#129 - "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984) with Chris McMichen - 80s Flick Flashback

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Eddie Murphy is a Detroit cop onvacation in Beverly Hills.
May I help you? Yeah, I'm looking for Victor
Maitland. I've never been in your cell
that has foam in it. Can I stay for a while?
Because I ordered some pieces, this is.

(00:26):
Nice Eddie Murphy, how you doing?
Beverly Hills Cops Rated R starts Wednesday, December 5th.
This 80s flick confirmed Eddie Murphy's status as a superstar.
The action comedy was financially speaking, the number
one movie of 1984 and it's screenplay was even nominated
for an Oscar. What ended up becoming one of AF

(00:49):
is Top 100 comedies of all time was very close to becoming a
completely different movie. Featuring Sylvester Stallone,
more gunplay and far less humor,but directed by Martin Breast,
the movie introduced audiences to Axel Foley, a street smart
Detroit cop who finds himself investigating a murder in the
luxurious world of Beverly Hills.

(01:09):
The film's mix of sharp humor, high octane action, and Murphy's
magnetic presence helped redefine the action comedy genre
and cemented his place as one ofHollywood's biggest stars.
So jump into the crappy blue Chevy Nova, head W to
California, and don't fall for no bananas in the tailpipe as
Chris Mcmichen and I discussed Beverly Hills Cop from 1984 on

(01:30):
this episode of the 80s Foot Flashback Podcast.
John Hughes and all his teen dreams, monsages and themes in
fairest hands. City fans living life like it
never ends. It seemed.
Bikes to the sky by this club just getting by.

(01:54):
Radical dreams and daring quests.
Back then we were our very best in the 80s.
We will run where every day is just pure fine booties.
Never say die. They're your minds and those
things we lose our minds. Welcome in 80s flick lovers.

(02:17):
I'm Tim Williams, your guide andhost for all things retro on the
80s Flick Flashback Podcast. Get ready to dive into a
thrilling ride to the unforgettable films that defined
a generation. Think epic adventures, killer
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(02:59):
flickflashback.com or RT Public Store for some totally rad merch
and original designs. All right, let's crank up the
fun and get this party started today.
I've got Chris Mcmichen back with us.
Much like Axel Foley, Chris has a way of cutting through the
noise and getting straight to the heart of things, but with a
cool confidence. How you doing Chris?
Doing great Tim, great to be back with you once again.

(03:20):
I got a good film in store tonight.
Yeah, yeah, this is one one I'vedefinitely wanted to cover for a
while and just is one that I would put on the list and then
it would get bumped by somethingelse.
I was like, you know what, I just I just got to do it.
I've, I've been, I've watched ita few times.
We'll kind of get into it, but I've, I've watched a few times
the last couple years. So I've become much more
familiar with it now than I was probably as a kid.

(03:42):
But, but let's jump right into it.
So when did you see Beverly Hills Cop for the first time?
Saw it in the theaters with the family when it came out.
It was iconic in lots of ways. Of course, I'm sure we'll talk
some about the music aspect of, you know, we both musicians, so
we can play into that whole AxelF idea and we can play into The

(04:03):
Pointer Sisters and what a greatsoundtrack it is.
I mean, it runs through the whole film.
It's just very iconic and and songs you remember to this day,
you know, I think it proves not only does the screenplay that
you mentioned already that was up for an Oscar stand the test
of time, but the music is reallygood too.
And and I just remember, you know, early on, even we did AII

(04:27):
was in a percussion ensemble because I played drums when I
was younger and and still do a little bit.
And we played the Axel F theme song as a percussion ensemble.
It made it great. We didn't have any techno
instruments, you know, everything on vibes and rimba.
And it was it was pretty amazinglittle piece, but you know, so
it that really permeated societytoo.

(04:48):
And just excited to chat about it tonight.
Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah.
I, I was like, I did not see this in the theater.
I was, I was very much too youngto see it in the theater.
Chris is a little bit older thanme, not much, but a little bit.
And so it's like I'm trying to remember.
I I really remember seeing the TV version.
I think I might have seen it on VHS.

(05:10):
We might have rented it. I have a feeling like we rented
it with some friends and watchedit, but I remember when it came
on TVI probably recorded it off of TV on the VHS and that's what
I watched, you know, most of thetime with the edits and stuff.
So watching it again, you know, with all the language and stuff,
I was like, man, this was this one was pretty rough even back
then. So but you know, that was that

(05:32):
was Eddie Murphy too. So you just kind of kind of roll
with it. But so how long has it been
since you watched it before we watching it for the podcast?
I don't know, this is one of those kind of movies, and we've
talked about these kind of movies, you and I off, you know,
off air before, but it's one of those kind of movies that they
show pretty regularly on a on a TNT or, you know, some kind of

(05:55):
basic, you know. Yeah, basic, Right.
Exactly. And and they'll read you,
they'll run a marathon of all three in a row or something like
that. You know, it is.
That's very popular these days and I'll get sucked into
watching it because I just, you know, I like the I know the
story, of course, backwards forwards, but I really like the
humor in it. It still makes me laugh to this
day. And and it's one of those kind

(06:16):
of movies, I think that that really keeps pulling you back
in. So I probably have seen it
within the last two years, certainly before I rewatched it
this week in its full entirety. Yeah, yeah.
I, like I said I'd, I'd rewatched it probably about a
year ago because I thought I wasgoing to have to do it as a
filler episode where I planned one thing and the person backed

(06:40):
down. I was like, well, I can probably
get somebody to do this one pretty quick.
And then we ended up changing itup at the last minute.
But so I, I was prepared to do it last year and then I had
watched because I bought the trilogy set like a digital
version probably 8 or 10 years ago.
And so I know when I bought thatI watched all three of them, you
know, maybe not back-to-back, but like all in the same week.

(07:02):
Like I watched Part 1 one day and then the next day I'll watch
Part 2 and then I'll watch the third one, which the third one
is 1. I don't necessarily need to
watch on a regular basis, but the first 2 are definitely good.
And even even when I watched thethe sequel the last time, it's
it's shinier and it's like, you can tell it's like made by
different directors. It's got more of a slick feel to

(07:23):
it, but it doesn't seem to have the same, you know, energy or
charisma that the first one. Like it's still good, but I felt
like there was too, there were too many instances where they
were just trying to duplicate the first one.
And those are the the sequels that kind of like it's good, but
it, you know, you wish they would have went a little bit
different, but but we're not here to talk about this thing.

