RECENT WATCHES: Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

The story of how “Beverly Hills Cop” came to be is a well-known piece of Hollywood legend by this point. A Paramount executive came up with the idea of an action/comedy about a rough-and-tumble Detroit cop ending up in the posh streets of Beverly Hills. Soon-to-be-super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, coming off big hit “Flashdance,” would further develop the project. Initially, Sylvester Stallone was attached to star. He rewrote the script so much that it mutated into a totally different movie, the not-so-funny “Cobra.” After passing through other stars like Richard Pryor, James Caan, and Al Pacino, the script ended up in the lap of Eddie Murphy. The rest is, of course, history. “Beverly Hills Cop” would become the defining hit of Murphy's blockbuster period.

Axel Foley is a smart-ass Detroit cop, who is such a notorious trouble-maker that even his own department doesn't like him much. After a routine undercover gig results in a massive car chase, Foley gets the blame. Shortly afterwards, an ex-con friend of Axel's contacts him about some German bail bonds he recently came into possession of. That same night, Axel's friend is murdered by some mysterious thugs right in front of his eyes. Foely is forced off the case but is determined to get to the bottom of it. Officially on vacation, he heads to Beverly Hills to track down the German art dealer – and possibly smuggler – he thinks might be responsible.

“Beverly Hills Cop” is so intertwined with his public persona that it's impossible imagine anyone but Eddie Murphy was ever suppose to star in this movie. Axel Foley might be the definitive Eddie Murphy character. He spends the entire movie getting one over on the squares around him. Foley is a natural con artist, thinking extremely quickly on his feet to devise wacky schemes and excuses to get the information he needs. Whether that means pretending to be an enraged journalist, a lisping homosexual, or a safety inspector, Axel Foley is always outsmarting the people around him. He cranks out that trademark guffawing laugh several times, letting us know he's as amused by this subterfuge as we are. 

Simply put, Eddie Murphy is cool in “Beverly Hills Cop.” He's a trickster that is rarely outmatched, even when playing juvenile gags like sticking bananas up tail pipes. Martin Brest's film attempts to carry that coolness into every corner of its 104 minute run time. There's cool car, slick outfits, and expensive art pieces all throughout the film. (Though Axel, being an outsider in the posh world of Beverly Hills, stands apart from this opulence.) You most see this almost desperate need to be cool in the music. Harold Faltermeyer's synth score is immediately hummable, sticking in the audience's memory instantly. The rest of the soundtrack is made up of sickeningly cheesy pop songs of the day, none of which you can imagine a guy like Axel Foley actually listening to but all which surely helped make the movie's soundtrack a bestseller.

We wouldn't be able to buy Axel as someone so effortlessly cool if the movie didn't surround him with ideal foils. Judge Reinhold is especially amusing as Detective Rosewood, the extremely nerdy cop assigned to watch Axel. His partner is Taggart, played by a perfectly grouchy John Ashton. Both actors work well against Murphy because they are such polar opposites from him, both characters eventually being won over by the renegade cops' methods. Steven Berkoff is ideally greasy as Maitland, being all too willing to play into the cliché of a creep German guy. It's also nice to see Ronny Cox as the straight-arrow police chief who gives Foley way more chances than he probably deserves.

In fact, I think it's possible that “Beverly Hills Cop” would be a complete failure without its cast, Murphy most of all. The story is nothing new, the tale of a doesn't-play-by-the-rules cop going above the law to avenge a friend already being old by 1984. The villain is a largely undefined character, who does little besides vaguely threaten people for most of the movie. The girl that Murphy has to rescue wanders in and out of the story whenever she's needed, eventually being reduced to a damsel-in-distress. “Beverly Hills Cop,” honestly, isn't even that impressive as an action film. Martin Brest's direction is a bit stiff. The opening car chase concludes on an undeniably awkward note. The climatic shoot-out is mostly composed of dully directed scenes of the good guy sliding into place so he can shoot the bad guys, who then dutifully fall down. (Brest would go on to make dramas like “Scent of a Woman” and “Meet Joe Black,” suggesting action was never his calling.)

It's really a testament to how big of a difference a star can make. Underwhelming material is turned into a massively entertaining crowd-pleaser thanks to Eddie Murphy's easy-going and utterly charming comedic mischief. Audiences agreed, as “Beverly Hills Cop” would go on to become the highest grossing American film of 1984 and remains among the most successful R-rated movies ever made. (When adjusted for inflation anyway.) Murphy had risen from superstar stand-up to an A-list movie star all on the strength of his smart-ass quips. He almost single-handedly turns what would've been a forgettable eighties action flick into a classic. [7/10]