The Last Boy Scout - 1991

Geffen Pictures, Silver Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures

Directed by Tony Scott

Cast:

• Joe Hallenbeck – Bruce Willis
• Jimmy Dix – Damon Wayans
• Sarah Hallenbeck – Chelsea Fields
• Sheldon 'Shelly' Marcone – Noble Willingham
• Milo – Taylor Negron
• Darian Hallenbeck – Danielle Harris
• Cory – Halle Berry
• Mike Matthews – Bruce McGill
• Chet – Kim Coates

Story: Joe Hallenbeck is going through a really rough time in his life. The former Secret Service agent who once took two bullets for the President is now a alcoholic bum private detective who discovers his wife is sleeping with Mike Matthews, his best friend. Mike is also a detective and offers Joe five hundred dollars to handle a surveillance job, which he accepts even though he catches him in his bedroom closet with Sarah, his wife. As Mike is leaving, Joe gets the information on the job and stands by the curb to watch Mike leave. But when Mike gets in his car, it blows up. And the stripper he is hired to protect gets killed. The stripper's boyfriend, a former professional football player named Jimmy Dix, gets involved and together they work to solve the mystery that's getting people killed.

Review: Timeline in another dimension...has to be. Pro Football on a Friday Night with Bill Medley singing the theme song? Halle Berry dancing in a strip club with silver pasties? Anyone wanting to assassinate Jimmy Carter? (well, maybe) Talk about your fantasy summer action films. I think Tony Scott knew exactly what he was doing when he got Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) to write this incredibly fast paced film with lots of twists and turns. Willis and Damons work exceptionally well off each other, and its hard to tell who's the straight man and who's the comic in several of the exchanges. I'm not quite sure which characters have the shortest film time, but not many Bad Guys survive. Bruce McGill and Kim Coates are both excellent in brief but important roles, and Taylor Negron wins the award for most villainous bad guy of the 1990's, in my opinion. Now, if you're looking for plots that make sense, forget it. This is a shoot 'em up film where Willis gets to play the irascible grouch who is pissed off about losing his job and taking it out on the world. How bad is he? Every time someone calls him a bastard, his response is: “and then some!”. So we are not talking Oscar material, and we certainly aren't talking collectible, unless you are a big fan of Willis. (I admit it, I have a copy) Rated R for every conceivable reason in the book except maybe perversion with animals, this is definitely a see it once and enjoy the laughter and the action.