Just before the summer of likely excellent R rated movies officially lands, I think I'll get the pg13 movies out the way. First the Hulk and now Hollywood Homicide.
I'm not too big on buddy cop movies now, since there have been so many in the last few years, although I did like the ones that many people didn't (like Showtime). The only time I like the pg13 ones is if they're very funny, and aren't just following the good ole good guys chasing the bad guys while 285783957398 cars get wrecked formula for 90 minutes. And to me, seeing Harrison Ford tearing ass down the street on a stolen pink bicycle and slamming into a cab door is FUNNY.

There's nothing new in Hollywood Homicide that would add value to the buddy cop genre, but Ford and Josh Hartnett bring great acting and a lot of laughs to this movie.

The one thing this movie has going for it is that it never takes itself seriously (save for a few effective moments near the end). Ford steps into a crime scene and the first thing he can think to say is "We'll be here for a while, we better get some food."
Hartnett reminded me a lot of Eddie Murphy's cop in Showtime: he likes being a cop, but he'd much rather be an actor. The only difference is that Hartnett doesn't spend the entire movie bringing Ford down with his stupidity. They're both good cops, but they both look like they don't want to be there.
The police work is just a backdrop to their other jobs, Hartnett is a Yoga instructer/aspiring actor, and Ford is a very unhappy realtor. The first half of the movie is basic, Hartnett takes his shots at Ford, and Ford takes shots back, when he's not on his cell phone trying to sell a house.
The movie doesn't waste our time by having us guess who the is, we're shown who it is very early on, which leaves just the cop duo and their comedy.

Pretty much the entire second half of the movie is just laughs. We get to see a hilarious interrogation scene where Ford doesn't get to say anything, because his cell won't stop ringing. There's the already mentioned bicycle theft scene. There's a great chase scene with Hartnett where he just doesn't want to jump in the water "full of duck shit" to nab a suspect. And on and on until it leads up to the obligatory fight scene atop a tall building.

This is a great movie, since it's obviously intentionally stupid. You know Ron Shelton can make a great cop movie (Dark Blue), so watch that for your cop fix, and follow up with Hollywood Homicide to piss yourself laughing.

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