Hollywood Homicide (2003) User Reviews

So many people have missed the point

[PhilmGuru · 6/10 · 16 December 2003]

Anyone who has seen this movie and commented on it as a serious action film should be shot.

From the very start it is fairly obvious it crosses the cheese line into a parody. From the totally pointless/unrelated cheesy opening scene of HF on a shooting range, the lake chase scene, the whole buddy buddy chemistry (or total deliberate lack thereof) to the non stop annoying phone ringing or maybe the complete lack of an interesting plot? Some of these should have given away to most people the real intentions of this film.

The 'love' scene with Harrison Ford should be the last clue to anyone blind enough, that this is really not to be taken seriously and can be considered made specially for Mystery Science Theatre.

The film is called 'Hollywood Homicide', I believe, so titled as to ruffle some Hollywood feathers with the notion that Hollywood has been killed by the never ending rain of terrible buddy cop movies. The real joke is that some suit somewhere probably OK'd this as a real action movie.

In fact, the funniest thing is that some people took it seriously and enjoyed it as a serious action movie.

The chases are deliberately over the top lame (I mean really, really bad), the dialogue is so silly and pointless it just makes you laugh, the character development is totally non-existant, the cliches flow non-stop, the whole side plot of internal affairs is placed there because it's in every buddy cop movie, etc, etc. How anyone took this movie as a serious action film is beyond me.

I give it 6/10 because, it's hilarious in places (in a MST kind of way), I agree with their intentions (THE COP FILMS MUST END!!!). Just please, don't take it anything more than a parody.

More unusual than expected

[jpschapira · 6/10 · 6 June 2005]

Taking another chance on L.A, on the streets and more specifically on the police, as in "Dark Blue", Ron Shelton, a man of multiple themes, brings a new project to the table, which is called "Hollywood Homicide". The difference between this one and the latter one is that this is Hollywood, precisely. And when the beginning credits roll, and we're shown fifty "Hollywood" signs; it's obvious that they want us to realize that. Why would it be?

The story about Ron Shelton meeting Robert Souza in the set of "Dark Blue" and them both getting together to write the script of "Hollywood Homicide", because Souza had been a cop before…Interesting. However, in the same vein, "Dark Blue" is the portrait of a cruel reality; "Hollywood Homicide" is the satire of a shallow but real reality in the end. It's Hollywood, and it was a good premise to put some fun in the crime scenes, probably to make it "more dramatic than anything seen in Hollywood".

The other elements the plot offers go from action to crime, or vice versa. They created the murderer of a rap band, so they could mess a little bit with the music business, too. There we see the producers, the groups, the "showbiz"…It's even related with theater and movies, because one of the main characters wants to be an actor; and in a decent comedic way, he's thinking about acting each time he's doing something; and he probably isn't that good.

I'm talking about K.C Calden; Josh Hartnett's character. He gives classes of movements to find the inner self. There, a lot of hot women assist and kiss him when they leave. In one scene, his partner tells him that he did for sex. "At first it was for sex, now it has become something spiritual", K.C answers, and at night, a hot woman is waiting for him in the "Jacuzzi". "How long has it been since the last time you got laid", K.C asks his partner. "It's not your business", the partner says. Then, he lets a man working as a prostitute into his car. When they discuss that, he says: "It was nothing, it was a man, a cop; a cop man".

This partner is Joe Gavilan, a pro in the police business played by a pro in the acting business. As he did with Kurt Russell in "Dark Blue", Shelton brings Harrison Ford back to the top of his game. With his character, based on writer Robert Souzas's own life, he has the best lines and he has a lot of fun. Antoine Sartain (Isaiah Washington) should be afraid of him; a man that has had sex, with Ruby (an over the top Lena Olin) and makes real estate business with producer Jerry Duran (the great Martin Landau) and Julius Armas (a correct Master P) while he's driving a car high speed. When he is told the composer of the rap group is still alive, he replies: "Somebody actually writes that s***?". He has had bad times, Bennie Macko (Bruce Greenwood) wants to get him, and in the best scene of the movie, he and K.C get interrogated. This scene is managed with camera changes between the two interrogating rooms, where in Joe's, his cell is always ringing; and in K.C's, he is "centering" himself spiritually. Joe's interrogator can't do anything, while K.C's interrogator (a woman) asks him to help her relax.

