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Humorless police officer Mitch Preston's (Robert de Niro) carefully-planned drug bust is spoiled
by Trey Sellars (Eddie Murphy), a camera-hungry cop who would rather play a cop on TV.
Angered by a TV cameraman interfering with the ensuing chase, Mitch shoots the TV camera and the resulting footage is flashed on national television. The network sues, and Mitch is threatened with suspension. Meanwhile, the footage electrifies TV producer Chase Renzi (Rene Russo) and spurs her to create a reality police show that would star Mitch and Trey. To dodge the lawsuit, the police department cooperates with Renzi, and gives Mitch an ultimatum: "Do the show, they drop the suit." Mitch grudgingly agrees and becomes a reluctant TV star. Work goes on, however: they begin searching for criminals who own a gun big enough to knock down a whole house. Shared work and time together make Mitch appreciate Trey's abilities; Trey in turn begins to exhibit friendship toward Mitch. After several car chases, crashes and shoot-outs, the two catch the criminals and become friends, with Mitch shedding off a little of his seriousness and Trey becoming a dedicated officer.
Showtime is a comedy that's funny in part and a combination of slapstick, good acting and corny dialogue in others. It opens on a funny enough note, and the fast pace coupled with the almost palpable chemistry between the actors make you optimistic about the rest of the movie. But like a snowball that gets bigger and harder going downhill and is reduced to lumps of ice as it crashes against a tree,
Showtime—halfway through the action—disintegrates and seems to forget why it started in the first place. The car chase scenes, crashes and shoot-outs bore you
after a while and make you impatient for the story to recover.
Did the studio doubt the intelligence of its potential audience and substituted action for plot development? Probably the only thing that comes close to giving you your movie money's worth is de Niro's acting. He is in character from beginning to end, and admirably remains unshaken despite the antics of Murphy's character.
Many people will find Showtime
entertaining despite its flaws. The absence of vulgar humor or unnecessary gore or sex may also make it acceptable as family fare. But it doesn't have much to offer by way of enriching the viewer's life—it has no strong statement to make, no cause to champion, no shining lesson to teach, no challenge to pose before the viewer's judgment.
(Date reviewed: April 12, 2002)
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