(07:43):
We're talking about the first one, but I just want to bring
that up. People go back to see Eddie
Murphy regardless. Oh yeah, absolutely.
You know, as long as he was going to still start it, they
would watch the other two and Ohyeah, 3:00 and 4:00 and 5:00 and
6:00 if they would have come out.
But. Right, right.
And then I did watch the, you know, the the one that came on
Netflix. Was it last last year, Axel FI
Don't know if you if you've got a chance to see that one yet,

(08:04):
but. No, I have not.
I have. They it, it's gotten mixed
reviews, but I really enjoyed it.
I mean, of course it's, you know, it's it's hard these days.
It's tough to see the people that you remember in their prime
going back to these characters that, you know, they're older
and yeah, they're going to make some of the jokes about they're
not as young as they used to be.And you know, there's going to

(08:24):
be those kind of, you know, references back, but story wise
and action and humor. It was really a fun movie.
Like it's nothing super serious,I mean, but it's you know, is it
as great as the original? No.
Is it better than the third one?Yes, So it's worth a watch.
But but definitely a fun, you know, it, it brought back some
of the nostalgia. They, they were able to kind of,

(08:45):
they kept it modern, but they were able to implement some good
references or callbacks to the originals that you definitely
remembered and you know, some good cameos and stuff too.
So, so yeah, so I recommend Axelev.
If you didn't see it, I guess the, the part 4 you would call
it now, but but it's, it's a, you know, it's a fun watch, just
like these were kind of meant tobe.

(09:06):
They're not, they're, they're meant to be just fun,
entertaining movies. Nothing to be too too serious
about SO. Yeah, I'll have to check that
out. Yep.
All right, well, let's jump intostory, origin and pre
production. How did this movie get made?
And yes, we did reference an intro that Sylvester Stallone
did play a part in somewhat of how this movie got made.
If you didn't know that, we're going to share that with you.
So all the way back in 1975, long before he would become the

(09:30):
CEO of Disney, Michael Eisner was driving a beat up station
wagon around Hollywood, despite his impressive title of
president at Paramount Studios. But after he got a speeding
ticket from a cop with his quotean air of superiority and quiet
condescension, he bought himselfa Mercedes and came up with the
the germ of an idea to make a movie about a Hollywood police

(09:53):
officer. For what it's worth, Paramount
executive Don Simpson allegedly claims Eisen was wrong and that
he came up with the idea himself.
Danilo Bach was hired to write the script in 1981, submitted a
draft titled Beverly Drive and Beverly Drive.
A Pittsburgh cop named Ellie Axel shows up in Beverly Hills

(10:14):
to investigate his friend's death.
Sounds pretty familiar. That loose plot remained
throughout the remainder of the creative process.
Michael Eisner felt the draft and all the others before it
from different screenwriters didn't capture the fish out of
water aspect enough, so they brought in Daniel Petrie.
Junior hadn't wrote a script andwas one that Eisner, Don Simpson

(10:35):
and his fellow Paramount producer Jerry Bruckheimer
liked. Petrie injected comedy into his
version about talking to cops and noticing they told quote UN
quote, tremendously funny stories punctuated by the most
gruesome violence. He also nailed the outsider
aspect Eisner desired, drawing from his experience as a poor
writer walking to his expensive looking Beverly Hills office

(10:57):
past doors full of high-priced clothes and art that he could
never afford. The project was fast tracked in
1983 and Mickey Rourke was a high commodity.
Fresh off his diner performance,Rourke made $400,000 by signing
a holding contract, going back and forth to the studio and the
writers on ideas for the script,and then walking away when his

(11:18):
contract expired to look for work elsewhere.
Thankfully, Sylvester Stallone reflected that when he first
received the action comedy script in the mail, he thought
it was sent to the wrong house. The actor, who by 1983 three had
already written the first 3 Rocky movies and First Blood,
rewrote Beverly Hills Cop to better suit his strengths,
making it into a pure action flick and as it had been before

(11:42):
Petrie Junior took over script duties.
In Stallone's ending, Axel drives a stolen Lamborghini
towards a freight train being driven by the big bad.
Very different, Very different. Movie producer Don Simpson let
it be known that he did not wantto move forward with Stallone's
revision. Since Stallone wasn't willing to
negotiate the rewrite, Simpson asked writer Charles Chip

(12:02):
Prosser if he would return the script to previous iteration
while leaving most of Stallone'scharacter revisions intact.
However, Prosser found the task and turn around time
preposterous. Stallone ultimately dropped out
two weeks before filming was thestart to concentrate on his next
movie, 1984's box office bomb Rhinestone with Dolly Parton.
He. He went with comedy anyway, and

(12:24):
it didn't turn out for him, but Stallone later used the book of
the ideas he had for the basis of his 1986 movie Cobra.
So if you were not aware, Cobra is his version of Beverly Hills
Cop and the version he wanted todo so.
Very different. So it's kind of like Beverly
Hills Cop's brother. Yeah, yeah.

(12:45):
So I think there's I didn't put all in here.
Those several different stories I kind of pulled from but and in
his in his version, the the cops, the IT wasn't Axel Foley,
it was Cabretti was the last name.
I'm afraid it was a different first name, but yeah.
And it was much more serious. And what?
Cause like Cobra's really dark. It's not a very funny movie.

(13:05):
It's kind of a dark action movie.
So nowhere Stallone was in his head at that time just wanted to
do a dark movie. But anyway, so Martin Breast,
the director, was fired from WarGames in 83, which is a movie we
talked about way back in Season 1.
He was fired from War Game War Games, which would have been his
second directing job. The industry thought he was

(13:26):
damaged goods, but Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer disagreed,
and the two Paramount executivescontinually called Breast and
asked him direct the film. He kept declining and eventually
took his phone off the hook. Simpson took the hint, but
Bruckheimer kept trying. Finally, Breast decided to flip
a coin to make his decision, andheads won.
So he took over took over directing duties.

(13:49):
Of course, the film's producers convinced Eddie Murphy to
replace Stallone, the film prompting more rewrites as
Murphy felt the original script wasn't funny enough.
Besides Stallone and Rourke, other actors who are considered
for the role of Axel Foley in the earlier, more dramatic roles
were Al Pacino and James Caan and Harrison Ford, but they

(14:09):
supposedly turned it down. The final shooting draft of the
script, which was extensively revised with Murphy's input, was
not completed until the day before production began.
Wow, interesting. You know, you don't think of
hardly any of those guys as comedic actors.
No. So Eddie, Eddie Murphy is really
out of the mold of any of those guys, especially at the time.

(14:34):
But he made it his movie. I mean, you know, you, you think
about, you know, quintessential Eddie Murphy movies.
This one is at the top of the list.
Of course, it can't top the humor of like Coming to America,
Trading Places, like those are straight comedies and you're
going to get more laughs out of those.
But this showed that he could befunny and still be serious.

(14:56):
Like he's got, you know, I wouldsay heavy dramatic roles, but
he's not just goofing around thewhole time.
Like there's some, you know, some serious, serious moments.
And, you know, we'll talk a little bit about his stunt
double that does a lot of his stunts.
It's very obvious in the movie too.
But but yeah. But his, you know, him able to
play the different characters and you know, you know, getting

(15:18):
into different, you know, scenarios or whatever, which,
you know, became another trope of a lot of action comedies
after that of like letting comedians use those improv, I'm
sorry, improvisational skills and the different characters
that they've created. And he was famous for on, you
know, Saturday Night Live to putthose into the character on the
for the movie. So definitely worked.