That scene stole the only laughs from me during the entire film. Keith David was also having fun in his Leo role, reprising some of the comic elements he gave to Lester Wallace in "Barbershop". More importantly, and if you were wondering, Shelton directs his actors perfectly, making a stupendous balance between the pro and the amateur, the old and the young; Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett. Their chemistry is perfect, and one of the few reasons to watch the movie. In the end, their characters are nothing else but cops, in a film that leaves a lot of plot situations unresolved, is a bit long, not funny enough, but different from the gross humor that everyone finds easy to put on paper.

Dreadful buddy film.

[senortuffy · 4/10 · 12 October 2003]

This film was one of the worst I've seen in a long while.

It's a combination police drama and comedy about two Hollywood detectives, Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett, investigating a shootout at a hip hop club.

The plot is contrived and there are way too many side issues going on. Ford is hustling real estate on the side (Martin Landau is one of his clients), Hartnett runs a yoga school where he's hustling chicks in his spare time, the two are under investigation by Internal Affairs, Ford is screwing the ex-girlfriend (Lena Olin) of the IA investigator and she's a psychic who has a radio show, the man who set up the killing at the club is a dirty ex-cop who shot Hartnett's father years ago.

Toss in the obligatory car chases and some lame attempts at humor, and that's about the gist of this turkey.

Harrison Homicide

[DarthBill · 9 April 2004]

I've always been a fan of Harrison Ford and odds are I always will be, regardless of what comes out of his personal life now. Considering how Hollywood can screw a man up, Harrison still ranks as one of the few to have successfully held his head together. That and I usually find something entertaining his films. It's hard not to be entertained by him in the old Star Wars films, where he was hilarious as Han Solo, or to root/feel for him in the Indiana Jones trilogy and films like "Blade Runner", "Witness", the Jack Ryan films, "The Fugitive" and "Air Force One".

Thing is, "Witness" marked the turning point of Harrison's career in which he would mature into the modern day quiet, reluctant hero. Understandably, after playing this role again and again for about 20 years Ford would naturally want to go back to playing things a little funnier than he had previously been allowed. It's a bit of a shame that he picked such a weak script for a return to comedy. All in all, it's just an excuse to let Harrison reprise his Han Solo persona as an older man. But in the opinions of some, his age dried him out, preventing him from being as funny as he used to be.

This one tries very hard to be both apart OF the mismatched buddy cop genre AND to make fun of it. As a result, it never quite realizes it's potentially funny premise or even serve as usual time filler.

Ford plays Joe Gavilan, a cop working real estate on the side and Josh Hartnett is his younger partner KC Calden, who works a yoga class on the side, sleeps with his customers and is also an aspiring actor. They get assigned to solve the murder of an up and coming rap group and are repeatedly dogged by Bruce Greenwood as Ford's nemesis. The cliche of Josh's dad being a cop who got killed by way of his partner could have been left on the cutting room floor.

Ford and Josh do the young cop/old cop bit as well as anyone else, but Ford deserves a better than this, and after "Black Hawk Down" Josh should be more picky about his vehicles. The only real comic highlight is when they're being interrogated and are either mouthing off or playing quiet. This is the only gem in an otherwise dull film.

Here's hoping they both make better decisions in the future.

Oh good lord

[I_actually_am_sam · 1/10 · 22 October 2008]

Well this movie actually made me feel so strongly that I signed up for an IMDb account just to warn people. It is patently AWFUL!! NOTHING makes sense in this movie. There is way too many subplots for a start. Josh Hartnett's character is an aspiring actor and yoga instructor as well as a cop who seems to be living way beyond his means and only teaches yoga to hot girls (Some of whom wait naked in his jacuzzi for when he comes back from work). Add to that the fact that his dad was killed by a crooked cop who just so happens to be in on the current crime being investigated by the hapless duo. Harrison Ford's character is trying to sell real estate on the side and is sleeping with the Internal Affairs investigator's ex-wife who happens to run a psychic radio show which Ford's character calls from time to time. NONSENSE!!

I can't remember the characters names (that's how forgettable this is) so I'll refer to them as Ford and Hartnett.

Then there's the dialogue which is brutal. I mean cringe-inducing stuff here. Throw in every cliché in the book (having a heart-to-heart in a dark bar during the day over a drink where the bartender knows his name; the duo being investigated by internal affairs (why??); hartnett confronting his dad's killer) and you've got one hell of a mess.

