Showtime (2002)

Elevator Pitch: A reality TV show manages to manoeuvre an experienced detective, Mitch Preston, to appear on their show, and forces the LAPD to pair him up with a extrovert policeman, Trey Sellars,  who aspires to be an actor. The two are sent out to pursue an arms dealer who has sourced a devastating automatic shotgun and so they take to the streets with a camera crew behind them, sometimes assisting and sometimes hampering the investigation. Things come to a head when the villain engineers a robbery of a bullion van and, but for Trey’s intervention, Mitch would be toast, literally.

Content: No sex or nudity, or drug taking or drinking or smoking. The two characters bicker constantly and Mitch is always at odds with the TV show people. William Shatner, as himself, gives some hints about acting. Eddie Murphy as Trey is always over the top, and blags his way into the show. There is a lot of devastating action with the automatic shotgun, used at one point to kill a drug  dealer and his girlfriend by destroying their house. The bullion robbery takes place, resulting in car chases, and the gun show is an eye-opener.

A View: The critics did not like this much and it cost a lot, not making its money back. Eddie Murphy is irritating, the script requiring him to be a sort of dumb version of Beverly Hills Cop. Since he is also required to be irritating to Mitch, Robert De Nero is pretty well boxed in and can contribute little. The ladies from the reality show do better, but it is still not much of a watch. So, unfortunately one of those movies that are really not worth your time.

Additional info: Annie, the TV show director’s assistant is played by Drena De Nero, the star’s adopted daughter.