The Cop Buddy Movie is one of those genres that came up in the 80's, achieved huge popularity, got overflooded with crappy rip-offs and has now gotten a bad name because of that. Still, look back at the history of the genre and ignore all the crap (not easy, since there really is a mountain of bad Cop Buddy Movies) and you can see that it has given us quite a few memorable pieces of popcorn entertainment. Here's the best ten.
Before we start this list, let's look at the definition of the genre. According to Wikipedia, it consists of "actions films with plots involving two men of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process. Frequently, although not always, the two heroes are of different ethnicities or cultures. Even if the two men have a similar ethnic background, one of them is often "wilder" than the other, a hot-tempered iconoclast paired with a more even-tempered partner." With that out of the way, here we go!
10. Stakeout (1987)
Buddies:
Chris Lecce (Richard Dreyfuss) and Bill Reimers (Emilio Estevez)
What's the deal?
Chris and Bill are staking out the house of young and attractive Maria McGuire (Madeleine Stowe), the ex-girlfriend of a brutal murderer. Chris eventually falls for Maria, leading to many heated discussion with Bill.
Say what?
(While watching their target get undressed) Chris: Ooo, I love my job, I love it so much!
Bill: But I would appreciate it if you would not act like a walking hard-on while we're on the job.
Chris: Succinctly put.
Stakeout was a big success when it came out, which was mostly due to the chemistry between Dreyfuss and Estevez. The success led to a sequel, which was nothing more than a retread of the original, and which effectively buried any further franchise plans.
9. Bad Boys (1995)
Buddies:
Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowry (Will Smith)
What's the deal?
Marcus and Mike have to protect a murder witness, while in the meantime investigating some stolen heroin. As you can expect, the two cases are connected and further complicated by the fact that Marcus and Mike have to pretend to be each other, since the witness thinks Marcus is Mike. Or was it the other way around?
Say what?
(In Mike's car) Marcus: Hey man where-where-where's your cup holder?
Mike: I don't have one.
Marcus: What the f- w'you mean you don't have one? Eighty thousand dollars for this car and you ain't got no damn cup holder?
Mike: It's $105,000 and this happens to be one of the fastest production cars on the planet. Zero to sixty in four seconds, sweetie. It's a limited edition.
Marcus: You damn right it's limited. No cup holder, no back seat. Just a shiny dick with two chairs in it. I guess we the balls just draggin' the fuck along.
Bad Boys is a lot of fun to watch, as it was one of the first movies to really let Smith and Lawrence loose. They are the perfect partners, since they can make fun of each others habits and lives but still depend on one another when push comes to shove. The movie became a bit hit, even more so on video than on dvd and helped bring the career of both men to a higher level. The sequel was a piece of crap though, drowning out the amusing banter between Smith and Lawrence with the noise of countless unnecessary explosions.
8. Taxi (The French 1998 original)
Buddies:
Daniel Morales (Samy Naceri) and Emilien Coutant-Kerbalec (Frederic Diefenthal)
What's the deal?
Daniel is a taxi driver who loves speed so much that he has transformed his taxi into a high speed monster. He gets caught by the police but, instead of spending time in jail, is forced to help out police inspector Emilien as he tries to catch a group of German bankrobbers.
Forget about the lame American remake, the original French movie is a quick blast of pure, unpretentious fun. Naceri and Diefenthal work together perfectly, and the slapstick humor of the movie makes it a lot more family friendly than the bad mouthed discussions in most of the other movies in this top ten. Parts two and three were also not bad, save for the fact that they were almost exactly the same as the first one.
7. The Hard Way (1991)
Buddies:
Nick Lang (Michael J. Fox) and John Moss (James Woods)
What's the deal?
Nick is a hot shot movie actor who is preparing for a role as a tough cop. To get into the role, he has it arranged that he can follow hardbolied New York detective John for a few days. John is less than pleased at having to babysit the actor, especially when he starts getting involved with one of John's toughest cases.
Say what?
Nick: Ever killed anybody?
John: Counting today?
Nick: C'mon John. Look, my character kills this guy. It's probably an innocent by-stander. I just want to know what that's like.
John: You can't. Not by asking someone.
Nick: Will you open up? I just want to know what it feels like to be inside your skin.
John: I don't want you inside my skin, you understand? It's private!
While The Hard Way wasn't the breakaway success that all involved had hoped it would be, it's definitely a lot of fun to watch. Fox is perfect as the annoying but likeable Nick, while Woods obviously has a blast in his role of John. The banter is sharp and frequently funny, but the movie does get pretty violent along the way, which is unexpected because of the family friendly nature of the rest of the movie.
6. Rush Hour (1998)
Buddies:
Chief Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) and Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker)
What's the deal?
The daughter of the Chinese consul in LA is kidnapped, and Hong Kong inspector Lee is brought to LA to help save her, since the consul does not really have a high opinion of the LAPD. Still, in order to get the job done, Lee will have to cooperate with Carter, a cocky detective who uses his wits more than his bullets to solve cases.
Say what?
Lee: You must take me to see Consul Han right away.
Carter: Man, just sit down and shut up! This ain't no democracy.
Lee: Yes, it is.