As I mentioned the plot is preposterous and continuity is non-existent: 1) When Ford's car is being repossessed, how the hell did the repo guys know where it would be parked? Were they following him?? 2) When Hartnett goes to the morgue and it just so happens that the only clue from the crime scene (an earring) is replicated on of the charred bodies there (that was lucky!) 3) When the two are arrested and taken in for questioning - Ford keeps answering his phone and Hartnett "centers himself" with a yoga pose on the table. Instead of taking the phone from Ford the IA guy waits for it to ring each time and then tries to grab it off the table before Ford does. Meanwhile the female IA officer in with Hartnett is rubbing herself all over him. Then, inexplicably, the two are released without answering any questions. 4) During the car chase Hartnett's car is crashing and smashing its way around Hollywood but then suddenly the car is perfect again. Not a scratch! 5) When Ford chases the bad guy into the building and he gets in the elevator how the hell does he know which floor the bad guy got off at?? 6) When the two are chasing the bad guy around in hartnett's car, Ford is trying to close a real estate deal. Come on! 7) The bad guy is the most unconvincing record exec ever. His motivation for killing an aspiring group of rappers on his label? They might leave his label and it's a warning to keep his other groups loyal. But hang on, how is he ever going to sign anyone new with that business plan?? 8) Why is the IA guy who is investigating Ford arrested in the end? There is no explication!! 9) And Hartnett gets to use his "acting" to capture the bad guy in the end.

I could go on, I really could. Anyone who is looking deeper into this movie than a straight up action comedy needs their head examined because that's all it is. There's nothing else to it! It's not supposed to be satirical or ironic. It's just crap.

Formulaic and Daft but very funny

[drt10 · 7/10 · 29 November 2007]

The last reviewer was obviously not in the mood for comedy when he watched this film, lets be honest after 10 minutes you are not watching it for the police plot but for the comedy. It made me laugh all the way through. Harrison Ford is the grizzled old timer, who has mountains of debt, a string of ex-wives and doesn't take any sh#t. Josh Hartnett the keen young rookie who wants to make it as an actor. All the cops around these two are bent (aren't they always). In the course of investigating some murders they are lead to a seemingly respectable businessman, but we all know there is no such thing in the movies. Cue car-chase where our brave and heroic cops travel in various vehicles (ensuing some hilarity).Does admittedly stretch the bounds of reality but...

Boring, standard, totally unoriginal, not at all funny, falls flat

[Rooster99 · 3/10 · 24 November 2003]

Lame movie. Completely uninteresting. No chemistry at all between Indiana Jones and the guy from Black Hawk Down. The car chase scene just goes on and on and on ad nauseum. They manage to switch vehicles a few times, but always end up right on the tail of the baddies. The scene where Hartnett grabs the family's car with the crying kids in the back was just as stupid as could be. He is telling them about Eastern philosophy and how it is all right to die, which I imagine the writers thought was funny or even witty. It just came off as moronic, totally unbelievable and even cruel.

Some subplots weren't even explored, they were just used as filler. Why does Hartnett get sick seeing dead bodies yet keeps ordering burgers at crime scenes? Why, and on what grounds, is the bad IA guy suddenly arrested out of the blue by the chief? Why can IA pick up the buddy cops and then just let them answer their phones or pretend to be Indian mystics and then just let them waltz out of there without so much as a slap on the wrist? For some reason, even though Ford is uncovered as a cheat and a fraud when acting as a realtor, (he makes up the prices when he is trying to sell the producer's house to jack up his own commission), they keep coming back to him anyway! They knew he lied to both of them! Yet there they were, coming to terms that both said they would never go for. Stupid, just stupid. This is also one of those cop movies where they just fire wantonly on public streets with no care in the world for innocent bystanders. There they were, just standing on the sidewalk blasting away while people ducked for cover. Amazing that they didn't hit a single person after having fired about 60 rounds each....

The scriptwriting was terrible, the action sequences were boring, the plot just a sidestory to a very pathetic attempt to have us root for Ford and Hartnett. It fails miserably. And Ford's phone! Turn the damn thing off! How many times could it ring in a 2-hour movie? 50? 60? It was frustratingly aggravating by the midpoint in the movie! Every 30 seconds, that stupid tune would play! And if it wasn't Ford's, then Hartnett's was ringing! It was incredibly annoying!

