In the film, a popular actor in search of credibility (Fox) uses his clout to become the partner of a streetwise cop with relationship problems (Woods), amidst the exactions of an elusive serial killer, "The Party Crasher" (Lang), who has vowed to clean up the streets of New York by executing various disenfranchised people in public.[3]
The film was released by Universal Pictures on March 8, 1991. It received positive reviews from critics and was generally a commercial success.
Plot
Cynical NYPD Lieutenant John Moss pursues a serial killer known as the "Party Crasher" through a local nightclub, but fails to prevent the murder of a local drug dealer. During an interview with the press, Moss vents his frustration at the camera during a live broadcast. In Los Angeles, entitled Hollywood movie star Nick Lang sees the interview and is impressed by Moss's aggression. A former child star and pop action hero, he desperately wants a serious role in an upcoming cop drama, Blood on the Asphalt, and he believes studying Moss up close will let him convey authenticity in his audition.
Lang uses his connections to become Moss's ride-along partner posing as an experienced detective. Moss's supervisors pull him off the Party Crasher case to watch over Lang in low-risk assignments, but he is furious at the diversion over leaving an important investigation. Lang annoys Moss with his naivete, and Moss gives him several angry lectures about the realities of police work, particularly living with terror and the consequences of mistakes. In spite of this, Lang notices that Moss is having difficulty dating Susan, a divorced single mother, and offers him advice. While initially dismissive, Lang surprises Moss during a date with Susan and her daughter, both impressing Susan and offering lots of praise for Moss.
Over the next several days, Moss tries to ditch Lang to pursue the Party Crasher, while Lang pushes the limits of acting like a cop. Moss reluctantly brings Nick along during a nighttime pursuit of a suspect through an abandoned building. Fearing for Lang's safety, he offers him a real firearm for self-defense. Believing that Moss is in danger, Lang enters the building accidentally shoots a bystander. Terrified, Lang accepts Moss's offer to cover up the incident and leave town. Overwhelmed with remorse, Lang attempts to turn himself in only to discover that the entire incident was a ruse; the bystander was an undercover cop and Moss arranged the events so that Lang would understand that panic, self-doubt, guilt and anger are all part of begin a "real" cop. Enraged, Lang punches Moss and arranges to leave town.
Lang later stumbles into a confrontation between Moss and The Party Crasher, during which he saves Moss's life. The Party Crasher is wounded, taken to an ambulance, but he kills several people and escapes. Nick briefly captures him, radioing their location before he is knocked out. Susan visits Moss, stating that being a cop will never allow them to have a stable relationship, so she breaks up with him.
Lang returns and tries to convince Moss that the Party Crasher will target Susan. Even though Moss is convinced that the Party Crasher will flee the jurisdiction, Nick argues that the killer is acting out a theatrical revenge plot as part of his bid for media attention. The Party Crasher abducts Susan, luring Moss and Lang into a confrontation on an advertising billboard featuring Nick's latest film and a brawl ensues. Lang saves Susan and Moss from being shot, but is himself shot in the chest. Moss pushes the Party Crasher off the roof. Trying to keep Lang from losing consciousness, he lectures him again about the dangers of being a cop.
However, months later, Moss and Susan have married and attend the premiere of The Good, the Badge and the Ugly. Lang survived his gunshot wound and leveraged the experience into a new drama. Moss is annoyed to discover that Lang's best lines in the film almost entirely formed from his lectures, and jokes that he should have received a writer's credit.[3]
The project was first reported in early 1988, with Arthur Hiller attached to direct. In June of that year, it was announced that Hiller had been replaced by John Badham, who signed a multi-picture deal with Universal.[4] The original screenplay by Lem Dobbs was significantly reworked by Daniel Pyne, who also performed rewrites on Fox's next movie Doc Hollywood. Aspects of the characters were influenced by 1941's Sullivan's Travels.[5]
The film was originally set in Chicago, and was going to be the first production of a new outfit formed by Badham and his partner Rob Cohen, simply called The Badham/Cohen Group. However, Michael J. Fox's prior commitment to the Back to the Future sequels meant that this film had to be switched around with Bird on a Wire.[4]
To prepare for his role, James Woods followed his quasi-homonym, NYPDlieutenant James Wood, on the job, wearing a bulletproof vest. Wood had previously been shadowed by Treat Williams and Robert De Niro in preparation of Prince of the City and Midnight Run, respectively. The latter recommended him for The Hard Way. Wood was also present during production, and requested a few changes for more realism, such as in the way a prisoner was able to escape custody.[6] As Pyne had already moved on to his next movie, Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn contributed the script's final rewrites, but were not officially credited.[4]
Casting
