Beverly Hills Cop II

Something has gone completely wrong. They made the wrong sequel. The original “Beverly Hills Cop” was the screenplay written for Sylvester Stallone, but filmed with Eddie Murphy as the protagonist. After it was such a success, the idea was that “Beverly Hills Cop II,” released in 1987, would be a real Eddie Murphy movie, with more comedy and fewer guns and chases.

Roger Ebert pointed out in his review, “Alas, Part 2 seems even more like a Stallone vehicle than the first movie. I'm not even sure it's intended as a comedy. It's filled wall to wall with the kind of routine action and violence that Hollywood extrudes by the yard and shrink-wraps to order. But the sequel makes no particular effort to be funny, and actually seems to take its ridiculous crime plot seriously - as if we cared.”

There’s a major problem with the movie. Eddie Murphy is not likable in the sequel. He now is an arrogant loudmouth. A little of him goes a long way. Ebert mentioned, “Somehow they've lost track of their original appealing idea, which was that a smart, funny street cop from Detroit would waltz into Beverly Hills and deflate the Porsche-and-sunglasses set.” Doesn’t work that way this time.

Murphy’s idea of a funny scene in this movie is to yell a lot at people in a harsh, angry voice. There’s a scene where he visits the Playboy Mansion and shouts at the receptionist, and you want to just turn off the movie. Murphy appears to be the problem rather than the solution.

Ebert asked, “What is comedy? That's a pretty basic question, I know, but "Cop II" never thought to ask it. Doesn't comedy usually center around a series of surprises based on insights into human nature? Let's assume that everyone in Beverly Hills is obsessed with money, power, possessions and social status. Let's further assume that a black cop from Detroit rides into town and doesn't give a darn for their effete values and conspicuous consumption, and cuts through the nonsense like a knife through butter. That would be funny. It is, however, an idea the "Beverly Hills Cop" movies have been unable to fully exploit after two tries. Instead, Murphy and his associates make the fatal error of assuming that the way you deal with jerks is to be a bigger jerk.”

For what producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer probably paid for the screenplay for this movie, they should have been able to get a new one. The plot of this sequel is recycled from other mindless, basic, modern, high-tech movie. It’s not even a plot. It’s a series of usual scenarios, with The Chase, The Powerful Men of Evil, The Hot Material Woman, The Hit Men, and The Shootout. (The Chase has a cement truck, and it proves, hands down, that cement trucks do not work very well in chases.)

Ebert admitted, “I'm an Eddie Murphy fan. I think that on a good day, he is capable of being funnier than anybody else in the movies right now. I was one of the admirers of "The Golden Child," his comedy from last Christmas, which plugged him into a cheerfully ridiculous plot, and made him a lovable character who was doggedly trying to endure a series of exotic dangers. I also like Murphy when he's street-smart and capable, as in "48 Hrs.," (1982).”

Ebert continued, “What I don't like is the unstated assumption, in "Cop II," that Murphy is funny by definition, and that anybody who gets in his way is a fool. Maybe Murphy should study some of those old "I Love Lucy" episodes where Lucy gets into situations she can't handle: She's up against a snooty headwaiter in a stuck-up restaurant, let's say. What does she do? Scream at the guy? No, she always finds a way to deflate the guy simply by remaining true to her own character and insisting on being treated as a human being.”

That’s what’s missing in this sequel. We aren’t against the way the villains in Beverly Hills want to treat Murphy, because, sadly, he’s a bigger jerk. Obviously, because he’s the protagonist, no one else in the story is allowed to put hands on him. However, here’s an interesting idea. The movie might have been funnier if they had reversed every situation and made Foley the punchline of the jokes.

With Dean Stockwell, Brigitte Nielsen, and Jurgen Prochnow playing the villains, you would think they would make the film interesting, but they don’t. Chris Rock was even shoved into a scene here, and this was one of his first roles. You can tell how bad of a sequel it is, especially when inserting Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion in this sequel. Murphy felt like he was doing everything he was supposed to and the supporting cast wasn’t helping him. You can’t just make the comedian protagonist do all the work and not do anything yourself. Everyone has to do their part, and no one was. I own this movie on VHS, and this was a disappointing sequel. Especially since this came out the same year as Murphy’s stand-up “Raw.” Don’t see this sequel, you will hate it.

Next week, we will be looking at the absolute worst in the series in “Beverly Hills Cop Month.” Sorry for the late response. I was going to write the review before I was called to go out for a late night snack.