Whatever happened to the show “Cops?” It’s on occasionally, but nothing like it used to be - you could find it everywhere, all day long. And nothing made us all feel better about our own lives than watching the shenanigans of morons.
Every episode guaranteed that they were going to go to someone’s home where the police would find some loser in his tighty -whities in an easy chair. And what would they always do, upon finding out the cops were there to take them in? They’d run, of course! And no sitcom can match the hilarity of some pasty white felon running down the street in their underwear from the cops, somehow thinking he and the stains on his shorts were a match for armed policemen.
But reality shows have changed - and that’s the joke behind the new film “Showtime,” a flawed, if entertaining, movie, that starts out very strong only to spiral into action-movie loserdom.
Robert De Niro plays Mitch Preston, a no-nonsense police detective. We meet Preston as he works on taking down a drug dealer. His plans are foiled when patrol officer Trey Sellars (Eddie Murphy) butts his head in, ruining the whole deal. Not only that, but the media also are present for the whole scenario.
Soon after, the television station decides to follow the two and base it as an entertainment show.
A decent premise - absurd, but entertaining - and De Niro and Murphy are great together. In fact, teaming them up is probably the most intelligent part of the whole movie. Not only that, but it’s nearly the only intelligent part of the flick.
Instead of following through with the parody of reality television, fleeting fame and the pursuit thereof through sacrificing dignity, it turns into a ridiculous action spectacular. What could have been remarkable looks more like “Lethal Weapon,” only goofier.
There are moments that are quite funny - Murphy does some of his better work of the past few years, and De Niro continues to show a strong comedic ability (“Meet the Parents,” “Analyze This”). And some scenes with William Shatner teaching the two how to be great television cops is pee-in-your-pants hilarious. But the funny parts only distract from what the movie could have been, instead of the very forgettable end product that it winds up as.
The movie really isn’t all that bad - I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy parts of it. But it’s part of that empty calories section of movies - funny, yes - but leaves you hungry for something more substantial.
