Stars: Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy, Rene Russo, William Shatner, Kadeem Hardison, Frankie R. Faison, William Shatner, Drena De Niro

Director: Tom Dey

Summary: A send-up of the 'two partner cops' genre in which two police officers are teamed up for a reality based television programme.

SHOWTIME deftly combines clever satire and explosive action, taking the buddy cop movie in a new direction. Robert De Niro stars as Mitch Preston, a no-nonsense detective who makes headlines when he shoots the television camera right out of the hands of a meddlesome photographer during a bust. The department is sued for millions, but a slick producer (Rene Russo) drops the suit to force Mitch to star on the network's new reality series. Trey Sellars (Eddie Murphy), a struggling actor and incompetent patrolman, bamboozles his way into a plum role as Mitch's partner. Mitch is a better cop, but Trey knows a lot more about how to be a TV star. He even comes up with the show's catchphrase: "It's SHOWTIME!" In the film's funniest setpiece, William Shatner is brought in to teach Mitch and Trey how to master important TV cop procedures, like jumping on the hood of a car. Things get more serious as the celebrity cops track down a crazed criminal armed with a powerful new weapon. Director Tom Dey (SHANGHAI NOON) keeps things moving, and laces the action with reflexive humor. Murphy is in fine comic form, and has terrific chemistry with De Niro.

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Can a buddy-cop parody still qualify as a good buddy-cop movie? Showtimestruggles to prove it's possible, and with a few solid laughs it almostsucceeds. No movie starring Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro could be a total turkey, and their pairing--as (respectively) a brash patrol cop/wannabe actor and a seasoned detective with zero tolerance for showmanship--yields a few choice moments of slick, professional comedy. Still, most of Showtimerepresents a missed opportunity, squandering Rene Russo's talent as a TV producer who casts Murphy and De Niro in a buddy-cop reality show that turns them into overnight celebrities. In an effort to repeat the modest success of Shanghai Noon, director Tom Dey capitalises on the casual chemistry of his leads (especially Murphy, who outshines his co-stars) until parody succumbs to routine action involving big guns and bad guys. With a sharper sense of satire, this passable entertainment could have been a comedy juggernaut. --Jeff Shannon

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Feature Length Commentary By Director Tom Dey And Producer Jorge Saralegui And Editor Billy Webber, HBO First Look The Making Of Showtime, Additional And Extended Scenes Including The Entire Premiere Party Sequence And Eddie Murphy Improvisations, Showtime P
Subtitles:	Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish
Year:	2002
Release Date:	October 21, 2002
Runtime:	92 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 023302
Label:	Village Roadshow Pictures
Keywords:	Action, Comedy, General, Wide, Screen, Adventure, Showtime
Genre:	Action/Adventure