(15:40):
Yes, You know, it reminds me a little bit of like Chevy Chase
and Fletch. Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, when we covered Fletch, like, that was one that me and
Jerry D talked about. And even in that one, they
referenced that they felt like Fletch pulled a lot from Beverly
Hills Cop and, hey, he can play different characters and, you

(16:01):
know, solve a crime. And then even the soundtrack,
like they were, you know, they were comparing like, you know,
if this movie had been made before Beverly Hills Cop, it
would not have been like pop songs during car chase scenes.
It would have been your regular,you know, you know, a score or
whatever. But even that even I think, I
think Faltermeyer did this, the theme for Fletch as well.

(16:22):
So they're very, you know, thosetwo movies are very similar even
with their score, with that heavy synthesized score score.
But yeah. They're both very funny.
Yes, exactly. And both I yeah, Fletch is still
one of my favorite comedies of the 80s for sure.
So that was, you know, Griswold and Fletch are the best
characters, think Chevy's play. Yeah, it's fun.

(16:46):
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Subscribe today and I'll see youon the other side of the page.
Let's jump into casting. Of course, we've talked about
him on several episodes before, but we'll mention him again.
Eddie Murphy, the the great comedian as Detective Axel
Foley. Of course, he shot to fame on

(18:53):
Saturday Night Live. He was a regular cast member
from 1980 to 1984. His 80s films include 48 Hours,
Trading Places, The Golden Child, Coming to America, Harlem
Nights, which he also directed, then in his fame continuing in
the 90s with Boomerang, The Nutty Professor, Doctor
Doolittle, Bowfinger, Daddy Daycare and Norbit.
And of course, he won the GoldenGlobe for Best Supporting Actor

(19:15):
and received a nomination for Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actor for his role inDreamgirls in 2006, which I
thought he was excellent in thatas well, just a good role for
him. So I guess we'll ask.
I hate you haven't been on any of the other Eddie Murphy
episodes I've done, but you havea top three Eddie Murphy films.

(19:35):
Like where would this rank on your favorite Eddie Murphy
movies? Is this number one or any other
of his rank higher for you? I, I don't know, it's, it's very
difficult. It's like picking between your
children. You know, it's almost that way.
I mean, it feels that way. I got to say I, I probably
haven't laughed as much as I didin the nutty professor scene

(19:59):
where they're all around that the family's around the table,
he's playing all the parts. I mean, it's just spectacularly
shot and delivered and timing's great and all the characters are
so different. It's just, it's so fun.
And so that would have to be very close to the top of the
list. But I'll say this, Beverly Hills
Cop is definitely within the topthree.

(20:19):
It's it's definitely there too. I really enjoyed it a lot.
Yeah, yeah, I think as far as the 80s, my top three are
probably Coming to America, Beverly Hills Cop, Trading
Places. I'm not a huge fan of 48 hours.
I've I've, I've watched it againrecently and it's like it has
its moments. But yeah.
But yeah, the 90s who was reallyhe kind of hit his real stride

(20:42):
with Doctor Dolittle nutty professor.
We the big fans of daddy daycare.
I mean, you know, just once again, not trying to be anything
besides just entertaining popcorn movies.
You know, he got more than like the family family style comedy,
which was which was a nice refreshing moment for him.
So. But if you if you wanted to be

(21:02):
guaranteed a laugh, you go see aEddie Murphy movie about it.
You knew it was going to be inherently funny if it was
advertised that way. You know, he did some more
serious things later on his but but certainly was great at that,
too. And you know, he showed a lot of
diversity in roles by doing someof those more serious things
toward the end of his, you know,career.

(21:23):
I won't say end because he was just on the Saturday Night Live
50th anniversary last. Weekend and was killing it, man,
he was. Killing.
Yeah, he was really good. Yeah, yeah.
I was surprised he was as many sketches as he was because I
watched it. I was like, he's back again.
And he was like, I'm sorry. His impression of Tracy Morgan
was spot on. I mean, just too great.
Too great. Yeah, and with, with Tracy

(21:45):
standing right next to him, thatwas a part I just about
couldn't. I couldn't handle.
Man. It was good.
It was good. All right, moving right along,
we got Judge Reinhold as Billy Rosewood.
Of course, we talked about him in our Fast Times at Ridgemont
High episode. He was also in Stripes in 81,
Ruthless People in 86. He has appeared in all four of

(22:05):
the Beverly Hills Cop movies. And of course, he's also been in
the Santa Claus franchise with Tim Allen.
So he's great, as well as Wood. You know, they were talking
about, it was funny, like just two years before this, he was
playing a high school student. Well, I guess he had just
graduated from high school and fast times Ridgemont High, so a
freshman in college. But here he's like a full grown
man, even though he's definitelythe younger cop with the, you

(22:28):
know, the with Taggart being much more like the the veteran
cop that's kind of showing him the ropes.
So, so yeah. So Speaking of Sergeant Taggart,
we've got John Ashton. He appeared as Eric Stoltz
character's father in the 87 John Hughes comedy drama Some
Kind of Wonderful. He also worked here with Hughes
and She's Having a Baby. In 88 he Co starred in Midnight

(22:51):
Run. He was also in a little big
league, Trapped in Paradise, TheShooter, Meet the Deedles
Instinct and he appeared a supporting role in Gone Baby
Gone directed by Ben Affleck. He also played the role of
Cactus Jack Slater in episode ofthe 80s TV show The A-Team
titled Cup of Joe. You know, got to.
Have that that cameo on a on the80s TV show.

(23:15):
So we'll give this a little bit of trivia about casting Rosewood
and Taggart. The director paired up various
finalists and asked to do some improvisation to get a feel for
their chemistry. He paired up Reinhold and Ashton
and gave them the following direction.
He said you're a middle-aged couple, married for years.
You're having a conversation on an average evening.
Reinhold immediately picked up anearby magazine, and the two

(23:36):
improvised the 5 lbs of red meatin his bowels bit almost exactly
as it's appears in the film. So that was actually what they
did during their audition, and it killed in the audition.
And they're like, we just got toput that in the movie, which is
one of my favorite comedy scenesfor sure.
So yeah. It's good, I'm just saying you
drink. You eat a lot of red meat, drink

(23:57):
a lot of coffee, so. But yeah.
I think, you know, that was goodchemistry, good casting of both
Reinhold and Ashton in that rolefor sure.
Yeah, definitely. All right.
And then you've got Lisa. I'll biker, I'll Becker, I'll
mess up your name. But Lisa, who played Jenny, she
only really made two movies thatmost people know about.

(24:19):
That's this and An Officer and aGentleman, which we covered on
the podcast before as well. So.
But she was a dancer and she wasvery much like in a lot of
fitness stuff. I forgot what she got that, but
she didn't really do much after this.
But I thought she was good in the movie.
I thought I was actually surprised thinking that, you
know, after going, she has a really, really small role in
Officer and a Gentleman, but in this she has a pretty prominent
role. And I was surprised she really

(24:40):
didn't do much work after this. I thought this would have kind
of given her more to do, but. Yeah, and her chemistry with
Eddie was really good. I thought, you know, they were
very believable friends, just like Ian, you know, Mikey in the
beginning. Yeah, exactly.
Worked with all of them. So.
Yeah, they had. They played well off each other
for sure. A lot of the jokes and stuff.
So then you've got Steven Berkoff as Victor Maitland as a

(25:03):
screen actor. He's known for his performance
and villainous roles, including portrayals of General Orloff and
James Bond film Octopussy from 1983.
And he was also Lieutenant Court, a Lieutenant Colonel
Podolski and Rambo First Blood Part 2.
And he was also played all AdolfHitler and Warren Remembrance, I
guess was ATV movie from 88 to 89.

