Alternative Title: Donkey Learns to Swear
I had not seen this movie until today and what a crack up! Eddie Murphy clearly loved this role so much he reprised his character and renamed him Donkey in the Shrek films. Such a similar schtick – love it. Of course the main difference between Donkey and Axel Foley is the swearing. Here’s a test – below is a line from Shrek, with swear words added. Now doesn’t that just sound EXACTLY like Axel Foley from BH Cop? You know it does!!
“Okay, let me get this straight: you gonna go fight a f*&^#n dragon and rescue a god@#$% princess just so Farquaad’ll give you back your crazy-a## swamp, which you only don’t have ’cause he filled it full of crack-wh#$%e freaks in the first place. Is that about f@#$%n’ right?”
I was also unschooled in the amazing soundtrack of this film. Until today, I thought “Neutron Dance” was just a background track for singing into your hairbrush while practicing your disco moves. Or so I’d heard.
I now know it’s a car chase scene from the 80s where cars crash into fruit stands and parked cars just for the KA-POW of the moment. In addition to this gem is The Heat is On and some of the best worst repetitive ear-bleeding synthesiser work I’ve heard since Jewel of the Nile.
How good is the guy who plays the art gallery dealer. I know him as Balki Bartocumous, the crazy cousin in “Perfect Strangers”, the sitcom from the late 80s. Like Eddie, he seems to have channelled his BH Cop character, accent and all, into his later work.
The story behind the action in this film – cop goes alone to try and solve the murder of his old criminal friend – is not what carries this movie. It’s the grin on Eddie’s face, the banter/run off at the mouth-ness, the cheesy lines (we’ll look closer at these in a moment) and the constant return to the Axel F theme song in between scenes. I think the character of Foley in general, in opposition to the conservative characters around him, makes Foley and therefore his dialogue stand out. Did you know this script was nominated for an Academy Award for the writing? True story! Although I do wonder if Eddie Murphy ad-libbed a bunch of his fast talking scenes…
Here are my fave lines from the film:
Disturbing the peace? I got thrown out of a window! What’s the f@#$%n’ charge for getting pushed out of a moving car, huh? Jaywalking?
Is this the gentleman who crashed through Victor Maitland’s window? Who disabled an unmarked unit with a banana? (this one makes me laugh so much..why? why??)
I noticed that at one point, Foley says how this is their chance to “blow this case wide open!”. I wonder if this is the first place this line was used?
Did anyone else note how nicely dressed everyone is in this film? The cops, the bad guys, the incidentals. Everyone has suited up for the occasion. Except Foley of course, another way to make his character stand out I guess.
I would class this film as a classic. It seems to provide a relief from third cop dramas by injecting humour into the usual car chase chaos and shoot-em-up scenes. Good on the old Bruckheimer who seems to be able to read what the punter wants. In the 80s, we wanted wise-cracking cops set to cracker soundtracks. Today we want (and so the same guy produces) “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” for TV – clearly BH COP and other action masterpieces such as Top Gun, are the gateway drug to reality TV.
Watch it, laugh at it, get some tips on how to wear a suit in any profession.
Years Later Film Reviews 