''Downtown'' is a 1990 American buddy cop

action comedy Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

film directed by Richard Benjamin. The film starred Anthony Edwards,

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. After making his f ...

Penelope Ann Miller Penelope Ann Miller (born Penelope Andrea Miller; January 13, 1964), sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress. She began her career on Broadway in the 1985 original production of ''Biloxi Blues'' and received a Tony Award no ...

and

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American character actor who has appeared in over 150 films, television and stage productions. After his early roles in the television series '' M*A*S*H'' and the 1983 comedy '' Risky Bu ...

Plot

Police Officer Alex Kearney is a patrolman in Bryn Mawr, an affluent, plush suburb of Philadelphia--until he stops an important businessman and his account of the incident is not believed. As punishment, he is assigned to work Downtown, considered the most dangerous, high-crime precinct in the city. Everyone at the precinct is certain that the 'by the book' suburban, pampered cop is going to get himself (and whoever is assigned as his partner), killed. Sergeant Dennis Curren draws the unfortunate 'babysitting' assignment. However, when Alex's best friend is killed investigating a stolen car, Alex throws the book out the window tracking down the killer.

Cast

* Anthony Edwards as Officer Alex Kearney *

as Sergeant Dennis Curren *

as Lori Mitchell *

as White *

David Clennon David Clennon (born May 10, 1943) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Miles Drentell in the ABC series '' thirtysomething'' and ''Once and Again'', as well as his role as Palmer in the John Carpenter film '' The Thing''. He ...

as Jerome Sweet * Art Evans as Henry Coleman * Rick Aiello as Mickey Witlin * Roger Aaron Brown as Lieutenant Sam Parral *

Ron Canada Ronald Ellis Canada (born May 3, 1949) is an American actor with a specialty in portraying judges and detectives. He is best known for '' One on One'' (2001–2004), ''The Shield'' (2003–2004), and '' Lone Star'' (1996). Career Following ...

as Lowell Harris *

Wanda De Jesus Wanda De Jesus (born August 26, 1958) is an American actress. She was the fourth actress to portray Santana Andrade in NBC's soap opera '' Santa Barbara''. Aside from her work on soap operas, De Jesus appeared in several TV shows in a guest st ...

as Luisa Diaz * Francis X. McCarthy as Inspector Ben Glass (credited as Frank McCarthy) * Kimberly Scott as Christine Curren * Danuel Pipoly as Skip Markowitz * Ron Taylor as Bruce Tucker *

Vinnie Curto Vinnie Curto (born July 10, 1955) is an American former professional boxer. Curto was managed by actor Sylvester Stallone and trained by Angelo Dundee. Boxing career IBF Super Middleweight Championship Curto lost twice to IBF Champion Chong- ...

as Mr. Lopez

Production

Though the plot of the movie references a Philadelphia suburb, Bryn Mawr, most of the exterior filming is done within the City of Philadelphia. The beginning of the film features Cresheim Valley Road, Stenton, and Germantown Avenues. This is in the Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods. There are a few early scenes that are filmed in and around Los Angeles. The scene where Anthony Edwards pretends to pull over Penelope Ann Miller is filmed on Yale Street, in Claremont, CA. Later portions of the film are in the Fairhill and Norris Square neighborhoods which are now known as "The Badlands" circa 2000. Diamond Street is within this area, but Philadelphia police districts are numbered, not named for streets or neighborhoods.

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews.

Hal Hinson Hal Hinson is an American film critic who wrote for ''The Washington Post'' from 1987 to 1997. As of July 2015 he has 887 reviews collected on the website Rotten Tomatoes. Hinson has been cited as a critic who is unpopular with his fellow critic ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' called the film racist for picturing "the inner city as an all-black criminal hell-town where the men who walk the streets are much less human than the people in the all-white suburbs." David Nusair of ''Reel Films'' called it " lentlessly bland and hopelessly unfunny."

References

External links

* * * {{Richard Benjamin 1990 films 1990s action comedy-drama films 1990s crime comedy-drama films 20th Century Fox films American action comedy-drama films American buddy cop films American crime comedy-drama films Films directed by Richard Benjamin Films set in Philadelphia Films scored by Alan Silvestri 1990s police comedy films Fictional portrayals of the Philadelphia Police Department Buddy comedy films 1990s buddy cop films 1990 comedy films 1990 drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films