SHOWTIME

title: SHOWTIME year: 2000 cast: Robert DeNiro, Eddie Murphy rating: ***

It’s good cop, bad cop. The good cop takes his job serious. Robert DeNiro’s Mitch Preston plays by the book and from the very beginning lets us know the difference between fictional fuzz and real ones. The bad cop isn’t crooked, he’s just not very… good as his job. And he’s a bad actor. Not speaking of Eddie Murphy – but his character Trey Sellers wants to be part of a popular reality series TUFF COPS and doesn’t have the acting chops to make the cut. Till he foils an important bust led by Preston (DeNiro), which is captured on the local news – and the reality show, headed by producer Rene Russo, sees a rising star in the gruff veteran cop. Long story short, the two opposites team up as part of the reality series and, like Murphy’s screen debut 48 HRS (or any buddy flick) they don’t get along at first. Till they move in on the main villain… a Spanish nightclub owner with a giant gun that can shoot through anything (including bulletproof vests)… and both eventually learn to trust each other. This sounds more cliché and banal than it actually is. Despite the déjà vu – we’ve seen this template a million times – SHOWTIME is surprisingly involving despite the fact it’s not drop on the floor funny like Murphy's older movies, and we all know DeNiro deserves better. But the characters, if anything else, will keep you invested in the outcome. TRIVIA: DeNiro’s real life daughter plays Russo’s assistant – she resembles her mother, actress Diahnne Abbott (KING OF COMEDY), and even has the same low voice and, like mom and dad, is relaxed in front of the camera. And William Shatner plays himself in a scene where he, because of his iconic cop show TJ HOOKER, teaches Murphy and De Niro how to act like fake cops. AND check out the pictures below for each actor in much better movies where they teamup with badass dudes.

DeNiro w/ Sam Jackson in JACKIE BROWN and Murphy w/ Nick Nolte in 48 HRS