Complete waste of time, Ford's worst movie since 6 Days 7 Nights, which was without a doubt, the lowest point of his distinguished career.

Harrison Ford can Even Do Comedy Roles

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 12 October 2005]

Enjoy Harrison Ford and I know it is not easy to do comedy roles and at the same time try to make his role as a detective serious and convincing. Ford played Joe Gavilan,"Randowm Hearts",99, a cop who also sold real estate and had a hard time trying to pay off three wives and plenty of debt. However, his partner was Josh Hartnett,(K.C. Calden), "Sin City",05, who was not certain if he wanted to be a cop like his dad or give Yoga lessons to a class of red hot great looking gals, who loved to meet him in hot tubs. Joe & K C made a good team and managed to step on each others toes, but they still managed to hold onto their jobs. It is not the greatest of films and lots of money was spent in producing it, but it clearly shows what great talents Harrison & Hartnett have to offer their fans.

dreadful

[wheatt · 1/10 · 29 September 2003]

It not a serious crime drama/thriller so it must be a comedy? Hang on though, it's simply not funny or even mildly amusing. It is continually tedious throughout.

What is worth mentioning is that the film maker seemed obsessed with the ring tones on the character's mobile phones, to a point where it was just irritating (if you are supposed to turn off your mobile phone during the course of a film, why did the film makers insist on pushing this annoying plot-device on us?).

It would've been much more interesting if Mr Ford and Mr Barnett were just playing themselves (real actors moonlighting as cops). No explanation needed, it just would have been more watchable.

Tiresome.

Featherlight action-comedy that has the feel of an early nineties buddy-cop movie.

[Panterken · 6/10 · 15 November 2007]

I've always had a weakness for the Lethal Weapon movies and this reminded me a lot of them. The chemistry wasn't quite what it should be in a buddy-cop movie but Harrison Ford presence made up for that. As always, he was a delight to watch...Hartnett, however,was diminished to a talking prop...

Of course it was no where near as good as the movies it pays homage to, but fans of the genre will enjoy it non the less. It's a fun movie and that's really all it needs to be. I'm not really a fan of the over-the-top humor that seems to rule the comedy films these days, so this kind of humor really surprised and delighted me...

I can guarantee you a good time if you liked Bad Boys, Lethal Weapon, 48 hours etc.

6.4/10

Delivers some Laughs and Not Much Else,

[lesleyharris30 · 5/10 · 14 February 2015]

Hollywood Homicide is a mediocre movie with an average storyline that I felt had the opportunity of being very different but simply didn't and a cast that could have delivered more.The set up of a buddy cop comedy in LA with Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett easily could have worked but simply didn't,they completely lacked any necessary chemistry for their parts.I always love seeing Harrison Ford on screen,but was very disappointed by his performance in this,he simply couldn't do comedy,he delivered pretty much every line very poorly and I feel like he slowly lost more and more interest in his role throughout.There were certainly a handful of parts that made me laugh,but there wasn't enough and there was nothing aside from that,the action sequences are unimpressive,and we are never really given any reason to truly care for these characters.It has its moments,but Hollywood Homicide is mostly a poorly written and poorly acted comedy that I would not recommend.

Two detectives investigate the murder of a popular rap group.

Best Performance: Josh Hartnett Worst Performance: Lena Olin

I finished a painting while writing this review

[BrandtSponseller · 9/10 · 12 February 2005]

Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford) is a seasoned detective. K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett) is his still wet behind the ears partner. Hollywood Homicide has them trying to balance the investigation of murders involving members of LA's rap industry with unusual extracurricular activities and concerns.

The most obvious aspects that make the film work so well are the extracurriculars. Without them, this might be seen as just another buddy-cop action/crime/drama--a good one at that, but nothing spectacular. But Hollywood Homicide is a comedy at heart. Gavilan's first concern upon arriving at any crime scene is that he gets some food, just the way he likes it. He's also a real estate agent. While conducting investigations, calls from buyers and sellers of homes always take precedence. Calden is also an aspiring actor, and he's quite a ladies' man. He even makes extra income by running a yoga class--with only women students--at $20 a head. Most of the students want to sleep with him, as do most other women he meets. They get away with it because Gavilan, at least, is also a great detective.

