We’ve made it to our second instalment of ‘Cling-Film’ last time we delved into the nostalgic world of Toy Story as we celebrated its 25th birthday. This time around is going to be a tad bit different. Hop into our 70 Chevy Nova as we go back to 1984 Detroit and pay Beverly Hills Cop a much-needed visit.
This Eddie Murphy classic is turning the weird age of 36 this weekend and we are stumped as to what to buy it. What do you even buy someone at that age? A candle, a paperweight, or maybe even a paperweight candle? Nope, we want to avoid the awkward gift-giving, so let’s cling to it instead.
December 5th, 1984, what were you doing? Probably not born or not old enough to remember the release of the classic that is - Beverly Hills Cop. The film about a street-smart Detroit cop who loved cracking jokes just as much as loved catching bad guys.
This film was an explosive blockbuster, an absolute hit at the box office. As a matter of fact, it should be considered a crime if you have never seen Beverly Hills Cop. It should also be a crime if you ever watch Beverly Hills Cop 2 & 3, but that’s a subject for a much different day.
They weren’t bad films but you know what they say - nothing beats your first.
Moments we want to cling on to...
A Couple of Bananas
“I need a couple of bananas.” Something you’d say to your grocer without even flinching. Yet, when people buy bananas, they usually tend to eat them or make nutritious smoothies. It’s not common practice to shove them up car exhausts. Unless of course, you’re Donkey Kong, and that’s kind of your thing.
This iconic scene from Beverly Hills Cop is a reoccurring gag throughout the franchise that never fails to make us laugh. Eddie Murphy does a grand job of escaping the clutches of Detective Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton).
If you fancy yourself as a bit of a prankster and want to try this out on a friend’s car, then please do let us know if it actually works because we’re pretty curious.
The Theme Tune
Oh, we all know it. It’s the infectious earworm. A song that will burrow deep down into your cranium and stay there forever. I’m being pretty bold with this statement, but I think this just might be one of the most infectious theme tunes ever made. Can you think of another? This jangle is addictive - go on, we dare you to press the play button, we dare you!
In fact, the entire soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop will stay in your head if you listen to it long enough. The classic sound of the 1980s is just something you can’t beat - the synths and rifts are iconic in this film.
The Shootout at Maitland’s
Axel, Billy, and John walk up to Victor Maitland’s mansion feeling like superheroes. They’ve got their pistols. They are ready to catch the bad guys, put them in prison, and celebrate with some beers. Hmm, the villainous tycoon was never going to be that easy to defeat. Maitland's henchmen are fully equipped with machine guns, rifles, and anything else with a magazine.
This scene sums up the movie perfectly and is up there with one of the most iconic movie shootouts in film history. We are clinging onto this because it captures everything right with Beverly Hills Cop - comedy, action, and a whole lot of questionable policing.
Characters we want to cling on to…
Axel Foley
It’s time to be brutally honest. Without the addition of Eddie Murphy, this would’ve just been another mediocre 1980s action film. The actor takes on the role of Axel Foley with inch-perfect comedy as he perfectly portrays the Detroit detective.
The character of Axel Foley is what makes this one of the funniest cop movies of all time.
Victor Maitland
Who here doesn’t love a smarmy villain? We love them because 99.9% of the time, they meet an awfully good demise that’s fitting of their awful persona.
In Victor Maitland’s case, he is the smarmiest of them all and is played excellently by Steven Berkoff. It would seem that Berkoff has a reputation for playing bad people. The eagle-eyed viewers will recognise him from playing General Orlov in Octopussy and Adolf Hitler in the TV mini-series War and Remembrance.
In Beverly Hills Cop, he is the perfect villain and will get under viewers' skin in almost every scene. The sign of a job well done if you ask me.
Billy Rosewood
Ah, Billy Rosewood, easily one of the funniest cops ever to work the beat. Judge Reinhold does a fantastic job of portraying Billy and the film would not be the same without his involvement.
Billy has epic one-liners throughout the film, and alongside Axel, he provides the comedy wherever he goes. We are most definitely clinging onto Billy Rosewood.
The Wrap Up...
This film is an iconic cop movie that many people will vouch for by telling you it’s one of the absolute classics of the1980s. Beverly Hills Cop deserves all the credit it has received over the years, and it’s just another example of how spectacular Eddie Murphy is at comedy.
The clothes and music in this film might be dated, but we could never throw Beverly Hills Cop away.
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