(25:25):
So, you know, he wasn't the Super brooding bad guy.
I mean he kind of let his hench men do most of his dirty work.
He was just kind of like the mastermind behind the whole
thing. So yeah, then we got Ronnie Cox
as Lieutenant Boga Mill. The 80s was a high profile
decade for Cox, with stronger supporting roles in several
blockbusters, playing strong willed figures on both sides of

(25:48):
the law. He was in of course, Beverly
Hills Cop and it's sequel Beverly Hills Cop 2, as well as
portraying sinister company executives in the futuristic
sci-fi action films RoboCop in 87 and Total Recall in 1990.
So yeah, I do remember going to see RoboCop and like being
surprised of seeing him play thebad guy, knowing this is a good

(26:08):
guy he played in in the Beverly Hills Cop movies.
So yes, for sure. But did a good job.
Absolutely. We almost got them all.
So now we got more smaller roles.
But Paul Reiser as Detective Jeffrey, of course, you know, I
guess I would say Foley's somewhat partner in crime in
Detroit. So of course he was on the 80s

(26:30):
sitcom MY2 Dads. He was also on the sitcom Mad
About You. He was in the 82 film Diner and
more recently he's been in the 2014 film Whiplash and also on
the Netflix series Stranger Things.
But I've always been a fan of Paul Reiser.
I was a huge fan of my two dads as a kid and and I also was a
big fan of Mad About You in the 90s.

(26:52):
So those those are two strong sitcoms that I watched that I
remember him being on. So it was funny going back and
seeing him in this with such a small role, but still playing
that kind of high energy, neurotic character.
Yeah, and you all? You know, I always wonder when I
watch movies like this that there he was in it so quickly,

(27:14):
you know, and it was almost in athrowaway kind of part, you
know, just talking about hey, man, the boss is really mad at
you. You get don't don't be fine.
You know, you're not safe here. You better get out of here, you
know, But it makes you wonder with them being, you know,
partners, was there more left onthe cutting floor?
Was he ever part of the opening scene or you know, something
before that? Who knows?

(27:35):
But it it certainly he was well known enough to have done more I
think in it, although he's primarily ATV guy.
Yeah, I think. That's why the second one he
they give him a little bit more to do.
Like even though Axel's in California, he's constantly
calling back to Detroit and talking to to him.
So they gave him, you know, I guess he was also became a

(27:56):
little bit more of a star by that point.
And so he had a little bit more credibility.
So that's the one to give him more to do.
But always been a fan of Paul Reiser.
So glad to see him in this again.
Probably my favorite cameo. Bronson Pinchot as Serge, of
course, known for the ABC sitcomPerfect Strangers.
It was also in the movies such as Risky Business at 83, After

(28:17):
Hours 85, True Romance in 93, Let's see Courage Under Fire in
96. He returned for Beverly Hills
Cop Axel F last year, and so he also had his own reality show,
The Bronson Pinchot Project on the DIY Network.
But he's so funny. And, yes, a little clip.
I'm a little trivia by this. Originally, two men were

(28:40):
supposed to be working in the art gallery scenes.
When the director heard Brinson Pinchot's Surge impersonation,
he thought it was so hysterical that he scaled back the other
part to give Pinchot more screentime.
The second actor shows up briefly with the shirt collar
open too wide, which Surge comments on.
Yeah. So that was the other guy.
Yeah. So his.
His. Comic timing is really, really

(29:01):
good. Yeah, it's really good.
He can play off a pause and makeit just running open space and
it's. Funny, because, man, it doesn't.
And I. Really think that they were kind
of improving a little bit in that scene and I'll like no,
we'll talk about later, but I'm going to talk about it now.

(29:21):
But I'll just go ahead and say this is like my favorite scene
of the one of my my ultimate favorite scenes in the movie.
But because if you, I was watching it and I was watching
it today, it you can see Eddie Murphy trying not to laugh every
time Brinson saying it like you can tell it's like not scripted
and Eddie's just trying to he's you know, he's keeping it going,
but he's trying really hard. Like he wants to laugh, but he's

(29:42):
like, I can't like I just, you know, it's just it was just
great to see that like, you know, the two of them together,
like you. That's why they had to bring him
back for all the other, you know, the other ones because
their, their banter between eachother is just so perfect and you
know. And, and the, the part that
makes me laugh in that scene every time is when, you know,
Eddie Murphy's raising his voice, like, get out of here.

(30:03):
Yeah, yeah. Our thing goes.
I know. I know.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're just like.
It's like monkeys almost. Right, Right, right.
It's just funny. Oh, man.
Yeah. Yeah, that's, yes, one of my all
time favorite scenes for sure. So yeah, it's good.
All right, moving around. Along we got Jonathan Banks as
Zach. I didn't know that was his name
but he's the primary henchman you've seen him in other movies

(30:26):
like Airplane in 1980, Gremlins 84 Armed and dangerous 86 under
siege 2 Dark territory 95 Identity thief in 2013 yeah he's
just he he's the one of those that guys you see him he know
exactly. I think he was on the TV show
Wiseguy in the late 80s as well.That was kind of what he was
known for as well. So but yeah, just always plays a

(30:49):
good rooting character. And then I want to make make
mention of Inspector Douglas Todd was played by Gilbert R
Hill. He was a prominent figure in law
enforcement. He appeared in these films
offered he was offered other acting work after the film's
release, but he declined to pursue an acting career but did

(31:09):
appear in the two subsequent sequels of the movie, saying the
only difference between his famous character's life and his
own was he did not curse as muchin real life.
So he said he was actually the head of homicide in the Detroit
Police Department. Martin Breast met him while
visiting Detroit to do research and scout locations for the

(31:30):
film. Breast said.
He almost seemed to me like he could be Eddie's father.
In fact, the idea of Axel Foley holding his gun in the back of
his jeans with no holster was inspired by the way Hill carried
his service revolver. By the time Breast recorded the
commentary on the DVD, Hill was actually running for mayor of
Detroit. But he lost in 2001 to Kwame

(31:50):
Kilpatrick. So.
But yeah, I did remember readingthat before that he was that he
was an actual police officer at,you know, he had that and that
he was running for office. I think he actually did serve as
he served in some office for some for some point of time.
But but yeah, but but a Detroit native.
Too. Yeah, exactly.
I did not know that. That's awesome, given.