All of this material is very funny, but never in an over-the-top way. In fact, a lot of viewers might have difficulty "getting" the humor in the film, as much of it arrives by way of the action/crime/drama material that is only slightly exaggerated. That's a genre that often borders on the absurd even when it's played seriously. So the tendency may be for people to take this film seriously at times, and miss the gist of the humor.

The real joke, of course, is that this is Hollywood--a fact made all too clear by director Ron Shelton's title montage of "Hollywood" on various signs. In Hollywood, as in LA in general, it seems that everyone has something else that they'd rather be doing than their actual job, so they're all really focusing on that instead, while the day job pays the bills. Everyone is trying to make connections, and they're willing to do all kinds of unusual things to make them. Everyone is constantly on their cell phones. Run-ins with people who have various connections to the entertainment industry are commonplace, and it's not unusual to casually compliment them on their talent or some facet of their career before you, say, run after their offspring with a gun. Criminal activity and other unpleasant facts of daily existence are mostly taken in stride because no one can let such things get in the way of achieving success in what they really want to do.

That Shelton was able to make a film about "the real joke", and still keep a capable "serious" action/crime/drama running in the background is the real secret to the film's success. Without looking the broader themes, one might wonder why Harrison Ford would pick a seemingly pedestrian script at this stage of his career. From a deeper perspective, this is a very funny film with a more serious, almost self-deprecating subtext (for Hollywood, or the entertainment industry in general), and with an even more generalized "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" theme. Hollywood Homicide is well worth a watch or reassessment with this in mind.

Much Needed Good P.R. for the LAPD

[lawprof · 6/10 · 14 June 2003]

No urban police department is free of episodic troubles but the LAPD has a case as chronic as smokers' cough. Good cops, bad cops and villains with SOCAL written all over their faces and inflected in every line.

But, hey, it's summer and Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett deliver some good laughs and a pretty hot high speed smash 'em up chase through Hollywood in this cop/buddies film.

The genre is pretty familiar to all. Very formulaic. You get a wiser older cop with flaws and/or attitude and a young acolyte with flaws and/or attitude. The novelty here is that while many cops moonlight to pay their bills, Ford's a detective who doesn't let hot police work interfere with his on and off real estate brokerage business. With incessant calls for his private business on a cell phone that rings with "My Girl," Ford delivers a good performance with wry humor and a surprising degree of athleticism (he's sixty but you'd never know it).

Josh Hartnett, as the very junior homicide investigator, also has a sideline, actually two. He earnestly pursues an acting career while running a meditation mill for lissome young lovelies who, predictably, fall into his arms and bed. But he's a good cop.

The actual homicide story is instantly familiar and its development devoid of surprises. So what? It's summer! I can't see art films EVERY day.

6/10. Can't give it more than that but it was entertaining for both me and my teenage son who especially appreciated the urban road rampage.

Feed Your Cat or Floss Your Teeth

[arahman · 1/10 · 21 July 2005]

Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett play buddy cops attempting to solve the murder of a rap group in this sub standard action comedy that fails to provide any exciting action sequences or amusing comedy. Hollywood Homicide is a cheap (but not cheerful) version of Lethal Weapon or 48 Hours but without any chemistry between the characters. Harrison Ford has done some decent movies but he appears to be half asleep throughout this film which, considering he is the lead is enough to butcher the movie alone. However, he is aided by a useless and unoriginal story. Hollywood Homicide is actually similar to the recent buddy cop movie Showtime with Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro. Whist Showtime also has poor chemistry between the main actors there are at least some laughs in the movie, I can find none in Hollywood Homicide. This is a slow and boring movie. Harrison Ford shouldn't have been part of this film and this film should not have been made. I can't ruin the ending to this movie because it is one of the few films that I have actually turned off before completion (since I was engulfed by boredom and disappointment). If I recall correctly, instead of watching the end I flossed my teeth and fed my cat. I am confident that I made the right decision.

