48 Hrs. - Where political correctness is 30 years away

48 hours. Eddie Murphy's character, Reggie Hammond, is released from prison for 48 hours to help Nick Nolte's cop character, Jack Cates, catch a convict who's managed to escape from prison. This is the plot of the movie, but you could be forgiven for thinking that the point of the movie is simply for as many characters as possible to hurl racist epithets at Eddie Murphy.

In other words, this movie has not exactly aged well.

The film begins with the somewhat exciting aforementioned escape and then moves into a legitimately exciting shootout between three cops and our escaped inmate and his friend. The shootout, which starts in a hotel room and moves into the lobby, at first leaves one cop dead. The shooting continues downstairs and ... hey look! It's Mike from Breaking Bad as one of the cops!

He does not look good. Oh he's dead now. Sorry, Mike!

Cates survives and needs help from Hammond, who is two-and-a-half years into a three-year prison sentence for armed robbery. We first meet Eddie Murphy 25 minutes into the film singing "Roxanne" off-key in a recliner in a jail cell. (This of course foreshadowed Murphy's awesome first album.) I guess San Francisco prisons are nicer than most others? Hammond agrees to help Cates catch Gans (the escaped prisoner) in exchange for 48 hours on the outside. Hey that's the name of the movie!

 

Turns out that Hammond and Luther, an accomplice of Gans, stole half a million dollars a few years back, and Gans is after that money. Hammond doesn't like this, but is hesitant to trust his new cop friend. I'm not sure why, when Cates says things like, "I don't know what you're smiling about, Watermelon," or just forsakes all creativity and uses the n-word. Whatever the case, they need each other to track down these other guys, and end up working pretty well as a team.

Obviously, when I say "working pretty well as a team" I mean they stop beating up the bad guys, have a pretty intense brawl in the street, and then decide to stop fighting each other and continue only beating up other people.

 

For some reason, they have to go to the most redneck bar ever put on film, where Eddie Murphy hears more terrible racist things. Cates lets Hammond pretend to be a cop, so Murphy actually gets to taunt a few racists and even takes one of their hats. "There's a new sheriff in town and his name is Reggie Hammond." Actual line from this movie.

If nothing else, the director, Walter Hill, does an amazing job building tension whenever there's a gun. After the odd couple chase the fugitives into the San Francisco subway, there's an incredible showdown on a platform. The scene is shot like an old western as we wait for someone to shoot first. Unfortunately the showdown is broken up by a police officer shouting, "Drop that!" He's promptly shot and does most of the dropping.

Cates returns to the police station empty handed - he lost the fugitives, he lost the money, and people keep dying around him. And that's when we get that staple of all 80s cop movies: the irate police captain:

Believe it or not, this guy even calls Eddie Murphy the n-word. "Yes, I said it!" he says, as if anticipating a backlash. Seriously though, this guy could fight off any backlash with his fiery language and that sweet, sweet 80s mustache. 

Cates is suspended, but like all 80s cop movie heroes, doesn't let that stop him from tracking down the villains. They confront the guys in Chinatown and Cates shoots Gans at least 8 times. "You're done. End of story." Actual line from this movie. (This does not, however, mark the end of the movie so keep watching!)

Hammond has to go back to jail, but Cates says the $500,000 will be waiting for him. In a suitcase. In the truck of his car. I'm no student of the constitution, but this seems hard to believe. Hammond offers to give some of the money to Cates, but he refuses. "That's not my style." However, he does say that Hammond can buy him a car. It was at this point I gave up trying to understand this movie or refrain from laughing at the dialogue. But at one-and-a-half hours, at least it didn't drag on too long. ONLY 46.5 HOURS TO GO.

 

I can't give this movie more than 3 of Patrick Swayze's abs. The fight and gun scenes were very well done, and you can see some of the smartass that Murphy would perfect in Beverly Hills Cop start to come out, but the overt-becomes-in-your-face racism has to knock a few abs down.

Extra abs

• Cates does apologize for his racist remarks about an hour into the movie, saying he was merely doing his job of keeping Hammond down. Oh. That explains that.
• I haven't mentioned Annette O'Toole. I didn't forget about her, but I'm pretty sure the writers did. Her character is dating Nick Nolte's but after waking up together in the movie's second scene, we only see her twice more and each time she's on the phone shouting the f-word at Cates. These filmmakers just get women.
• Yes, that was Denise Crosby playing a crazy woman with a bat!
• This was Eddie Murphy's first movie. The verbal abuse he took in this has to be considered some of the worst hazing in Hollywood history.
• Stay tuned: I'm in an Eddie Murphy mood and will be blogging his next two movies: Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop. I remember both being way better.
• And just for fun: Nick Nolte more recently.