3487. Hollywood Homicide (2003)

Starring: Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, Lena Olin

Director: Ron Shelton

Running Time: 116 mins

Hollywood Homicide is an American film about two LAPD detectives whose police work is regularly interrupted by their side gigs, one working as a real estate broker, and the other a yoga teacher.

This film really bored me. A subpar comedy in pretty much all aspects, lacking charismatic main characters, a fun-loving story, good pacing and even just a few good jokes, Hollywood Homicide is a painfully disappointing affair that offers none of the entertainment it seems to promise.

That’s despite the film’s premise and cast featuring a good bit of potential. While Hollywood Homicide never looks like the next big thing, its blend of young and old in Josh Hartnett and Harrison Ford along with its setting suggest a possible mixture of modern buddy cop movies and classic LA film-noirs.

The reality, however, is that Hollywood Homicide is nowhere near as fun or as smart as that, and instead hamfistedly attempts to bring together a couple of stars who don’t really gel as a pair into a story that never really gels with its setting and atmosphere.

The big problem with Hollywood Homicide is that it’s just not funny enough. There are a few laughs as we see two LAPD cops moonlighting in other jobs, but that’s about it, and that running gag is nowhere near enough to keep you laughing for almost two hours.

If the film were a little more light-hearted or cartoonish, then that could have helped, but Hollywood Homicide still tries to play itself off as a proper cop movie too, with big action sequences, lavish LA sets and more, all of which make it appear as a film to be taken a little more seriously.

And as a result, it’s difficult to watch this film with your brain fully turned off, as it’s neither light-hearted enough to just make you laugh, nor interesting or well-written enough to keep you engrossed in the story, proving a painfully disappointing affair that completely underachieves on its potential. So, that’s why I’m giving Hollywood Homicide a 5.1 overall.