Release Date:
Friday, March 15, 2002
The thought of sitting through a spoof of reality TV shows, at first, seemed as appealing as sitting through an actual reality TV show. Wisely Showtime, a surprisingly funny pairing of Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy, shifts its focus away from Cops and towards movies about cops. As more of a spoof of the Lethal Weapon canon (and, in one of its best bits, Murphys own Beverly Hills Cop), it works pretty well.
When cranky detective Mitch Preston (De Niro) shoots a TV camera during a bust gone bad, he becomes a media celebrity and the basis for an all-new reality cop show. The stereotypical Hollywood producer (Rene Russo, still sexy after all these years) pairs him with a bumbling cop/wannabe actor (Murphy), and much bickering ensues. While not totally original, Showtime works on the Scream principle: People knowingly within a genre playing by the rules. And we have to admit that William Shatner saying hes the worst actor Ive ever seen about De Niro is a joke thats as funny as it is obvious. Overall, Murphy makes a nice return to movies that dont involve animated animals, and De Niro continues his second life as a comedic actor. If you want some fast-paced entertainment and an escape from troubled genius flicks, its Showtime! (Shoot us now.)
When cranky detective Mitch Preston (De Niro) shoots a TV camera during a bust gone bad, he becomes a media celebrity and the basis for an all-new reality cop show. The stereotypical Hollywood producer (Rene Russo, still sexy after all these years) pairs him with a bumbling cop/wannabe actor (Murphy), and much bickering ensues. While not totally original, Showtime works on the Scream principle: People knowingly within a genre playing by the rules. And we have to admit that William Shatner saying hes the worst actor Ive ever seen about De Niro is a joke thats as funny as it is obvious. Overall, Murphy makes a nice return to movies that dont involve animated animals, and De Niro continues his second life as a comedic actor. If you want some fast-paced entertainment and an escape from troubled genius flicks, its Showtime! (Shoot us now.)