Carter: No, it ain't. This is the United States of James Carter. I'm the president, I'm the emperor, I'm the king. I'm Michael Jackson, you Tito. Your ass belongs to me.
Jackie Chan had been trying to break through in America for some time, but this was the movie that did it for him. He worked well on the screen with Chris Tucker, who was the up and coming star of the moment. The fact that the snappy dialogue was often broken up by Chan's handiwork was a big plus for this movie as well. Surprisingly, Rush Hour 2 turned out to be almost as good as the original.
5. Beverly Hills Cop (1985)
Buddies:
Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton)
What's the deal?
Detroit cop Axel Foley is so shocked when his best friend is murdered that he decides to track the killer down. The trail leads to Beverly Hills, where the local police is completely unaccostumed to Foley's way of working. Reluctantly Foley and Beverly Hills cops Rosewood and Taggert decide to work together, which works unexpectedly well.
Say what?
Axel: Gimme the keys! I'm gonna follow them!
Jenny Summers: Have you ever driven a Mercedes before?
Axel: No, but a car is a car! I drive my car every day!
Jenny Summers: I'm driving. I've seen your car.
Axel: Oh shit, that's cold.
If 48 HRS was the assist, this was the movie that scored the goal for Eddie Murphy's career. Though the role was originally intended for Sylvester Stallone (try to wrap your head around that nugget of news!) Murphy made the role completely his own, turning Beverly Hills Cop into one of the most successful movies of the 80's. It's a bit of an oddity in this list, since there are three buddies around, but it still has all the banter and fooling around that made the genre so popular. Ofcourse, the Beverly Hills Cop name was later on ruined by the two highly inferior sequels.
4. Die Hard 3 (1995)
Buddies:
John McClane (Bruce Willis) and Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson)
What's the deal?
After having gone at it alone in the first two movies, Die Hard with a Vengeance sees John McClane team up with store owner Zeus Carver when a German terrorist named Hans Gruber is setting off bombs all over New York. Gruber is a man on a revenge mission, since it was McClane who killed Gruber's brother in the first Die Hard...
Say what?
John: I'll tell you what your problem is, you don't like me because you're a racist!
Zeus: What?
John: You're a racist! You don't like me because I'm white!
Zeus: I don't like you because you're going to get me *killed*!
While the first two Die Hard's were not of the buddy variety at all, since the whole premise was that of one man fighting the odds to save the world, this third movie made the very successful transition to the Cop Buddy Genre. Willis and Jackson are great together and have some of the most memorable moments in Cop Buddy history.
3. Lethal Weapon (1987)
Buddies:
Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover)
What's the deal?
LA police sergeant Roger Murtaugh, 50 years old and looking forward to his retirement, is teamed with a new partner, the highly irresponsible and almost suicidal Martin Riggs. Together they must try to capture a drugs baron named The General, but Murtaugh wonders what will get him killed first: The General or his new partner!
Say what?
Martin: You want me to drive?
Roger: No, you're supposed to be suicidal, remember? I'LL drive.
Martin: Anybody who drives around in this town IS suicidal.
The movie that more or less turned Gibson into a megastar. Lethal Weapon is definitely one of the movies that kickstarted the genre, taking the usual conventions and adding a few more. It was so popular that it spawned three sequels, and frankly, that was at least two sequels too much. Maybe the producers should have given Gibson his wish of his character dying at the end of Part 3.
2. 48 HRS (1982)
Buddies:
Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) and Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy)
What's the deal?
Jack is a cop trying to solve a case, and in order to get his suspect he needs petty thief Reggie, who is spending time in jail. So he bails Reggie out for 48 hours, the amount of time Jack thinks he needs to be able to get the information he needs from Reggie. This, however, is not as easy as it seemed at first, since Jack and Reggie's personalities clash in a major way, leading to some heavy discussions and the 'buddies' shooting each other every now and then.
Say what?
Reggie: Jack... Tell me a story.
Jack: Fuck you!
Reggie: Oh, that's one of my favorites.
This movie is generally regarded as the one that started it all for the Cop Buddy Genre. It's a great film, launching Murphy's career and giving Nolte's career a much needed shot of fresh adrenaline. Too bad the sequel was so sucky. Many people consider this one to be the best Cop Buddy Movie, but in my opinion there is one better...
1. The Last Boyscout (1991)
Buddies:
Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis), Jimmy Dix (Damon Wayans)
What's the deal?
Burnt out detective Joe has a job to protect a stripper named Cory (one of Halle Berry's first roles), but he cannot help her from being brutally murdered. Jimmy is not just an ex quarterback for American football team LA Stallions, but also happens to be Cory's boyfriend. Together, the two are going after her killer, and soon find themselves up to their necks in trouble.
Say what?
Jimmy: Maybe I could take your daughter horseback riding. How old is she?
Joe: She's 13, and if you even look at her funny I'm gonna shove an umbrella up your ass and open it.
The Last Boyscout is a great movie, with some of the best dialogue ever written. It came at a time when the career of Bruce Willis' was at a critical stage, and the producer of the movie, Joel Silver, had also seen better times. Thanks to Shane Black's brilliant script and Tony Scott's tight direction, both men's career was saved. This movie is the best example of the Cop Buddy genre I can think of, combining all the elements to make some one of a kind entertainment.
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