The best thing about Downtown, Richard Benjamin's 1990 cop buddy film, is seeing what a very young Forest Whitaker and Anthony Edwards looked like before they became big stars. Aside from that, Downtown represents a very uneasy mix of comedy and more serious drama which ultimately doesn't work at all.
Edwards plays inexperienced white suburban cop Alex Kearney who gets into trouble after attempting to ticket a corrupt businessman who has connections to city government and is promptly transferred to a downtown inner-city precinct. Immediately we realize that this story cannot be taken seriously when there is a ridiculous shootout between cops and drug dealers inside the police precinct.
To add insult to injury, there is also a very unsavory additional scene inside the precinct where a drug addict/religious fanatic holds a little girl hostage by placing a gun to her head and is disarmed when Alex pretends he's God using the department's PA system.
Some might argue that the depiction of the inner city police precinct in this film is racist since all the police officers there are black-Alex is the only white cop in the office (since when were police precincts in Los Angeles completely segregated as of 1990?). But the point is also made that the downtown officers are not only way more experienced than their white suburban counterparts but they also know how to expertly handle real crime every day.
Alex ends up being partnered up with the much more experienced black cop, Dennis Curren (Whitaker). The relationship between the two officers fits the cop buddy formula, with Dennis constantly annoyed with his inept partner.
At a certain point early on Alex's buddy from the suburban force is killed by a psychopathic criminal by having his throat slit. What happened to the comedy here? The mixture takes the form of bad guy machinations coupled with a series of goofy good guy cop slapstick.
Finally Alex finds his mojo and along with Dennis's supervisor take the bad guys down, consisting of the aforementioned corrupt businessman, the psychopath and a police precinct commander. Where is Dennis in all this? He is hospitalized after being shot in the face by the psychopath and does not participate in the predictable climax.
Penelope Ann Miller as a completely forgettable role as Lori, Alex's love interest. Whitaker does well as the more experienced cop but Edwards's role is way too goofy to be taken seriously. This is one hell of a forgettable flick which should be avoided at all costs.
Edwards plays inexperienced white suburban cop Alex Kearney who gets into trouble after attempting to ticket a corrupt businessman who has connections to city government and is promptly transferred to a downtown inner-city precinct. Immediately we realize that this story cannot be taken seriously when there is a ridiculous shootout between cops and drug dealers inside the police precinct.
To add insult to injury, there is also a very unsavory additional scene inside the precinct where a drug addict/religious fanatic holds a little girl hostage by placing a gun to her head and is disarmed when Alex pretends he's God using the department's PA system.
Some might argue that the depiction of the inner city police precinct in this film is racist since all the police officers there are black-Alex is the only white cop in the office (since when were police precincts in Los Angeles completely segregated as of 1990?). But the point is also made that the downtown officers are not only way more experienced than their white suburban counterparts but they also know how to expertly handle real crime every day.
Alex ends up being partnered up with the much more experienced black cop, Dennis Curren (Whitaker). The relationship between the two officers fits the cop buddy formula, with Dennis constantly annoyed with his inept partner.
At a certain point early on Alex's buddy from the suburban force is killed by a psychopathic criminal by having his throat slit. What happened to the comedy here? The mixture takes the form of bad guy machinations coupled with a series of goofy good guy cop slapstick.
Finally Alex finds his mojo and along with Dennis's supervisor take the bad guys down, consisting of the aforementioned corrupt businessman, the psychopath and a police precinct commander. Where is Dennis in all this? He is hospitalized after being shot in the face by the psychopath and does not participate in the predictable climax.
Penelope Ann Miller as a completely forgettable role as Lori, Alex's love interest. Whitaker does well as the more experienced cop but Edwards's role is way too goofy to be taken seriously. This is one hell of a forgettable flick which should be avoided at all costs.