(32:12):
Some given some real reality to the to the role, for sure.
Yeah, for sure. And then we'll do the.
Last two are basically just cameos and that's of course
Damon Wayans as quote UN quote banana man.
Of course, you know, that's partof the Wayans family and living
color. He was also in movies like Bo

(32:33):
money, the last Boy Scout, MajorPayne, bulletproof and now he's
on the TV show papa's house on CBS, which is actually pretty
funny with his son Damon Wayans Junior, but just so funny to see
him so young and just a little small role.
That was highly improvised as well, which we'll get into the
find out that bananas was not the was not what was initially

(32:54):
in the script to go and tailpipe.
And we'll talk about that littleteaser for a little bit later in
on the show. So and then do you know who
plays the Beverly Palms hotel checkout clerk at the end of the
movie? No, I don't.
That is the director. Martin Breast.
Oh really? Cameo?
Yep. As a checkout clerk.
So Yep. But yeah, Martin breast, his

(33:14):
feature debut going in style in 1979.
He after Beverly Hills Cop. He did Midnight Run in 88.
He directed Scent of a Woman in 92 starring Al Pacino which won
Who wanted best Academy, I mean who won an Academy Award for
best Actor first performance. He followed it with Meet Joe
Black in 98 which received mixedreviews.

(33:35):
His next and last film was Geelyin 2003.
After disagreements with Breast and Revolution Studios, creative
control was taken away from him resulted in a radically
rewritten and reshot version of the original film being
released, which became his firstand only non profitable film and
in fact a major box office bomb receiving scathing reviews.
And that's his last film that he's made to date.

(33:57):
So after that he was like, I'm done.
I'm not going to do it anymore. So understandable.
But but he made so. Many good films.
I mean, yeah, I bet he's glad heflipped that coin.
Oh yeah, for sure. For sure.
So, yeah. So anybody else in the cast that
you wanted to mention or did I cover them all?
No. I thought that Inspector Todd, I

(34:19):
did not know that about him being a cop, but it makes some
sense seeing, you know, the way that he handled Eddie Murphy's
character. And I'm sure he was probably
consulting on a lot of the things they were doing too, you
know, since they were using. There's police work on all
fronts of this movie, so. Right, right, all right, let's

(34:39):
tech talk. Iconic scene.
So if someone mentions in passing Beverly Hills Cop,
what's the first scene that popsin your head?
What's the scene that you think is the most iconic of the movie?
Well, for me. I, I, I have to think it's
Axel's first roll into Beverly Hills.
Because. There's so many things he just

(35:01):
stops and and he even at one point, you know, sees these guys
walking down the street and he and they're wearing these
leather, you know, outfits. And I don't know if you've seen
his early comedy show involved, but.
He wears a suit. Just like one of them.
But he, but he. Walks past it and he does that.
I mean that. That typical?

(35:22):
Eddie Murphy laugh that we've that's really not his character,
but you know, and and that's when I know that that was poking
a little fun of himself, you know, and and and his Hollywood
self, you know, but and you know, just the the differences
in the opening scenes of how rundown Detroit is in the

(35:44):
opening credits and what he's seeing then in in Beverly Hills,
you know, and he gets inside that.
I mean, it's not just one scene,I guess, but the idea of this is
is pretty prominent in my mind when I think about it.
You know, he gets put in that police car and he's looking
around and he's like, this is the nicest police car ever been
in my life. This is actually bigger in my

(36:05):
apartment. Right, right, right.
Exactly. So you know it's going to.
Be different. I mean, everything's different
there. So yeah, the contrast plays a
big role in the movie. I mean, it really.
Oh, for sure, yeah. That was all that, the fish out
of water. You definitely see that at the
beginning of him kind of rollingthrough and and seeing
everything around. Like, yeah, I'm definitely not
in Detroit anymore. It's a different world over

(36:26):
here. So, yeah, yeah.
The other scene I think that that comes to my mind pretty
pretty quickly is the the 1:00 where they're in the strip club.
Not for the nudity or anything like that.
I will put that out there for everybody listening.
I'm not a fan of that stuff. But what I am a fan of in that
one is he diagnosis that crime before it happens.

(36:46):
And it gives a lot of credence to his character in the face of
those other two cops who were sitting right there and didn't
notice anything, you know, beingbut it just goes to show what a
really good true police officer actually fully was at, you know,
he was out there to to to reallyfocus in on his buddy's murder,

(37:10):
right? But while he was there, I mean,
he's not immune to picking up onthings that are happening,
right? That goes a long way toward
advancing that the credibility of his character.
So. Yeah, I agree.
Yeah, that's another strong scene, like you said, because of
that. What happens in that scene of
him picking up on the two guys coming in with the long trench
coaster like it's July, I don't or it's the middle of June.

(37:31):
Don't you think it's weird to bewearing a long trench coat as
he's wearing a hoodie? But anyway.
But but, but yeah, but then and then you know, him and him smart
enough to talk to Taggart of being the veteran.
Like, hey, you look at this, look at that.
You know, I'm not messing, you know, I'm not trying to, you
know, blow you guys off from being serious.
And for, you know, say like thisis the time where, you know, you

(37:52):
they're both, you know, I'm, I want to put my trust in you
guys. You got my back.
You know, they're going to decide if they're going to trust
in him as well. And so that that does kind of
solidify that that trust that they have in the partnership
that they're developing. So, so yeah, I mean.
He says unequivocably something about to go down.
Yeah. And exactly, exactly right.

(38:12):
He's exactly right, yeah. And of course, how he handles it
like Phillip. Is that you?
Phillip. And then he's almost, he's
almost doing a Bill Cosby impression.
Almost. It's real.
Yeah. It's.
Close. Real close.
Yeah. So yeah, but yeah, yeah, for
iconic scenes for me, the him being thrown through the glass
after meeting Victor the 1st. I mean, that's just I mean

(38:35):
prominent and like all the all the commercials and stuff, but
that scene always sticks out my mind.
And then him holding or him or and or his stuntman swinging
from the cigarette truck and theopening sequence, like what a
great opening sequence to the movie of like just coming in
straight, you know, a little bitof funny at the you know, you
see the the town and then you meet Axel, a little bit of

(38:56):
funny, being a character of, youknow, being undercover.
But then when the action hits, Imean that full scene, like all
the cars that truck did damage to.
I was like, man, that was like, you know, no CGI in this.
I mean they were tearing up somesome cars.
How much money I. Know I'm still thinking the same
thing, yeah. And seeing him swinging on the,
you know, swinging on the on theoutside of the truck and then

(39:18):
getting thrown back and being tossed with all the boxes, I
just thought, you know, it's just a great, great action
scene. And then, yeah, but it pretty
much any scene with him playing a character is, is always fun.
Like him coming to see Maitland at the at the restaurant and you
know, he I won't do the impression, but you know, he's

(39:39):
like doing an impression. Try to talk to him directly.
And so just all that stuff is fun.
And then when he's in the warehouse and he pretends to be
like the customs agent or whatever and wants to see all
the paperwork. So just his his ability to
improv and those sequence sequences and convince the
people that he is who he says heis, you know, so just just.

