Movie Review: Hollywood Homicide

Hollywood Homicide

Revolution Studios, Pitt-Shelton Productions, The Pitt Group, USA, 2003.

There is a shooting in hiphop-club and members of rap group H2OClick are murdered. Sergeant Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford) and Detective K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett) investigate and find out that Music mogul Antoine Sartain (Isaiah Washington) is somehow involved. Gavilan does side business as real estate broker and K.C. wants to be an actor. Gavilan is lonely so he calls night radio show hosted by psychic Ruby (Lena Olin). Corrupt cop Bennie Macko (Bruce Greenwood) tries to tarnish Gavilan's reputation.

Calden and Gavilan

Sartain

Bennie Macko

Calden is a serious ladies' man but Gavilan has also some tricks in his sleeve. Gavilan has business troubles and will go bankruptcy if he can not sell his house. Chance to rescue his business comes when Jerry Duran (Martin Landau) wants to sell his six million dollar house.

Jerry Duran

Gavilan, Ruby and donut

The crime story itself is not very complicated but the movie feels aimless with the rambling plot. It tries to be buddy cop comedy, action film, satire about Hollywood and music industry, business comedy and what else. The best things come from following the side businesses of Gavilan and Calden. The best jokes are placed in the second half of the story. Josh Hartnett feels miscast but Harrison Ford is fun to watch. Still in the their common scenes they have good chemistry. One of Harrison's highlights is when he tries to negotiate real estate deals in the middle of car chase. Much of the humour is based on realization that everyone in Hollywood has several jobs and would like to be actor, singer or scriptwriter. Otherwise the story is routine buddy-cop stuff, easy to watch but not very memorable. Numerous rappers (Kurupt, André Benjamin and Master P) and other stars (Eric Idle, Frank Sinatra Jr. and Smokey Robinson) appear in cameo roles.

Part of The 2016 Movie Watching Challenge (#11. Movie that you haven't seen before starring one of your favourite actors/actresses: Harrison Ford)

Rating: Average

Starring: Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, Lena Olin, Bruce Greenwood, Isaiah Washington, Lolita Davidovich, Keith David, Master P, Gladys Knight, Lou Diamond Phillips, Meredith Scott Lynn, Tom Todoroff, James MacDonald, Kurupt, André Benjamin, Alan Dale, Clyde Kusatsu, Dwight Yoakam, Martin Landau, Eric Idle, Frank Sinatra Jr., Robert Wagner, Johnny Grant, Smokey Robinson, Shawn Woods, Anthony Mackie, Choppa, Krazy, Magic, T-Bo, Michael Bentt, Giovanni Antonio Guichard, Shalena Hughes, Eloy Casados, Gregg Daniel, Jamison Jones, Darrell Foster, Christopher Wiehl, Ramón Muniz, Dennis Burkley, Slade Barnett, Alan Davidson, Johnny Sneed , Joe Wandell, Irina Gasanova, Ragan Wallake, Blake Gibbons, Jason Matthew Smith, Valarie Rae Miller, Regina Russell Banali, Butch Cassidy, Kevin Law, K.D. Aubert, Victor Togunde, Kevin Daniels , Ernest Harden Jr., Brianna Brown, Sonia Iris Lozada, Shea Elmore, Luis Avalos, Rudi Frenner, Gretchen Becker...

Director: Ron Shelton