A very lighthearted action movie

[gazebo · 26 June 2003]

I'm a Harrison Ford fan so I had to see this movie even though the reviews were not that good. It was a perfect way to spend a hot Tuesday afternoon. As I watched the movie, I also watched the audience to get a sense of their reaction. Everyone laughed from beginning to end of the movie! Everybody was having a great time! To hell with the critics! This is a great summer movie and Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett are a joy to watch! Harrison Ford admirably stretches himself to give a comedic performance as Joe Gavilon, a police detective who also moonlights as a real estate agent. I love the way Harrison Ford switches from cop mode to real estate agent mode at the drop of the hat and he was so funny being a slave to his cell phone. Josh Hartnett plays his rookie partner who has a part time job as a yoga instructor and who thinks of quitting the force to become an actor. Their interactions with each other and with the people around them are very funny. Never mind about the plot of the movie. The plot doesn't really matter. The plot has to do with the mystery of why these up and coming rappers were murdered in a club. There are guest stars galore in this movie and it was fun to spot Smoky Robinson doing a bit part as a cabbie. It's a funny movie! Everyone just sit back and enjoy the movie and forget about the critics! Harrison Ford is very funny and just to watch him is a real treat!

Stuffed Like A Turkey At Thanksgiving

[refinedsugar · 5/10 · 5 October 2023]

Wrap your head around why this film cost 75 mil to make and you get an idea about it's issues. It's bloated. Best thing about 'Hollywood Homicide' is the pairing of Ford & Harnett. They are a lot of fun and have good on-screen chemistry which is odd to say when you learn after the fact they heavily disliked working with each other.

Four members of a popular rap group are brutally gunned down while performing in a nightclub. Sgt. Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford) and his younger, less experienced partner K. C. Calden (Josh Harnett) are assigned the case. Joe moonlights as a real estate agent and K. C. is an aspiring actor and somewhat of a womanizer.

There's bits involving a physic, the slimy head of a record label, his dirtbag head of security amongst shootouts & chase scenes delivering the required action. The trope about new partners bonding and some tacked on backstory about a cop father who was gunned down in the line of duty. Plus an additional antagonist in a IA lieutenant. There's a ton of known faces filling out the cast. As is typical of director Ron Shelton, his actress wife Lolita Davidovich has a role.

'Hollywood Homicide' commits the ultimate deadly sin of a comedy - it isn't consistently funny. I liked the buddy cop pairing found here, but a lot of the best parts made it's way into a good trailer with a better tone than the actual movie.

Atypical Harrison Ford outing that works for me

[mozli · 7/10 · 15 February 2009]

I don't get all the hate coming at this movie. It seemed to me a pleasing enough satire on the level of SHOWTIME. One way to 'get' this film is forget its a cop movie. Think of the Ford and Hartnett characters as actually a realtor and an actor who happen to chase around criminals and screw beautiful women. Nobody is taking the plot that seriously and that's kind of a good thing. There is the exception of the Isaiah Washington character who seems to be imported from a completely different type of film. There is also an odd echo, from of all things: BLADERUNNER. I realize to compare that classic to this bag of french fries may disturb some movie lovers but there were certain moments(Joe's initial interview with Antoine, the rooftop climax)that seemed to purposefully comment on the earlier film. I don't mind the idea of a sequel for these characters. The issue that a lot of people aren't getting is that Ford is a great light comic actor in the Bob Hope tradition.

2023. A Gen-X Review of a Decades Old Film That I've Never, Ever Seen Before

[RightOnDaddio · 3/10 · 12 December 2023]

Man, is this movie bad. It really bores you to tears. It's tough to watch such talent get wasted on the screen and even behind the camera. Wow. It really is astounding.

This is a film that proves the actor or talent is only as good as what's on the printed page no matter how fantastic or legendary of a performer they are.

This movie doesn't know what it wants to be and it's confusing and not at all fun to watch.

Is it a comedy?

Well, it'd have to be funny to accomplish that feat.

Is it an action film?

It'd have to excite the senses. It does not. It does the opposite. It dulls them.

It's hard to believe watching this that Harrison Ford had two more Indiana Jones movies even left in him.

This isn't noir, either.

It's not gritty or dark. It's quite bright actually.

Ford looks completely uncomfortable the entire movie. He and Hartnett have no chemistry.

It's best to leave this case unsolved.

Rap Homicide

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 11 July 2010]

It's Hollywood of the present day and a couple of guys come into a club with Uzis and start shooting it up. Several members of a rap group are slain. As this is a world that doesn't open up to law enforcement in general, solving this massacre is going to be tough.

But put on this Hollywood Homicide are a pair of detective partners of different generations both of whom have different other life careers. Harrison Ford has delved deeply into those get rich quick real estate schemes you see on infomercial television. He's got himself a $700,000.00 lemon on his hands right now and even LAPD's Internal Affairs is looking into him.

