It's 'Showtime' for Murphy, but not for De Niro
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Eddie Murphy is given a comedian's dream role in the uneven but frequently engaging comedy "Showtime" — he's playing an amateur actor somewhat less gifted than himself.
As Trey Sellars, an inept LAPD cop who dabbles in "semi-independent films" and dreams of being on television, Murphy's always grinning and posing and whipping off his sunglasses to deliver speeches in stentorian drama-school tones. He's very funny, in a larger-than-life sort of way, and his performance keeps the movie percolating, even when all else around him is withering away.
Trey, who's been waiting for his big break, becomes the unlikely partner of Detective Mitch Preston (Robert De Niro), an old-style cop with little patience for showboating, when the two are paired for the reality-TV series "Showtime." They squabble with each other, cope with the demands of producer Chase Renzi (Rene Russo), and, almost as an afterthought, pursue a major crime lord (Pedro Damian, who we know is evil, because he sports platinum-blond hair with scary dark roots).
It's a promising-enough target for satire, and director Tom Dey showed a pleasant touch with buddy comedies in 2000's "Shanghai Noon," but "Showtime" has trouble sustaining its energy. Part of the problem is De Niro, who's reduced to playing straight man (and we know he can be funny, given the opportunity) in a script that gives him nothing to do. Midway through, the filmmakers toss him a bit of shtick — turns out the gruff Mitch is a would-be ceramic artist — but it feels too self-consciously goofy. So De Niro just spends the movie looking exasperated, as well he might.
And while "Showtime" begins quite appetizingly, setting itself up as a satire of both cop/buddy movies and reality TV, the satire gets watered down as the movie progresses, finally disappearing entirely. Russo, who charges through the movie with the fast-talking, sexy glibness she showed in "Tin Cup," is at first very funny as the producer. ("We need a reality change," she barks to her assistant, when first entering the police station where "Showtime" will be filmed. "This is hideous.")
But her role and that of William Shatner (the former "T.J. Hooker" amusingly plays himself as a revered director of cop shows) seem truncated, as "Showtime" gradually becomes just another buddy comedy. Not a bad one, thanks to Murphy — but you have to wonder what might have been.
Finally, a note on the movie's PG-13 rating: This movie is every bit as bullet-heavy as last week's R-rated "All About the Benjamins," with the difference being that a) "Showtime" features mainstream Hollywood stars, and b) we don't see any blood as the result of all those bullets (although several people die). This is what the MPAA calls "action violence, " as opposed to untidy violence with consequences, I suppose. Parents, you have been warned.
Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com.
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