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The story focuses on the investigation of the gunning to death of a rap group inside a
Hollywood music club. Assigned to the case are LAPD Homicide veteran Inspector Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford) and new recruit, his young partner of four months KC Calden
(Josh Hartnett). Their routine investigation is interrupted by their being meticulously investigated by Internal Affairs head, officer Benny Macko (who has an axe to grind
against Joe) and attending to their sidelines. Gavilan who owns Gavilan Realty, is working on a sale of a $6 million mansion. KC takes his police job as a sideline,
including teaching yoga to a group of attractive young ladies, while working hard preparing for an acting audition, for he believes this is what he is meant for: to be a stage
actor.
Hollywood Homicide begins with telling a crime and policy story but ends as a character-centered feature of two LAPD men coping with their sidelines, and attending to their investigative routine. Thus the main plot and the subplots get entangled, as the movie runs its course. It is unusual to see Harrison Ford in a comic mode; sometimes he appears awkward, trying to be funny. Hartnett has some difficulty shifting his acting ability from policeman, to yoga teacher dealing with flirty ladies and then to that of a stage character in "A Streetcar Named Desire". As a whole their acting is rather apathetic, with no rapport between them, and because of the shift to characterization as seen in the number of subplots, the movie's pacing becomes uneven. As all films in this genre go, car chases are numerous—there's a lot of action, and a lot more destruction.
It appears that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has the unique practice—nowhere else in
the USA— of allowing their staff to take time off for their overtime to work on their personal pursuits; this could be taken even during their regular work-routine as shown in
the film. Gavilan and Calden are seen casually shifting from one to the other and back to their homicide investigation. Whether they do justice to their police job, or they
give more of themselves to their other activities, is for viewers to find out. Gavilan is shown as someone in need of more income than his salary because he has to pay
alimony to three ex-wives and a car acquired on installment. Both men appear to be rather casual in their attitude and relations towards women. Even within the LAPD an
uncalled for investigation of its men could take place, where the men affected have to "grin and bear it"
(Date Reviewed: September 19, 2003)
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