The Hard Way (1991 film)

''The Hard Way'' is a 1991 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by John Badham, and starring Michael J. Fox and James Woods. Stephen Lang, Annabella Sciorra, Luis Guzmán, LL Cool J, Delroy Lindo, Christina Ricci, Mos Def, Kathy Najimy, Michael Badalucco, Lewis Black, and Penny Marshall appear in supporting roles.

Plot

Serial killer, the "Party Crasher" notifies the police before he kills another person at a night club, daring them to stop him. Converging on the club, the officers, including cynical NYPD Lieutenant John Moss, cannot stop the murder of a local drug dealer. The perp flees in the chaos, and Moss narrowly misses catching him. As Moss's injuries are tended, he mouths off on camera.

Nick Lang is an entitled Hollywood movie star, known as "Smoking" Joe Gunn, the Indiana Jones-like title character in a series of highly popular action films. Vying for the lead in the cop drama ''Blood on the Asphalt'', he vows to "prepare" for the role by posing as a police officer with the NYPD.

Impressed by Moss's outburst on television, Nick pulls strings with NYC Mayor David Dinkins to be assigned as Moss's new partner. Moss is forced to comply by his captain, a Nick Lang fan. Doing so, he is off the Party Crasher case at risk of being fired if he disobeys.

Moss defies orders, continuing the investigation and repeatedly trying to ditch Nick, who annoys him with constant questions and attempts to mimic him. Wanting to understand what it is like to be a cop, Moss reminds him this is not a movie.

Meanwhile, Moss is also trying to juggle a new romance with single mother Susan. Divorced, he has difficulty opening up, so Nick offers him advice. Moss is embarrassed even further when Nick, as Ray Casanov, appears at a pizza parlor and is a hit.

Moss tries to have a Nick-free day by handcuffing him to his bed with a note, ordering him to stay. When Susan invites Nick by phone to eat out, he somehow unshackles himself. Riding the subway Nick mistakenly believes Susan is infatuated with him. He later stands up to a group of delinquent juveniles, as a cop. Moss, goes to the subway station and arrests the perps.

As Moss has decided that he no longer cares about the consequences, increasingly frustrated with Nick’s presence in his life, he takes Nick to a dark building to catch a perp. He orders him to stay put and gives him a real gun in case. Nick, however, enters the building and shoots a man who he believes is a criminal chasing Moss. Apparently only a bystander, Nick is terrified. Moss agrees to cover up the act, and urges him to leave town immediately.

Feeling guilty, Nick returns to the police station to confess, only to see that the "dead man" is actually a cop, laughing at him with everyone. Nick confronts Moss, who admits he choreographed the stunt to get him out of town, stating that Nick's panic, self-doubt, guilt, and anger are all part of being a "real" cop. Enraged with Moss, Nick punches him and furiously leaves.

Nick later stumbles into a confrontation between Moss and The Party Crasher, during which he saves Moss's life. The Party Crasher is wounded, taken to an ambulance, but he kills several people and escapes. Nick briefly captures him, radioing their location before he is knocked out. Susan visits Moss, stating that being a cop will never allow them to have a secure relationship, so she breaks up with him.

Moss is then visited by Nick, who predicts that The Party Crasher will follow typical revenge plot and will seek out Moss's loved ones in the third act of their story together. Nick is right, and Susan is abducted. Moss and Nick confront him on the billboard advertising Nick's latest movie ''Smoking Gunn II'', and a brawl ensues. Nick saves Susan and Moss from being shot, but is himself shot in the chest. Moss pushes the Party Crasher off to his death, and tries to comfort Nick as he is taken to the hospital.

Months later, Nick has recovered and filmed ''The Good, the Badge and the Ugly''. Moss, now married to Susan, attends the movie's premiere with the rest of the department as honored guests. He is annoyed to discover that Nick's best lines in the film are his, while he gets no credit.

Cast

Reception

, on Rotten Tomatoes, the film had a 74% approval rating from 23 critics, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The consensus said, "''The Hard Way''s overly familiar formula is enlivened by a witty script and the excellent comedic chemistry between Michael J. Fox and James Woods."

Vincent Canby of ''The New York Times'' said that it is "not a perfect comedy by any means, but it is a very entertaining one" and commended its "pure Hollywood" sensibility, writing that it is "sometimes slapdash in execution and sloppy in coherence, but it's written, directed and performed with a redeeming, self-mocking zest."

'' Time Out'' called it a "light, bright comedy" that "counterbalances Hollywood convention with some very funny swipes at the film industry" and stated, "Badham handles the numerous action sequences with confidence, but the real enjoyment comes from the interplay between the two leads, who revel in the opportunity to send up their images."

Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' gave it three-and-a-half out of four stars and praised its "comic energy", calling the film "funny, fun, exciting, and ..an example of professionals who know their crafts and enjoy doing them well." Ebert said the stunts, special effects, and second unit work were "all seamless and exciting", and viewed that the actors elevate the film's plot with their performances:

Ty Burr of ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the film a C rating and criticized it as having "coyly self-conscious high concept", writing that "takes the buddy-cop_genre.html" ;"title="Buddy_cop_film.html" ;"title="ction-Buddy cop film">buddy-cop genre">Buddy_cop_film.html" ;"title="ction-Buddy cop film">buddy-cop genreto such a numbing dead end." Burr panned its chase scenes and editing as "visual nonsense" and called its plot "all guns and gag lines", although he found Fox "secure enough to goof on his own image and inventive enough to do it well".

Box office

The movie debuted at No. 3 behind '' The Silence of the Lambs'' and ''New Jack City''. ''The Hard Way'' went on to earn $65.6 million worldwide.

Soundtrack

Track list

# "The Big Apple Juice" :33
# "Cirque Du Parte Crasher" :29
# "Manhattan Tow Truck" :06
# "Ghetto A La Hollyweird" :46
# "He Said/She Dead" :44
# " Big Girls Don't Cry" :23
# "Where Have You Gone" :14
# "Transit Authority" :08
# "Gas Attack" :56
# "Killer Lang" :56
# "Smoking Gun II" :49
# "Top of the World" :45
# "The Good, the Badge and the Ugly" :31
# " Runaround Sue" :29

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hard Way, The
1991 action comedy films
1990s buddy comedy films
1990s buddy cop films
1990s police comedy films
1991 films
American action comedy films
American buddy comedy films
American buddy cop films
American police detective films
Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department
Films about actors
Films about filmmaking
Films directed by John Badham
Films scored by Arthur B. Rubinstein
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
Films with screenplays by Lem Dobbs
Universal Pictures films
Films set in a movie theatre
1990s English-language films
1990s American films