(40:00):
I think. It's cool, too.
You mentioned that cigarette scene in the very beginning.
You know, that action sequence. I think it's a fantastic scene.
It part of it is that you don't know who he is in the beginning.
Yeah, exactly. He's playing one of those
characters we've already talked about, right, That he plays
throughout this film different kinds of roles that fit in
certain situations. And in this time, it's

(40:22):
undercover cop, but you don't really know that.
At the end of that whole sequence, the cops line up with
their guns, you know, pointed the back of that truck and and
you think at first it might shoot the guy, but then they
say, ah, and they put their gunsdown.
He says, holy, we should have known it was you, Right.
Right. Oh, OK.
OK. I kind of see what's going on

(40:43):
now. So.
Yep. Yep, well done.
All right, so favorite scenes, do you have a you have a
absolute favorite sound, kind ofwe kind of talked about it
already, but is there one that stands out as like your ultimate
favorite? Well, I like AI, like a lot of
the scenes in the movie, you know, the the iconic line about,
you know, where he says I'm not going to fall for the banana on

(41:05):
the tail, but like, you got to, you got to bring that from down
here, man. Right, right.
The banana on the tail. But yeah, yeah.
Got to train him how to. Retrain him how to talk.
That's one of my. Favorites in the whole thing.
Man, I just it, it just makes melaugh.
I mean, you know, it's coming, you know?
Yeah. I mean and it.
Still makes you laugh every time.

(41:27):
That's a real sign of something that's.
Yeah, that was one thing that I remember, like I was a probably
a teenager when probably when I watched it on TV and recorded it
and all my friends, we had watched it.
And that was something we would yell at each other on the
playground, like, you know, playing baseball in the back,
you know, after school or whatever.
And, you know, I had fallen for the man in the cell pipeline

(41:47):
that we just, you know, screamedat each other and we just that
inside joke. It's one of those one of those
things. So.
Yeah. But yeah, I mentioned the Axel
and Serge's first scene together.
And my favorite part of that is him trying is Serge trying to
say his name? Do you let him know Akhil.
Akhil Axel Foley is here to see her?

(42:09):
Like, he just didn't even say itagain.
Like I just that just once again, just perfect, you know,
some comedy timing, perfect situation and yeah, just it's
that's just my that's one of my favorite scenes.
So yeah, another. Hilarious throwaway line.
I really love in this film is when he drives up to that
Country Club and he's going to give the valet guy this valet

(42:33):
guy there, you know, he's driving this beat up hunk of
junk. And you you mentioned was was
taken from Aizer's original ideaof driving a old hoopty down the
streets of Hollywood. And he says, he says, man, put
this in a good spot. All this stuff happened last
time I was here. It's.
Hilarious that like, perfect. Perfect line, terrible as his

(42:54):
car. Looks it makes it so much
funnier, right? Yeah, and I like it when he
liked the scene about the but I have the tailpipe when the, the
second team, now we're the firstteam or whatever.
And they're like, you know, I'm just having a picnic and he he's
got like a cooler with sandwich and stuff.
And then Nathan leaves like, oh,well, I'm about to go see the
sights and he closes the the trunk and oh, yeah, just just

(43:17):
good stuff. Good stuff.
It is good. Alright, well, let's.
Hit some scene, some trivia about some of the other scenes.
Maybe I think of some other parts of the movie.
Remember, I thought this was cool.
We mentioned that Martin Breast was fired from War Games, but
the production he was unable to gain access to the actual

(43:37):
Beverly Hills Police Department.The said they constructed for
this was a complete fantasy. 1 Breast mentions he knows looks
nothing like the real department.
They wanted it to appear as as different from the Detroit Peace
Police Department as possible. They wanted to make it look like
private security for all rich people.
One of the class issues Breast wanted to include in the film.

(43:58):
He also mentions later on the commentary that much of the
police, the Police Department set was based off conceptual
designs. He and his crew had come up for
the no rad scenes and war games,which, you know, a lot of time
was spent creating this set and Breast didn't want it to go to
waste. And going back like knowing that
was there when I watched it again today, you can kind of see

(44:19):
it like far off in the back. You can see like the computers
and the like the old stock computers with like little reel
to reel, but you know, the little round pieces that are
moving. And then everybody, there's all
these different panels with likescreens.
I was like, yeah, it really doeslook like a computer, like a
military more so than a Police Department.

(44:39):
And there's a. Lot of glass all through the
place. Yeah, it's I.
Can see that too, yeah. Eddie Murphy, John Ashton, and
Judge Ronald improvised most of their comic lines.
Literally hundreds of takes wereruined by cast members, actors,
or the director laughing during shooting.
During the Super Cops monologue,Ashton is pinching his face hard

(45:01):
and looking down in apparent frustration.
He's actually laughing. Reinhold put his hand in his
pocket and pinched his thigh really hard, trying to prevent
himself from laughing. So I don't know if you go back
and watch that scene and I thinkin that scene, I don't know if
that's if that's in here or not,but I read it.
I didn't put it on here. But you know, Eddie Murphy

(45:21):
doesn't drink. He's he doesn't like anything.
He's never done drug. Well, that's what he says.
I'm going to believe him. He never did drugs, doesn't
drink. But even when he was working, so
when they were filming that scene, it had been a long day
and he was getting tired. And so I said, you know, hey, do
you want some coffee? Because I know because I don't
like putting. He only wanted natural stuff to
drink. He didn't want any coffee, but

(45:43):
it got to the point where he waslike, I can't stay awake.
And so he's like, yeah, just give me a cup of coffee.
They said he was like almost couldn't be contained because he
was like talking so fast and moving.
I said, if you watching that scene, his eyes are moving
faster during that scene than inthe other scenes because and he
like spit out the lines a lot faster than normal because it
was his first time having caffeine.

(46:04):
So, you know, stuff you read on the Internet, whether it's true
or not, I don't know. But it I think it's a fun story.
All right, so we talked about earlier, talk about it again
here that about the soundtrack. Harold Faltermeyer, who composed
the score for barely those cop and the theme song called Axel
F, which became a worldwide top ten hit on pop radio, referred
to this song as the banana and the exhaust theme because it was

(46:25):
originally composed exclusively for the scene where Axel puts
the pulls the banana prank. However, the theme was so loved
for fitting perfectly within thecontext of the scene that it
ended up becoming the main themeof the film.
So he was just what he put in there.
Yeah. But let's talk a little bit
about the soundtrack because that it was one of those, you
know, I would say the early 80s,like 838485 was kind of the

(46:50):
prime of pop music and soundtracks that the the
marriage of those two things. You Top Gun, you know,
Footloose, Dirty Dancing, Beverly Hills Cop.
I mean those are all synonymous with, you know, how many songs
made it to the radio from that soundtrack?
And you know, of course, BeverlyHills cop with being have an

(47:11):
instrumental and I didn't faltermeyer do the theme for
Miami Vice. Am I getting that right?
I think that's correct. I think so.
So he kind of already been, he was already known for that
because I think even the Miami Vice theme was played on radio
too, if I remember correctly. So it wasn't a first for him,
but it was kind of setting that trend.
But yeah, you've got the Heat isOn with the Glenn Frey in the

(47:34):
opening, which is a great, greatsong.
And then The Pointer Sisters Neutron dance, another good one.
And so, yeah, just a great sound.
Now, you worked at Turtles Music, so I'm sure you you heard
the soundtrack a lot. Yeah, A.
Bunch and you know it, it was just great songs and the the
songs, though, stand alone fine,but they also evoke memories of

