You have to wonder how it all started to go wrong for Harrison Ford. One minute he's lashing out respectable, workman-like thrillers like The Fugitive and Clear and Present Danger, and then he's making nonsense like Random Hearts and more disturbingly, the mind-numbing drudgery that is Hollywood Homicide.
It's a film which requires little from its leading man beyond a vague attempt at rugged mercenary charm. What worse is that Ford's performance is, by far and away, the best thing about Hollywood Homicide. It's a comedy so woefully misguided and lacking in structure that even Josh Hartnett - the poor man's Benny Affleck - doesn't look out of place here. And when happens, my friends, credibility has long since left the building.
Set in modern day LA, the film opens with the murder of a group of hip-hop artist in a club. Ford's character, Joe Gavilan, a cop who moonlights as a real estate broker (how zany!) is given the case with his young rookie partner, KC Calden (Hartnett) - a yoga teacher on the side. Throw in a ridiculous subplot about Calden wanting to be an actor but desperate to avenge the murder of his cop pa, and Gavilan's inability to shift a property while being hounded by Internal Affairs and you've got the recipe for a particularly foolish film.
It'd be nice to be able to say something positive about Hollywood Homicide other than the fact that it doesn't stretch much beyond two hours, but that'd be pushing it. Early on, there are moments when things threaten to gel. But almost as soon as director Ron Shelton finds his feet, he takes another radical misstep, causing the film to sink further into the mire.
