Frankie Faison, Mos Def, De Niro's real life daughter Drena, Judah Friedlander, Kadeem Hardison, and the legendary William Shatner. Showtime wasn't a big hit at the box office, but it's a movie that's enjoyable to watch if you like Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy.