Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Listening to director Martin Breast's commentary on this film, he continually uses the phrase, "reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy" to describe the style of comedy and action used during many of the bigger scenes of this film. Notably recognized as the man who brought us "Midnight Run" and the cult-showdown film "Gigli", watching "Beverly Hills Cop" a second time, I found myself wanting to watch more Laurel and Hardy than Murphy's Axel Foley. Combining a Detroit cop with the background of Beverly Hills, the humor should have been fast and furious, and perhaps more cultural humor (a la a fish out of water), but instead it becomes a vehicle merely to showcase the semi-humorous ability of Eddie Murphy. Combining the genres of action and comedy, Breast and crew admirably attempt to make a notable film, which in many circles, it is considered a classic, but again - watching it a second time - it feels uber dated and less comedy with even fewer action. There was no character known as Axel Foley, just an actor known as Eddie Murphy - there is no definition between the two. Even if I eagerly await the viewing of the subsequent two films, this beginning one just feels flat.

Having watched this film recently, I decided to go with Breast's commentary on this film. It was interesting to learn more trivia about the film and his passion towards Bronson Pinchot, but I don't think I could watch this film entirely again. The bad guys are semi-evil, the Beverly Hills locations feel more like Detroit locations, and the final shoot-out is detailed, but overly dull. "Beverly Hills Cop" was a blockbuster for its time, but it lacks that lasting power to really remain a vital element to cinematic wonders. There is a part of me that will always give Eddie Murphy an attempt, I don't know why - perhaps it will always be "Delirious" - but this just feel way too short. Nothing like loading the entire plot into the final moments of the film, way to go Breast. The only value-add to this film HAS to be the banana in the tailpipe gag, for me, and perhaps it is merely the cult status of that scene, but it makes me laugh over and over again. Banana in the tailpipe ... hilarious! I am glad that it never became a potato.

Found in my "Posters of the 80s" book, I am going to have to take "Beverly Hills Cop" down. It wasn't a film I could watch again, nor did I find value in any of the extra features in the disc. Teetering between that yellow mark and pink one -- I finally decided on the pink one ... ONLY because of the banana in the tailpipe. You can't find humor like that anymore. Could I recommend? Probably not - but I do look forward to Tony Scott's sequel. Let's see how this grows, but for now - I am going to leave this behind.