BAD BOYS (1995)

MORGAN'S RATING

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence joins forces to bring us this explosive, action-packed box office hit. Top Miami detectives Mike Lowery and Marcus Brunette have 72 hours to find $100 million worth of heroin before Internal Affairs shuts them down. Lowery becomes more involved after a friend is murdered by the drug dealers. Matters become further complicated when Lowery and Brunette have to switch places to convince a sole witness of the murder to cooperate.

Will Smith (Mike Lowrey), Martin Lawrence (Marcus Burnett), Tea Leoni (Julie Mott), Joe Pantoliano (Captain Howard), Tcheky Karyo (Fouchet), Theresa Randle (Theresa Burnett), Marg Helgenberger (Alison Sinclair), Frank John Hughes (Casper), Emmanuel Xuereb (Eddie Dominguez), Marc Macaulay (Noah Trafficante), Ralph Gonzalez (Kuni), Vic Manni (Ferguson), Mike Kirton (Andy), Will Knickerbocker (Officer Bill O'Fee), Tiffany Samuels (Megan Burnett), Cory Hodges (James Burnett), Scott Cumberbatch (Quincy Burnett), Anna Levine (Francine), Joey Romano (Detective), Nestor Serrano (Detective Sanchez), Julio Oscar Mechoso (Detective Ruiz), Michael Imperioli (Jojo), Karen Alexander (Max Logan), Heather Favis (Lois Fields), Maureen Gallagher (Yvette), Shaun Toub (Store Clerk), Kevin Corrigan (Elliot), Buddy Bolton (Wally), John Salley (Hacker Fletcher), Kim Coates (Caracker, uncredited).

WHATCHA GONNA DO?

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Michael Bay (Armageddon).

WRITERS: George Gallo, Michael Barrie, Jim Mulholland and Doug Richardson.

PRODUCERS: Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Lucas Foster and Bruce S. Pustin.

ORIGINAL MUSIC: Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin.

DISTRIBUTOR: Columbia Pictures.

QUOTES

Captain Howard: Ho, what did I say? Did you hear what I said? I heard what I said 'cause I was standing there when I said it.

Howard: Until then, until then, you are Mike Lowery, you be him, that's what you are, you're him! Marcus Burnett: But I... Howard: You're him, I don't wanna hear it, you're him! And you, you're you, you be you, but not in front of her. You're him, you're you.

FACTS

RELEASE DATE: April 7th, 1995 (USA)

Mike: Hell! We're your new neighbors. Don't be alarmed, we're negros. Marcus: Naw man, you use too much bass in your voice. That scares white folks. You got to sound more like them. (In high pitched voice) We were wondering if we could borrow a cup of brown sugar.

BOX OFFICE OPENING: $15.5 million (USA)

BOX OFFICE RESULT: $65.8 million (USA)

WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $140.8 million

BUDGET: $23 million (USA) - Followed by a sequel: Bad Boys II (2003)

Casper: Jesus! Could you use a smaller gun? You got blood on me again!

CRITICAL COMMENTS

Mike: Y'all drive slow enough to drive Miss Daisy.

"Highly formulaic but not altogether disposable Miami actioner...wildly uneven comedy is aided by the spin Leoni puts on her role...a robust half hour padded into two hours." -- Leonard Maltin

Marcus: Come on, baby, you know I'm a better cop when I get some in the morning!

Mike: King Dingaling.

Mike: You freeze, bitch! Store Clerk: Oh shit, I'm fucked. Mike: Now back up, put the gun down and give me a packet of Tropical Fruit Bubblicious. Marcus: And some Skittles.

"Bad Boys tries with all the energy as its command to redeem an exhausted story with sheer technique." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

"The action sequences--and there are a lot of them-- are apparantly designed to camouflage the lack of a credible story." -- James Berardinelli

Mike: I don't know why you runnin' to your wife. You got shot in the leg, your dick probably don't work!

Marcus: Do you see the fuckin emotion on my face? That means this shit is serious! That means me and this motherfucker's not vibin' right now!

"Bad Boys is relentless formulaic fodder for the explosion-starved; it's loud, shallow, sexist and a complete waste of time." -- Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Julie Mott: I don't eat flesh. Marcus: Say what? Julie Mott: That's flesh that you're shoveling into your mouth. You know, that was, like, a living, breathing creature. You know, it probably had a name. Marcus: It's just bologna. My bologna had a first name.

"Bad Boys is a hyperactive cop movie with a dumb female lead, plot transitions that clank like horse-shoe ringers and direction that is stronger on capturing car explosions than it is on motivation and characterization." -- Gary Karniya, San Francisco Examiner