The Last Boy Scout
1991
**½
Director: Tony Scott
Cast: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham, Taylor Negron, Danielle Harris, Halle Berry, Bruce McGill, Badja Djola, Kim Coates, Chelcie Ross, Joe Santos, Clarence Felder, Tony Longo, Frank Collison
A cynical private detective joins forces with a disgraced former football player to investigate a killing that seems to be linked to a powerful football-team owner and a corrupt politician. Tony Scott's bombastic buddy action comedy was written by Shane Black and Greg Hicks. Like many of Black's screenplays, it features two mismatched men who banter while killing bad guys. This time, the story is sketchy, and Bruce Willis' PI character is so effortlessly competent that he seems almost detached from reality. The dialogue contains some funny lines, but the exchanges often feel scripted and overly macho. This testosterone-fueled action film does feature two female characters: a stripper and a cheating wife.