Ted Danson and Jack Nicholson were approached to star in the film early on. A pairing of Kevin Kline and Gene Hackman was also considered. When Michael J. Fox signed on, he was the one who suggested James Woods to co-star.[7][8] The film's police consultant, Lieutenant Wood, recommended some roles be recast with people of color to better reflect the ethnic makeup of New York City law enforcement.[6] Among those was Billy, played by James "LL Cool J" Smith, who made his true acting debut in the film (he had briefly appeared as himself in Krush Groove and Wildcats).[9] His participation originally came in a package deal with the use of his music,[1] and was going to be a single-line cameo, before it was expanded by Badham and Cohen.[10] Smith had no particular expectation of a continued acting career at the time.[11]
Filming
The film was shot in the New York region, where it is mostly set, in thirteen weeks between late May and late August 1990.[6] The cinemasetpiece was staged at the historic Beacon Theatre on Broadway.[6] Fox's Malibu house was in fact located in nearby Deal, New Jersey.[4] Producer Rob Cohen served as a second unit director.[4] Woods tore his rotator cuff when he fell off the truck during the filming of the chase seen at the beginning of the film.[7]
Release
Box office
The Hard Way opened in the United States on March 8, 1991, debuting at number 3 behind The Silence of the Lambs and New Jack City.[12] The film ended its domestic run with a lackluster gross of $25.9 million.[13] Woods blamed The Hard Way's tepid audience reception on recent events in the Gulf War, which he thought had made the market unfavorable to a buddy comedy.[7]
According to Box Office Mojo, the film was more successful in international markets, taking in an additional $38,7 million, for a worldwide theatrical gross of $65.6 million (approximately $148 million when adjusted for inflation in 2023).[13]
Critical reception
As of August2023[update], on Rotten Tomatoes, the film had a 75% approval rating from 24 critics, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The consensus said, "The Hard Way's overly familiar formula is enlivened by a witty script and the excellent comedic chemistry between Michael J. Fox and James Woods."[14]
Vincent Canby of The New York Times said that it is "not a perfect comedy by any means, but it is a very entertaining one" and commended its "pure Hollywood" sensibility, writing that it is "sometimes slapdash in execution and sloppy in coherence, but it's written, directed and performed with a redeeming, self-mocking zest."[15]
Time Out called it a "light, bright comedy" that "counterbalances Hollywood convention with some very funny swipes at the film industry" and stated, "Badham handles the numerous action sequences with confidence, but the real enjoyment comes from the interplay between the two leads, who revel in the opportunity to send up their images."[16]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it three-and-a-half out of four stars and praised its "comic energy", calling the film "funny, fun, exciting, and [...] an example of professionals who know their crafts and enjoy doing them well."[17] Ebert said the stunts, special effects, and second unit work were "all seamless and exciting", and viewed that the actors elevate the film's plot with their performances:
[T]he film makers crank up the energy until the movie takes on a life of its own. [...] There is a certain exhilarating, high-altitude buzz you get from actors who are working well at the limits of their ability. Faced with a plot that was potentially predictable, Woods and Fox seem to have agreed to crank up the voltage, to take the chance of playing every scene flat-out.[17]
Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C rating and criticized it as having "coyly self-conscious high concept", writing that "takes the [action-buddy-cop genre] to such a numbing dead end."[18] Burr panned its chase scenes and editing as "visual nonsense" and called its plot "all guns and gag lines", although he found Fox "secure enough to goof on his own image and inventive enough to do it well".[18]
Post release
Home video
MCA/Universal Home Video released the film domestically on home video. The VHS' street date was September 12, 1991,[19][20] while the LaserDisc arrived one week later.[21]The Hard Way was released on DVD on November 17, 1998, by Universal Home Video.[22]Kino Lorber issued the film on Blu-ray in the U.S. on October 6, 2020. That edition featured a new audio commentary from Badham and Cohen. However, Universal had previously given the film a first-party Blu-ray release in the U.K. on October 5, 2015.[23]
Television
NBC promoted the film's world television premiere as part of the November 1992 sweeps.[24][25][26] It was shown in primetime on Sunday, November 8, drawing an 11.4 rating and a 17 audience share.[27] Unusually for network TV, it was re-run by NBC the next Friday evening,[28] drawing a 7.4 rating and a 13 share.[29]
↑ McGuire, Paul (director of media relations, photography) (October 1, 1992). "'The Hard Way' 'World Premiere Movie' – Sunday, November 8 (9–11 p.m. NYT)" (Press release). Burbank: NBC.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Coe, Steve (November 2, 1992). "November Sweeps Are Set to Music". Broadcasting. Vol.122, no.45. Washington: Cahners Business Information. Nielsen Media Research. p.45.
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