Running Scared (1986)

Director: Peter Hyams

Starring: Billy Crystal, Gregory Hines, Dan Hedaya, Jimmy Smits, Joe Pantoliano

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: They've got 30 days to clean up Chicago before they retire to paradise... Losing their police car, their suspect, and their pants is a real bad start!

Plot: Danny (Crystal) and Ray (Hines) are a couple of street-wise cops in Chicago. They're methods are questionable but effective. Captain Logan (Hedaya) orders them to take a vacation. While in Key West, Danny and Ray buy a bar and decide to retire in style. Upon their return to Chicago to quit they discover that a small-time drug pusher they tried to put away has now become the city's newest drug lord causing them to re-think their retirement.



My Rating: 8/10

Would I watch it again? Yup.

I love this movie. It's one of those rare buddy cop films that has that right mixture of comedy and action. Crystal & Hines make a wonderful team. Too bad they never did anything else together. Great chemistry.

I've always enjoyed Hines' performances. He was one hell of a tap dancer. Crystal is great and surprising in the dramatic scenes. Joe "Joey Pants" Pantoliano is hysterical. My favorite scene starts off the above fan-made trailer. It cracks me up every time I see it. Dan Hedaya is great as always playing the frustrated Captain. Which reminds me. Are all police captains frustrated? 'Cause that's all they ever seem to be in the movies. It's funny to see Smits in the role of a bad guy.

"Not even close."

The film can seem slow at times but they really do a great job at keeping it moving like the welcome change of pace with the Key West bits. It works on a few levels but mostly to really get the feeling for how they feel. We spend a lot of time in the cold, wet, wintry Chicago then we're off to sunny Florida. It feels nice. Then once we get back to Chicago it's dreary again and you feel it just as the characters are feeling it. It's pretty effective.

"You are SO gay. No, you are. No, YOU are. OK then."

Like the typical 80s action films, particularly the abundance of buddy cop movies, there's a lot of action and an over-the-top finale. What's different is the great chemistry of the two leads and the well-balanced blend of action and comedy. It would have been nice to have a sequel but I think it might have turned out like the difference between CROCODILE DUNDEE and CROCODILE DUNDEE 2. We would have probably had our boys in Florida only to make their way back to Chicago or something. Maybe they could have ended up owning an alligator farm wrestling alligators for the tourists. I'd have paid to see that one.