(47:57):
the time that they occurred in, which is great.
I mean, I think that's another good aspect to show that they
fit together really, really, really well.
And you know, I I like the aspect of having The Pointer
Sisters in there. You've got this whole Detroit,
you know, aspect of it and Motown was that's the center of

(48:18):
it all, you know, and so to havethem being a real prominent
musical role in the film, I thought was just genius.
Good stuff. Very good.
All right, last little piece of trivia here.
According to Murphy, Beverly Hills Cop changed cop movies, or
as he put it, before that movie,cops were go ahead and make my

(48:39):
day. And Charles Bronson and Clint
Eastwood. After that movie is when cops
started having little wisecracks.
After that movie, all the cops tried to be kind of funny in the
quote. So it's like, I don't think he's
wrong. I mean that, you know, that
Stallone and Schwarzenegger kindof got into the quips shortly
thereafter. And of course, you know, Bruce

(48:59):
Willis and Die Hard. But yeah, they did.
They started adding more comedy elements to to the action movies
from that point. So I think he was on to
something there. I think he's correct.
Yes, the 80s Flick Flashback Podcast will return after these
messages. What's up dudes?
I'm Jerry D of Totally Rad Christmas, the podcast that
talks all things Christmas in the 80s.

(49:20):
Toys, movies, specials, music, books, fashion and fads if it
was. Gnarly during Christmas in the
80s. He's got it covered.
Wait, is there a lot of things to talk about for the 80s and
Christmas? Well, you got the.
Movie giants like Christmas Vacation, Scrooged and A
Christmas Story. There are TV specials like
Muppet Family Christmas, Claymation Christmas Celebration
and a Garfield Christmas specialplus classic.

(49:42):
Shown every year you also jam. Out to last Christmas?
Do they know it's Christmas and Christmas in Hollis?
But most of all, it was a time for the most bodacious, best
selling Christmas toys ever likehe man, GI Joe, Transformers and
Cabbage. Patch Kids.
Yes, them. Too, We cover them all plus much
more, including standard segments like Hap Hap, Happiest
memory, Gagging with the spoon, the other half of the battle,

(50:04):
and Chant with the. Littles so tune.
In to Totally Rad Christmas everywhere you get your
podcasts, turn the clock back and dive into those warm and
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Hey there fellow 80s movie aficionados, Are you ready to
embark on a nostalgia filled journey to the greatest era of
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(50:26):
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Join us every week if we rewind the VHS tape, dust off those
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(50:50):
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(51:12):
Life for you, and we can be found anywhere you listen to
your podcast as well as on our website
www.retrolifethe#4theletteru.com.All right, Box Office Beverly

(51:33):
Hills Cop was released on December 5th, 1984.
It debuted in first place at theUS box office.
The film stayed at number one for 13 consecutive weeks and
returned to number one on its 15th week, making 14 non
consecutive weeks at #1 tying Tootsie for the film with the
most weeks at #1. It earned $234 million on a $13

(51:56):
million budget, made more money than both of Murphy's previous
hits, 48 Hours in Trading Places, and was the top grossing
film of 84 that also received critical acclaim of nominations
for Best Picture at the Golden Globes and Best Original
Screenplay at the Oscars. It did not win, but it was.
As always, it's an honor just tobe nominated.

(52:17):
Yep. I think the screenplay is
fantastic. I mean, I really do.
It's is outstanding writing fromthe jump.
You know, all the you really feel like you're connected to
those two guys in the beginning.And when his buddy gets killed,
even though it's really, really early on in the movie, you feel
the pain of that from actually, I mean, and it's just because a

(52:39):
lot of it's due to good writing in the beginning that sets those
things up. And like I said before, the the
chemistry of the actors was really good and you just believe
it as it goes long so. You know they say.
The mark of real good charactersas they make changes during the
movie, they they change somehow,right?
And although Axel doesn't changea lot, the characters around him

(53:03):
do, right? Especially those Beverly Hills
cops. You know, those two guys are
very, very straight laced. They're super by the book, you
know, all those, especially Taggart.
Yeah, that that moment towards the end, just before they storm,
you know, Maitland's property. He's, you know, almost talking
about I'm going to rescue right here.

(53:23):
You know, if you break that, pick that lock and go in, I'm a
rescue myself. And then that moment happens
where he's like, you're going into Rosewood.
Well, hold on. And he goes back to the car.
And at first I thought I was going to pull out handcuffs, but
he pulled out a big shotgun thatgoes with him.
And and you're like, all right, now he's made the big change.

(53:43):
He's on the Detroit side of things now.
You know, he's he's kind of pushing boundaries with Axel and
the Crusoe. Yeah.
Yep. Exactly.
Even with, you know, thinking about they were how many
revisions the script went through and for it to still be
nominated, you know, says a lot about, you know, it doesn't have
to be perfect the first time, and you just keep working at it

(54:03):
until it works. Yeah, so sure.
All right, now we. Come to the new segment where we
take a look at how well this 80sflick holds up today.
This is the all new Rewatch Ability Nostalgia Meter.
It's our way of measuring how enjoyable a movie is for repeat
viewings along with the waves ofnostalgia it brings.
Here's how it works. It's a one to 10 scale.
Any number between 1:00 and 10:00 will do, but here are a

(54:24):
few parameters to help you decide #1 would be.
I saw it once and that was enough.
This is for movies that didn't leave a lasting impact.
Maybe it was fun at the time, but there's not enough there to
make you want to go back for more.
Right in the middle would be a 5A good rewatch every couple of
years. It has some memorable moments or
themes that stick with you, but they're not something you feel

(54:45):
you need to watch all the time. And then of course, The Perfect
10 is highly rewatchable and full of nostalgia.
These are the kind of films you watch on repeat without ever
getting tired of them. They're packed with nostalgia,
offering that perfect blend of sentimental value and timeless
appeal. So Chris, where does Beverly
Hills Cop land on your rewatch ability nostalgia meter?

(55:08):
Well this is my. First time judging a film on the
rewatch ability and nostalgia meter, but I'm I'm I'm going to
say that I weigh in at an 8 on this very good.
I think that as I watched it back through, especially this
week when I watched it for, for this, you know, taping we're

(55:29):
doing now, I really try to look at it as does this film hold up
now today? Yeah.
And it certainly does. It certainly does.
If if Beverly Hills Cop had never been made back then.
Right. And it obviously it's not, it's
not huge on effects because those things didn't exist as
they do now. But you could rewrite.

