Alan Arkin and James Caan are scrappy, eternally clashing San Francisco police partners assigned to protect a mob leader from a hitman in this 1974 buddy cop film from director Richard Rush that features careening car chases, free-for-all fights, and heedless, irresponsible lawmen. This offbeat mix of cynical ‘70s cop cinema and slapstick crime farce was the original buddy cop action comedy, the first to mix gritty, high-octane stunt scenes with a brash, brazen sense of humor and sardonic attitude. Arkin and Caan are the classic bad cop/worse cop team, knocking around suspects after the least bit of provocation and engaging in impetuous chases with reckless disregard for the consequences (including spectacular property damage). Think Dirty Harry by way of the Marx Brothers, with screeching, squealing chase sequences and driving stunts recalling Bullitt and The French Connection, only with a slapstick twist. The stereotypes are painfully dated—the steady stream of racial slurs aimed by Caan's Freebie (so named because he cajoles bribes from restaurants and stores) at Arkin's Bean is played for humor and the treatment of a young gay hustler is homophobic at best—but it's all also oddly appropriate for this raucous film, which satirizes machismo. And even with the rampant sexism and blithe brutality there are moments of tenderness and emotional vulnerability. Costarring Loretta Swit, Alex Rocco, and Valerie Harper, this godfather to Lethal Weapon, Bad Boys, and countless other films is recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Freebie and the Bean
Warner, 113 min., R, Blu-ray: $21.99 Volume 32, Issue 6
Freebie and the Bean
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