''Partners'' is a 1982 American

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

-themed

buddy Buddy may refer to: People *Buddy (nickname) *Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present) *Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992) *Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

James Burrows James Edward Burrows (born December 30, 1940), sometimes known as Jim "Jimmy" Burrows, is an American television director who has been working in television since the 1970s.Stated in interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' Burrows has direct ...

and starring

Ryan O'Neal Ryan O'Neal (born April 20, 1941) is an American actor and former boxer. He trained as an amateur boxer before beginning his career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera '' Peyton Place ...

and

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in ...

as a mismatched pair of cops.

Plot

After a series of murders in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

's gay community, heterosexual police officer Sgt. Benson (

) is assigned to go undercover as half of a gay couple with Officer Kerwin (

), a Records Clerk. Kerwin naively believes that he is

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other (LGBTQ+) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and human ...

, although the entire Department knows about his sexual identity. The pair discover an earlier murder and learn that both victims appeared in the same gay magazine. Each had received a call from a hoarse-voiced man asking them to model for him, only to turn up dead soon after. Benson models for the magazine and is approached by the same hoarse-voiced man; but, when another model turns up dead, the man is cleared as a suspect. Benson grows close to Jill (

Robyn Douglass Robyn Douglass (born June 21, 1953) is a retired United States, American actress and model. Early life The daughter of an Army doctor and hospital administrator, Robyn Douglass was born in Sendai, Japan. She began acting while attending a Catho ...

), the photographer of his shoot, and plans a weekend getaway with her. Kerwin suspects her of the murders, but his superiors put it down to jealousy. Kerwin uncovers evidence implicating Jill; but, when the police move to apprehend her, they discover her corpse. Her death unknown to Benson, he arrives for his rendezvous with Jill; and Kerwin races to his aid. Jill's killer, a closeted man whom Jill and one of the victims were blackmailing, admits to Benson that he killed Jill and two of the men but insists that Jill killed her partner in crime. Realizing that Kerwin is outside, the killer shoots at Kerwin who returns fire. Kerwin is wounded, but the other man is killed.

Cast

as Sgt. Benson *

as Kerwin * Kenneth McMillan as Chief Wilkins *

as Jill * Jay Robinson as Halderstam *

Denise Galik Denise Galik-Furey (born December 4, 1950) is an American actress who has starred on television and in film. Career Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Galik has starred on television series and soap operas. Her first soap opera role was in the 1980s CBS ...

as Clara * Joseph R. Sicari as Walter * Michael McGuire as Monroe *

Rick Jason Rick Jason (born Richard Jacobson; May 21, 1923 – October 16, 2000) was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for starring in the ABC television drama ''Combat!'' (1962–1967). Childhood An only child of Jewish parents ...

as Douglas * James Remar as Edward K. Petersen *

Jennifer Ashley Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People *Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer * Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and televis ...

as Secretary *

Darrell Larson Darrell Ray Larson (born December 13, 1950) is an American film and television actor who appeared in the 1990 action/comedy film ''Men at Work''. Larson's work includes roles in ''The Student Nurses'' (1970), ''Kotch'' (1971), '' The Magnifice ...

as Al *

Tony March Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

as Aide #2 *

Seamon Glass Seamon Glass (September 26, 1925 – July 12, 2016) was an American actor and author. He acted in film and television from the early 1960s to the early 1990s. He appeared in the films '' This Is Not a Test'' (1962), ''Deliverance'' (1972), ' ...

as Gillis *

Steven Reisch Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

as Counter Boy

Production

Veber wrote the film in Paris, with little knowledge of the gay scene in Los Angeles. Veber wanted to do it because "it seemed to me it could be amusing and I wanted to do something quite different from '' Cruising'' which seemed to me to be a really bad eye on the gay world.'A LITTLE FRENCHMAN' TRIES HIS LUCK IN AMERICA Los Angeles Times 19 Jan 1982: g4. "It's a comedy," said producer Russo. "It's a comedy that comes out of real situations, out of the tradition of French farce. I felt for both characters." The leading roles were originally offered to