As for young Josh Hartnett, son of a cop killed in the line of duty, he'd really like to be an actor. He's also into new wave type religion that really drives Internal Affairs nuts when he's questioned.

The club owner Isaiah Washington who employs some LAPD cops as his security is not terribly cooperative, maybe preferring to deal with it in house in every sense of the word. It's not going to be easy for Ford and Hartnett who seem to be dealing with all of this in their spare time.

It's all the usual kind of stuff you expect in modern police comedies or dramas and this is a bit of both. I'd like to single out soul singer Gladys Knight who plays the mother of a survivor who does in fact put Hartnett and Ford on the right track. And his fans will be somewhat taken aback by Lou Diamond Phillips who has a cameo appearance as an undercover detective in full drag. Make up and wardrobe really did right by Lou.

Fans of the two lead actors should enjoy Hollywood Homicide.

Not particularly great, mediocre at best

[MovieKitty11 · 5/10 · 17 November 2023]

Harrison Ford was just ok in the movie, and the younger Josh Hartnett was cute back then who played a yoga instructor part time and a player sleeping with many women aside from being a cop. I expected the movie to have better music especially the story is about rappers in a club being murdered and these cops try to catch murders. There are some good car chase scenes and light hearted comedy scenes, but they are not really funny enough and car chase scenes are not good enough like other movies. There are not eye catching cute guys aside from Josh Hartnett and I did not find Harrison Ford to be attractive in the movie nor suited for the role. Mediocre movie that took me several sittings to complete as the story is uninteresting and actors/actresses not that appealing. I would spend my time watching another better movie if I knew it would be this boring. Lame story line also. Not recommended.

Don't call me sir, I work for a living....

[FlashCallahan · 6/10 · 28 October 2012]

When not solving murders in Hollywood, Detective Joe Gavilan and his rookie partner Kasey Calden both moonlight in other fields

Gavilan sells real estate, and Calden aspires to become an actor.

Assigned to the vicious in-club slaying of a promising young rap act, the two detectives delve into the recording industry where they hope to find answers - ideally ones that also come with property buyers or auditions......

The problem with this film is that it cannot decide what it wants to be. Yes it's funny in places, but so is The Fifth Element (random I know) and I wouldn't class it as a comedy.

It's a mishmash of different genres, drama, thriller, hip hop type drama, and action rolled into one. Or the little sub-genre I call 'the time when Ford tried to get down with the kids'.

And this is all it is, Ford trying to get his mojo back after a string of flops with a Rap music background and a hot young co-star (think Exit Wounds).

And for the most part, it works, Ford is great as he has this 'I don't care anymore' attitude that makes home endearing.

Hartnett is okay and the rest of the cast are forgettable. Story wise it's all over the place, and Shelton should know better, Dark Blue was a great movie.

So all in all, it's not good by any means, but curiously watchable.

Harrison Ford starring in a horrid movie? I was shocked too.

[slerner-4 · 1/10 · 30 July 2005]

This was honestly one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Considering it is starring Harrison Ford, a usually bold and dynamic figure, this movie was truly a surprise--a terrible, terrible surprise. The dialogue hung together about as well as if it had been written the night before at 3am. Actually, if Ford and Hartnett had simply ad-libbed I would wager the result could not have been worse than the final script.

The sad aspect of this movie is that the fault does not lie fully on the script. The acting from Ford and Hartnett is very poor. Most notably, Ford is completely unbelievable in his attempted "quirky" role. This is far from the dynamic, engaging Ford of "Indiana Jones" or "Witness."

You have been warned. Watch this at your own risk. Even if you are watching for laughs I would not recommend this movie. I think the only rational reason to watch this movie is if you wish to knock Ford from his pedestal of perfection down to the cold, hard floor that is Hollywood Homicide.

A breezy, colourful and very underrated comedy

[a_mcness · 9/10 · 18 September 2008]

Maybe it needed to be more pointed in its satire to win over a wider audience and the majority of critics...but then again 'Hollywood Homicide' might have lost its very appealing breeziness and silliness in the process. From the beautifully conceived opening credits, director Ron Shelton has perfectly evoked the sunniness, colour and darkness (at the edges) of Hollywood.

The film recognises the pretensions and superficialities associated with Hollywood, but it's not mean-spirited in its send-up. You come away from the film feeling that director Ron Shelton truly loves Hollywood and the wider Los Angeles community. However, this love has not prevented him recognising the accompanying excesses and darker impulses.

