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Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy, Rene Russo, Pedro Damien, Mos Def ... see more see more... , Frankie Faison , William Shatner , Nestor Serrano , Drena De Niro , Linda Hart , Taj "T.J." Cross , Judah Friedlander , Kadeem Hardison , Peter Jacobson , Kenneth Hudson Campbell , John Cariani , Tom Billett , Joyce Bryant , Rick Cramer , Zaid Farid , Henry Kingi , John Polce , Jeff Sanders , Andrew Wilson , Marshall Manesh (II) , Christopher Darga , Clement Blake , Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. , Maurice Compte , Teresa DePriest , James Roday , Larry Joe Campbell , Chris Harrison , Rachael Harris , Alan Borstein , Holly Mandel , Joel Hurt Jones , Perri Peltz , Amy Powell , Debra Snell , Chris Ufland , Ewan Chung , Reggie Gaskins , Freez Luv , Merlin Santana , Julian Dulce Vida , Robert L. Joseph , Angela Rosa Alvarado , Kirk Ward , Reggie Jordan , Lucille M. Oliver , Callie Childers , Neil Mather , Joel Elliott , Grant Sawyer , Lisa Renee Pitts

Robert DeNiro continues to lampoon his tough-guy persona with this spoof of buddy cop movies that teams him with comic co-star Eddie Murphy. DeNiro is L.A.P.D. detective Mitch Preston, a gruff, no-non... read more read more...sense 28-year veteran whose bust of a drug gang is botched one night by Trey Sellars (Murphy), a bumbling patrolman who's really a frustrated actor at heart. When Mitch's aggravation is captured by a television news crew, he fires his gun in their direction and becomes an instant media celebrity, while earning himself a temporary suspension at work. After his fame draws the attention of network TV producer Chase Renzi (Rene Russo), Mitch is soon informed that the only way he can get back to work is to allow a production crew to trail him on the job for a new cop reality series called "Showtime". In order to make the taciturn lawman more palatable to the viewing public, he's paired with the camera-friendly, fast-talking Trey. The new partners drive each other crazy, but their mismatched sensibilities make for great TV, while their newfound fame has its advantages in getting them back on the trail of those escaped drug dealers, who possess a powerful new weapon. Showtime co-stars Frankie Faison and William Shatner, who sends up his own TV cop role in T.J. Hooker. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Flixster Users

29% liked it

47,956 ratings

Critics

25% liked it

122 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Tom Dey

Release Date: March 15, 2002

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DVD Release Date: August 13, 2002

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Stats: 996 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (996)

  • ScoopOnline
    December 11, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    Showtime a lot of LOL s Movies.
  • ythelastman89
    November 22, 2009
    ythelastman89
    It's not the worst thing Eddie Murphy has ever done, but it might be De Niro's. It is a failed attempt at a buddy cop revitalization. It has very little comedy that isn't stale and overdone. It was a complete waste of two good actors. Zero originality.
  • arashxak
    May 5, 2008
    arashxak
    Entertaining, De Niro is good like always
  • superclerk25
    April 25, 2008
    superclerk25
    It wasn't very good and might be a low point in both the actors careers.
  • tsigur
    December 10, 2007
    tsigur
    Bobby, Bobby, Bobby!
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 25, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    has some funny parts, not bad
  • dreamfaeries
    December 12, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    It had its moments of funny, but mostly a bore.
  • allan913
    November 19, 2006
    allan913
    Enjoyable
  • husky10000years
    January 12, 2008
    husky10000years
    Funny movie. Some of the scenes borderline amateurish. This is one of the movie not to be taken too seriously.
  • xxdebxx
    December 10, 2010
    xxdebxx
    "It's...Showtime!"

    Mitch Preston is a dedicated cop who is an incredibly focused professional completely intolerant of anything that gets in the way of the performance of his duties...like, say, a T.V. cameraman. All he asks is that he be left alone to do his job. So when the ... read morenetwork executives approached him with the idea of this new reality show, I was thinking "Leave the guy alone. He's just trying to do his job." Nevertheless he gets roped into working with a rookie police officer (and actor on the side) with a snappy mouth Trey Sellers, played by Eddie Murphy, who wants to be a big movie star.

    Predictably, Eddie Murphy ends up using his street smarts and offers some help in solving the case. Of course Mitch and Trey mix like oil and water and much merry mayhem ensues. Rounding out the cast are Rene Russo (as the pushy, sexy TV executive) and look for a small but hilarious role from William Shatner as T.J. Hooker.

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Critic Reviews

Mark Caro
July 20, 2002
Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune

The thinness of the conception gives the actors so little room to maneuver that they turn in uniformly one-note performances. Full Review

Jessica Winter
March 19, 2002
Jessica Winter, Village Voice

90 punitive minutes of eardrum-dicing gunplay, screeching-metal smashups, and flaccid odd-couple sniping. Full Review

Richard Roeper
March 19, 2002
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

This has the feel of something that was written by committee and it's all been done before. Full Review

Desson Thomson
March 15, 2002
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

So pleased with its own spoofy conceit it stays in annoyingly self-amused, predictable mode.

Stephen Hunter
March 15, 2002
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

It's not so much the generally preposterous premise as it is its sloppy handling that completely unhinges the film.

Mike Clark
March 15, 2002
Mike Clark, USA Today

... Showtime isn't much of a show at all. Full Review

Geoff Pevere
March 15, 2002
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

You know you've entered flat dramatic terrain when William Shatner towers over it. Full Review

Glenn Lovell
March 15, 2002
Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News

It's definitely a hate-yourself-in- the-morning glut. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
March 15, 2002
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

If anyone ever needed a demonstration of what happens to actors when that ventriloquist known as the screenwriter is missing in action, this is it. Full Review

Joe Baltake
March 15, 2002
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

The entire film feels like outtakes. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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    • Trey Sellars: Okay alright... it's show time.
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Showtime Trivia

  • in which movie did Robert DeNiro and eddie murphy star in 2002.  Answer »
  • What was the Showtime movie--that starred Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, Neve Campbell, Ana Gasteyer, Steven Weber, Amy Spanger, and Alan Cumming--that was a musical parody of the 1939 Propaganda movie of the same name?  Answer »
  • Who has been in Major League, Tin Cup, Showtime, Outbreak, Ransom, The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Two for the Money?  Answer »
  • I Spy..... It's Showtime!!!! He's Coming To America as a Vampire In Brooklyn for 48 Hours but if he gets caught a Beverly Hills Cop might put him in jail for Life! so he is better off to be a Holyman or a Nutty Professor.  Answer »
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