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June 13, 2003
By Veronica Mixon
Movies about Hollywood are
one of my guilty pleasures. It doesn't
matter whether the films are good or
bad, I'm always seduced by their whimsical
charm. Director Ron Shelton, who is
best known for his sports buddy comedies
White Men Can't Jump and Bull
Durham, has written a funny script
with Robert Souza about L.A. and the
hustler mentality that plagues a good
portion of the population in the comedy,
Hollywood Homicide.
Harrison Ford stars as Joe Gavilan,
a weary veteran cop who moonlights as
a real estate agent hawking his own
properties. He's partnered with a young
detective K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett,
40 Days and 40 Nights) who
secretly longs to be an actor. Naturally,
these two are exact opposites. Joe loves
Motown and fast food while K.C. teaches
Yoga and eats healthy salads. Joe has
a steady woman (the lovely Lena Olin
who is genuinely wacky as a radio psychic)
and K.C. beds many of the gorgeous women
from his Yoga class.
When the two arrive at the scene of
a multiple homicide of a hot rap group,
Joe orders fast food and then secures
the club owner Julius (Percy "Master
P" Miller) as a potential client
for a pricey piece of real estate. Shelton
easily captures the desperation for
money and success that permeates the
air of L.A. When the investigation leads
to a success rap producer Sartain (Isaiah
Washington, Romeo Must Die),
the greedy ex-con bitterly complains
about the ungrateful musicians who want
to exit his controlling grasp. Shelton
also nails the crafty hard negotiations
between Joe, Julius and a tough movie
producer played wonderfully by Martin
Landau.
However, despite an intriguing plot
that taps into the often violent world
of rap music and which mirrors the Tupac,
and Biggie real-life murders, Hollywood
Homicide is not a sleek
thriller about murder and race like
his earlier film Dark Blue.
There are a number of interested characters
played by Bruce Greenwood, Lolita Davidovich,
Dwight Yoakam, Gladys Knight and Lou
Diamond Phillips, who makes a surprising
appearance but they aren't utilized
nearly enough.
Harrison Ford (Working Girl, Random
Hearts) does loosen up
- jumping into cars and dancing - and
he even cracks jokes on himself - "I
need to take my Ginkgo to remember where
I put my Viagra." All of this is
good because the actor is in danger
of becoming a stony elder especially
appearing opposite tall, handsome Josh
Hartnett who makes the ladies melt.
Hollywood Homicide
has all of the elements for a big epic
L.A. thriller but it never quite takes
off despite the comic elements and the
peculiar plot points. So, while I wouldn't
recommend it to anyone who wasn't a
Josh Hartnett fan and despite its obvious
flaws, I still found it, for the most
part, fun.
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