Chicago Is In Good Hands... "Running Scared"

Running Scared (1986)
Rated R for violence and language and nudity

Starring Billy Crystal, Gregory Hines, Joe Pantoliano, Dan Hedaya, Jimmy Smits

Directed by Peter Hyams

The Story:

Detectives Ray (Hines) and Danny (Crystal) are two of Chicago's finest.  However, when the duo are almost killed, their Captan (Hedaya) orders them to take a vacation.  A trip to the Florida Keys convinces them that perhaps it's simply time to retire and open a bar.  As they go to finish up their tour on the force, the two become very conservative in their behavior, and that could prove costly as they attempt to take down local drug kingpin Julio Gonzales (Smits).

Long live the Buddy Cop film!

Although this film takes a different slant on the buddy cop genre.

Instead of the duo being oil and water, Ray and Danny are like an old married couple.

They can complete each other's sentences, know what one another is thinking...

In other words, best friends on and off the force.

Hines and Crystal's chemistry serves the duo well, allowing both to take on the air of serious action stars while maintaining their sense of humor and general likeability.

The supporting cast is great.

Hedaya makes a wonderful beaten down head of detectives an Pantoliano is perfectly cast as two bit villain Snake.

Some great dialogue, pretty fun action sequences, and you'll find this is one of the underrated action comedies of the mid-80s.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I own it, and I love it.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 49 ~ Clueless

Back to Back Heckerling!

What can I say, the lady gets High School!  Here, she weaves Jane Austen's Emma into the ritzy life of Southern California High Schools and comes away with Clueless.

To summarize, Cher (Alicia Silverstone) wants to make everyone happy, for purely selfish reasons, and so begins to attempt to match-make for many people in and around her life.  From the teachers to her friends, she just can't help herself.

Unfortunately, Cher can't seem to find that elusive Mr. Right for herself, although he may be much closer than she can even begin to imagine.

The dialogue and situations are tremendously funny, and the actors all do a great job.

Much like Fast Times, Clueless unleashed a group of young actors on the public who were just making their starts in the business, or who had not received much exposure on the Silver Screen.

Alicia Silverstone is the most obvious.  Some TV movies and some music videos were her claim to fame.  Then there was the late Brittany Murphy and Stacey Dash as her two best friends.

On the guy side of things Breckin Meyer and Donald Faison played love interests in the tale, but my favorite was Paul Rudd in the first role I ever saw him in.  Hilarious in his part as an ex-son-in-law, he was an overnight sensation...almost a decade after his appearance in this movie. : )

Following Fast Times lead of a strong supporting cast of older character actors, Dan Hedaya won my favorite character as Cher's put upon father, and I've already listed my favorite line from the film.

One I'm saving for the guys that show up on my doorstep to court my daughters.

>: )