HH is not an uproariously funny comedy - although Harrison Ford's punchline in the elevator sequence is sublime. However, the humour is wonderfully dry and silly, and the film as a whole is terrific fun, punctuated by a lively soundtrack and lashings of local colour (Hollywood Boulevard, its subway stations and the Hollywood & Highland complex are particularly well utilised).

On first glance, the film may seem too much a piece of fluff for a star of Ford's magnitude and esteem. However, there is a real pleasure in seeing him perform in such an unpretentious piece. Ford appears to recognise that stylishness and silliness can be very close bedfellows. It's as though he is using the film as a vessel to say to audiences, "Let's not take this film business too seriously, folks." Ford drollness as the close-to-burnout cop/real estate broker is neatly balanced by Josh Hartnett's comparatively innocent and well-meaning cop/Yoga instructor/wannabe actor. The pair, in turn, navigate a supporting cast and cameo list of offbeat characters, and, of course, some bullish, corrupt types.

Perhaps contemporary comedies need an underlying cynicism or darkness to be considered truly effective. There is of course a time and place for such concoctions, but films such as 'Hollywood Homicide' shouldn't be discounted in the process. Its breeziness and sense of fun make it the perfect antidote to a hard day at the office! Andrew McNess (2008)

Routine Buddy Cop Movie

[slightlymad22 · 6/10 · 14 August 2014]

It's not hard to see what attracted Harrison Ford to Hollywood Homicide, buddy cop movies if done well are usually successful, Josh Hartnett was on a role after 'Pearl Harbour', 'Black Hawk Down' and '40 days and 40 nights'. While Ford's last effort 'K-19 Widdowmaker' had flopped massively grossing only $65 million dollars World Wide off a $100 million dollar budget. You had to go back to the Robert Zemekis directed 'What Lies Beneath' with Michelle Pfeiffer in 2000 for his last hit. And in Hollywood 3 years can be a lifetime.

The plot, which was ridiculous to follow at times. Two LAPD detectives played by Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett investigate the murder of an up and coming rap band. In his spare time Ford moonlights as an real estate agent, Hartnett as a yoga instructor, but he really wants to be an actor, an spends a lot of time reciting 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

There are scenes of action, car chases (more like Smokey & The Bandit than Bullit) chases on foot and shoot outs. In between there was loving making and some sentimental soul searching before the predictable finale

Lou Diamond Phillips pops up, as does Martin Landau, Eric Idle Smokey Robinson, Robert Wagner and Gladys Knight.

Ford remains watchable, as always, but these are not two of his better hours.

Obvious, blatant info-mercial for Indiana Jones 4!!!

[FiendishDramaturgy · 2/10 · 4 November 2003]

Okay. So Harrison Ford, who is now in his early 60's as of this writing, is planning on doing another Indiana Jones sequel. Indiana Jones 4, which is replete with problems, postponements, and a problematic script. But is he still capable of pulling off the lead in an action/adventure? If "Hollywood Homicide" is any indication, I would have to vote a resounding, "NO!"

Ford portrays a cop/real estate agent who is partnered with Josh Hartnett who is a cop/actor. Now, with a supporting cast like that, what could go wrong? Well, I'm not a fan of Hartnett's work. H20 was awesome, but frankly, that's the only thing he has ever done which even remotely caught my attention, although he has enjoyed a smattering of successes (The Faculty, Black Hawk Down, The Virgin Suicides, etc).

The movies were decent, but I've never liked him IN them. But I digress.

This was supposed to sell the target movie audience on Ford's ability to still believably portray an action hero. Well, it did just the opposite, in my opinion. In this movie, Ford falls down (!) SIX times, is slower than usual (face it, he's never been a fast mover), and actually manages to behave like he is older than his early sixties.

His lines are poorly delivered, and he appears distracted from the already distracted character he attempts to portray, as if he is trying to read cue cards while wearing bad glasses.

I had hopes for the newest installment of Indiana Jones, but this has dashed them into oblivion. This movie, in itself, is simply detestable. I liked the plot and the dialog, but the acting here was far below par. The "action" was more like watching geriatrics play kick-ball out on the back lawn of the nursing home.

This was a real disappointment.

It rates a 2.4/10 from...

the Fiend :.