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

and

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

. Eastwood expressed interest if Allen signed, but Allen declined. The film was one of six relatively low budgeted films rushed into production by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

in 1981 prior to an impending director strike, with budgets between $4–8 million. Paramount were interested to see what the results would be like on films with a shortened pre-production process. The other films were ''

Some Kind of Hero ''Some Kind of Hero'' is a 1982 American comedy-drama film starring Richard Pryor as a returning Vietnam War veteran having trouble adjusting to civilian life. Soon he is involved in an organized crime heist. It co-stars Margot Kidder and was dir ...

'', '' Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again'', ''

I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can ''I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can'' is a 1982 American biographical film directed by Jack Hofsiss and starring Jill Clayburgh. The screenplay by David Rabe is based on the memoir of the same title by Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara G ...

'', '' White Dog'' and ''

An Officer and a Gentleman Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (or conduct unbecoming for short) is an offense that is subject to court martial in the armed forces of some nations. Use in the United Kingdom The phrase was used as a charge in courts martial of t ...

''. A seventh film, '' Young Lust'', was "picked up" from another production company. ''Partners'' was championed within the studio by

Don Simpson Donald Clarence Simpson (October 29, 1943 – January 19, 1996) was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor. Simpson and his producing partner Jerry Bruckheimer produced hit films such as ''Flashdance'' (1983), ''Beverly Hills Cop'' ...

(

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...

, also at the studio, said that he "hated" the script.). Of all the seven films, Paramount executives were most enthusiastic about the script for ''Partners''. In the original script and cut of the film Hurt's character commits suicide "because his life was so sad," said Veber. "We shot the scene but when people saw the film they had grown to like Hurt so much that by the point that the suicide came as too much of a shock, so we took it out. In France it would have been quite acceptable. I found that interesting."

Soundtrack

''Partners: Music from the Motion Picture Composed and Conducted by Georges Delerue'' is a 1.000 Units Limited Edition

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

from the film of the same name, released on March 20, 2014, by Spanish label Quartet Records. The album, released on CD, contains 21 tracks composed and conducted by Georges Delerue, plus 3 bonus tracks. Critic James Southall describes the soundtrack as "typical of elerue'swork on American movies at the time – light, airy, wonderfully tuneful and very enjoyable", and concluded that it was "never unappealing."

Track listing

All music arranged and conducted by Georges Delerue. All music composed by Georges Delerue, except bonus tracks.

Reception

Rex Reed, writing for the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', panned the film, saying, "Hollywood's latest crime against humanity in general and homosexuals in particular is a dumb creepshow called ''Partners'' – stupid, tasteless and homophobic, this sleazy, superficial film implies that gay cops can't be trusted to work with straight cops because they might fall in love with them."

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

was also offended and later called it one of the worst films of 1982. O'Neal was nominated for a

Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

as Worst Actor of the Decade. When asked if the film drew any complaints from gay men during filming, John Hurt said, "They didn't like it that I was wearing a lilac-colored track suit in it. They say homosexuals do not necessarily do that. And the person who's saying this is sitting there in a pink track suit, It's a crazy world we live in." The film was a financial failure. Head of Paramount Barry Diller later said "''Partners'' was the essence of a badly made movie, partly because it was rushed against a date."

References

External links

* * * *
''Partners''
at The Numbers {{DEFAULTSORT:Partners (1982 Film) 1982 films 1980s buddy comedy films 1980s crime comedy films 1982 LGBT-related films 1980s comedy mystery films American buddy comedy films American LGBT-related films American comedy mystery films 1980s English-language films Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Films about murder Films directed by James Burrows Films scored by Georges Delerue Films set in Los Angeles Gay-related films LGBT-related buddy comedy films Paramount Pictures films 1980s police comedy films 1982 comedy films 1982 directorial debut films 1980s American films