Downtown Reviews

Amiable if undistinguished, DOWNTOWN faithfully follows the buddy-buddy, bang-bang cop movie formula that audiences have memorized from 48 HOURS; LETHAL WEAPON; and far too many other recent films. Anthony Edwards plays Alex Kearney, a uniformed cop with a cushy beat in a yuppiefied suburb of Philadelphia (appearing, cameo-style, in a few exterior shots; the bulk of the action was all too obviously filmed in and around LA). When Kearney stops the wrong rich guy for speeding, he quickly finds himself transferred to the city's toughest precinct, on Diamond Street, downtown. There, in a bit of seriocomic symbolism, Kearney and his car are promptly stripped, leaving him to enter his new world naked. To the film's credit, that is about as heavy-handed as Kearney's rude awakening gets, and in no time he seems to make friends with everybody in the precinct--the significant exception being the very first person he meets on Diamond Street, his partner, the gruff, hard-bitten loner Dennis Curren (Forest Whitaker). Curren goes out of his way to have nothing to do with Kearney, but, as most viewers will recognize, his standoffishness is little more than the buddy-cop equivalent of love at first sight. Just as we know that within the next 90 minutes we'll see several cars get destroyed, we also know that before too long the partnered cops (after their obligatory male-bonding fistfight) will become the best of friends, and will break a big case together. We'll also find out that, deep down inside, Curren is just a big softie who is really keeping Kearney at arm's length because his last partner, also his best friend, died in his arms in the line of duty. Along the way, Kearney will avenge the death of his old partner and friend (Rick Aiello), and will also get back at the snide yuppie who caused him to be sent to Diamond Street in the first place. Strangely, the main reason that DOWNTOWN is entertaining, rather than tiresome, is that the film makes no pretensions to either artistic or blockbluster status. Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd--best known for her collaborations with ex-husband James Cameron on films like THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS and THE ABYSS--has demonstrated a respect for genre movies and considerable dedication to basic filmmaking craft in her past efforts, and her talents are evident here in DOWNTOWN's sturdy B-movie virtues. Director Richard Benjamin (MY FAVORITE YEAR; RACING WITH THE MOON; LITTLE NIKITA) does a good job of balancing the tone between melodrama and tongue-in-cheek comedy, while keeping the pace fast and the narrative sharply focused. Benjamin is helped by the tight, neat plotting of the action as scripted by Nat Mauldin, a TV writer ("Barney Miller," "Night Court") who makes his screenwriting debut here. The performances by the two leads keep all the formula and action functioning on a human level. Both Edwards (TOP GUN; REVENGE OF THE NERDS; MIRACLE MILE) and Whitaker (BIRD; GOOD MORNING VIETNAM) seem to enjoy playing fast and loose as big-city flatfoots, and give well-realized portrayals. Whitaker, especially, brings more depth to his character than is customary in the genre, although the filmmakers make the mistake of taking him out of the action for the climactic scene, a strange choice that looks suspiciously like the result of a scheduling conflict. In tune with the lead performances, DOWNTOWN feels relaxed, taking the time to poke genial fun at itself. The film's best scenes have an element of parody, as when, in the opening credits, a squad car is seen tearing up and down suburban streets while frantic reports of an armed robbery crackle on its radio, only to arrive at the scene of the "crime" and find two kids fighting over money stolen from a lemonade stand. The film's wittiest sequence in its "urban" section is also its first, in which Kearney arrives at Diamond Street to find himself in the middle of open warfare in the precinct house itself and meets his new partner during a hostage crisis. Also lending DOWNTOWN likability is its strong supporting cast, including Penelope Ann Miller (BILOXI BLUES) as Kearney's sweet, sharp, sexy, and loyal girl friend, and Art Evans (THE MIGHTY QUINN; A SOLDIER'S STORY) as the diminutive, apoplectic Diamond Street precinct captain. Other notables include Kimberly Scott, as Curren's strong-willed wife, and Joe Pantoliano and David Clennon as the refined, ruthless villains. In all, DOWNTOWN could hardly be considered a must-see--too much of it has already been seen too many times. But it's a solid, respectable bit of genre filmmaking. (Profanity, violence, adult situations.)