(55:51):
I mean, you can recast it now with modern, you know, folks,
the screenplay would hold up just as well in 2025 as it did
back in 84. There's no doubt about it.
It's it's pretty timeless story,you know, of people, you know,
trying to try to seek revenge onsomebody that's close to them.
They got, you know, killed. We don't all have that in our

(56:14):
hearts, but I bet police officers do.
They probably. See that A?
Good bit in their lives, you know, and so I would say, and
again, the music adds to that, the fact that you've got your
Detroit versus your, you know, sparkly clean, shiny Beverly
Hills, you know, those contrastsand the contrast and the styles

(56:35):
of characters to that that portrayed in those two areas.
It's just really, really a a good movie, I think.
And it's one that I don't mind watching anytime it comes on.
Yeah. Yeah, very good points.
Very good, very good. I was going to say, yeah, I'm
right there with you. 8 is, is right where I would going to put
it as well. It's, you know, it's not one
that I can watch like every weekall the time, but it ranks

(56:57):
really high on nostalgia becauseit's a movie I, I have a
fondness for watching when I wasyounger, you know, enjoying it
as a kid and seeing it and, you know, all the funny lines that,
like I said, using, you know, repeating the lines we could
repeat as kids, you know, with our friends.
But but yeah. And it's, it's, it's a, it's a
good movie. Like you said, the, it's got a

(57:19):
solid story. Like the, it, it's not.
They had it. It was well thought out of what
the plot was going to be. And the humor isn't trying to
make up for a bad plot. It's just adding to his adding
and elevating that plot even more by adding the humor.
And of course, Eddie Murphy's, you know, timing and his
improvisation on the characters he can play, which I think is

(57:41):
where it would be tough to redo today.
You know, I mean, there's still some people that could that
there are some actors that coulddo that now, but you know, it's
only because he did it back then.
So it's like, you know, it's hard.
That's how it's hard to do thosethings, you know, reboots and
things like that of of that, because you're you're trying to,

(58:01):
you know, you're trying to make lightning, put lightning in a
bottle again. And so it's impossible to do.
But, you know, I think, and I think I also didn't put in the
notes, but you know, he a Murphyturned down Ghostbusters to do
this. So which, you know, both movies,
he would have been a hit in either movie.
But this one really set his trajectory of being the a

(58:22):
leading a leading man, you know,being able to carry a picture
himself and showing that he could be more than just the
funny guy and do action and do some some serious there as well.
So, so yeah, solid 8, which is which still is high, still a
good, good number. So I think that works.
That brings up an. Interesting question.
This is I'm going to hit you outof left field on this one, But

(58:44):
if they were going to do a remake today, right, who do you
think would be best in the Axel Foley role?
Maybe a Jamie Foxx maybe. I mean, he's, he's on the short
list, I think in my mind, yeah. Yeah, the guy that was in.
Of course he did this a little bit, but the guy that was in

(59:05):
Rush Hour movies, Who's that? Oh, Chris Tucker.
Yeah, Chris Tucker. Yeah.
He's maybe. A little bit too over the top,
yeah, yeah. I think, I think for this movie,
they're a little probably too old because Eddie was probably
in his what, late 20s, maybe early 30s then.
So, yeah, both of those guys are, you know, and up there a

(59:25):
little bit more. But those are good.
I mean, those are good for improvisation.
It's bad because only because he's such a good impressionist.
But Jay Pharaoh, who was on Saturday Night Live, I mean,
he's he's about the closest to it.
Eddie Murphy, I think we have now with his ability to play
different characters and stuff like that, he's the only one
that stands out to me, even though he's doesn't really, he

(59:49):
hasn't made a name for himself in that that essence.
But that might be good to like, put him on the map for something
like that. But yeah, but yeah, it needs to
be somebody that can play different characters.
Like I wouldn't want to. Kevin Hart.
That's just, you know, always plays the same character over
and over again. So yeah, that's like, I mean,
it's a good question that were it to be successful, I would

(01:00:11):
think you would need to be a relative unknown, maybe not like
completely unknown, but somebodythat hasn't really broke out to
the level like, you know, Eddie Murphy had success this this
catapulted that success. Now I think you would need kind
of that same someone who's recognizable but hasn't quite
hit that blockbuster status yet.And this would would do it for
him. So yeah, I have to think about

(01:00:33):
that a little bit more. That's an interesting.
Idea to recast movies. You know, they're doing a lot of
remakes these days anyway, so. Oh yeah, yeah.
Well, they had talked about doing ATV show, I think they
even shot a pilot before they did the movie.
And there was a guy they had cast, I can't remember his name,
but he was like an up and cominglike TV actor.

(01:00:56):
But I haven't seen he hasn't done anything like since then.
But I thought he was, I thought he would have been a good like
to play Foley's son and kind of taking over whatever that was
going to be. Like the plot was really like
nobody really knew. There were there were ideas of
what the plot was, quote UN quote ideas.
And I think somewhere that, you know, Foley had become a little
bit more stern in his old age and his son was more like him

(01:01:19):
when he was younger. And so he become more became
more like how to buy the book. And his son was kind of taking
the chances and trying to get him to see, you know.
So anyway, yeah, I got. You we've seen.
We've seen. That story before too, so maybe
that's why it didn't work, so I will.
Crystal, I appreciate you being on this episode and talking
about Beverly Hills Cop. Always a pleasure to have you on

(01:01:40):
the show, my friend. I know we talk all the time, but
everybody else is going to hear our conversation, so this is a
good way to do it. Alright, I gotta ask.
Because you mentioned it earlierbut you never said what was it
supposed to be instead of bananas?
I didn't. Put that in there.
So it was actually supposed to be potatoes.
And so yes, yeah, I thought I had it in my notes, but I didn't
put in there. So yeah, in the script, it was

(01:02:01):
actually gonna put potatoes in really of the tailpipe, but
there was some issue with tryingto find potatoes the right size
or right kind of potatoes. And so I think they just saw
like a guy on the on the street with a fruit stand and they're
like, oh, let's use bananas. And so they threw together.
That's why Damon Wayans was kindof like a last minute call.
Like they asked like, who do youknow in town that could just do

(01:02:23):
this part? And he caught on Damon and Damon
came in and like shot at that one day.
So So yeah, it was that was one of those, you know, very
memorable scene that was very different and and when it was
written. But yeah, originally it was
potatoes and not bananas, so I can't I.
Don't think I would laugh this much, you said.
I'm not going to fall for the potato.
Doesn't have the same, doesn't have the same ring to it.

(01:02:44):
Yeah, no. The idea of that line would not
be nearly as iconic. Yeah.
So there you go. So that'll be your if you're if
you're at some trivia night and you know you're down.
The last question somebody says in 1984 is Beverly Hills Cop,
what was in the original script to be used instead of bananas?
And you'll be like, I know this one.
That's right. That's.
Right. Just just.

(01:03:04):
Just remember to thank the podcast in your acceptance
speech. So yeah, for.
Sure. All right, everybody.
Thank you so much for joining usfor this episode.
Thanks again for tuning in. I'm Tim Williams, the 80s flick
flashback podcast. I ain't following a banana tail
fight talking to 80s We will runwhere every day is just pure

(01:03:27):
fun. Cooties.
Never say thy They're your mind.In those films we lose our mind.

(01:03:50):
John Hughes and all his teen dreams, montages and simple way
themes. In fairest hands the city bends.
Living life like it never ends. You're still here.
It's over. Go home.

(01:04:17):
Go.

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#129 - "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984) with Chris McMichen

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}#129 - "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984) with Chris McMichen