Beverly Hills Cop

Beverly Hills Cop (1984) is an Academy Award nominated American action comedy film directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy. The film shot Murphy to international stardom, won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture (1985) and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical (1985). It earned an estimated US$ 234 million at the box office, narrowly making it the second biggest hit of 1984 (next to Ghostbusters). It was ranked 22 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies". For 19 years, Beverly Hills Cop stood as producer Jerry Bruckheimer's highest-grossing film until August 12, 2003, when it was pushed to the Number Two spot by Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Plot

Reckless but talented Detroit policeman Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) conducts an unauthorized sting operation, using a truck full of cigarettes (seized by the police as evidence in another case) to attempt to bust two hustlers. The 'deal' is interrupted by two patrolmen, resulting in one criminal fleeing on foot and the other escaping in the truck, with Axel trapped in the back. After an extensive chase, causing widespread damage, the truck crashes and the other man runs off, leaving Axel empty-handed. At the police station, he is severely reprimanded by his boss, Inspector Todd (Gilbert R. Hill), who informs Axel that if he conducts any further unapproved operations, he will be fired and brought up on charges. Axel goes home to find his best friend Mikey Tandino (James Russo) in his apartment, fresh from a job he got in Beverly Hills working for their mutual childhood friend, Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher). Mikey shows off some German bearer bonds he "borrowed" from his employers, which momentarily concerns Axel, but he is more interested in catching up with his old friend. After a night of drinking, Axel and Mikey return home and are accosted outside Axel's apartment by a burly man Mikey recognizes as Zack (Jonathan Banks). Zack knocks Axel unconscious before he sees anyone, confronts Mikey about the bearer bonds, then shoots him twice in the head. After the police respond, Axel asks Todd to be let in on the case, but Todd flatly refuses. Deciding to secretly root around from a different angle, Axel asks for and is granted two weeks' vacation time.

Axel then drives his "crappy blue Chevy Nova" all the way to Beverly Hills, and, masquerading as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine, manages to check into a suite at the high-end Beverly Palm Hotel. He then meets up with his old friend Jenny, who tells Axel that she and Mikey work for art dealer Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff). Axel finagles his way into Maitland's office, where Zack is shown to be the art dealer's right-hand man. Axel presses Maitland for answers about Mikey, but Maitland has his bodyguards throw Axel out - literally – through a glass window on the main floor.

Outside, Axel is confronted by the Beverly Hills police over a report of disturbing the peace. Finding his gun, they arrest him for possessing a concealed weapon, as he cannot afford to identify himself as a police officer. At the station, he is questioned by Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton) and Detective Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold). Taggart takes issue with Axel's irreverence and punches him in the stomach. Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox) steps in to reprimand Taggart and presses Axel further, adding that he has spoken to Inspector Todd back in Detroit, who hints that Axel will be fired if he finds out that Axel is investigating Mikey's death.

Jenny bails Axel out, and takes him back to the hotel, tailed all the while by Taggart and Rosewood, who have been assigned to watch him. As the detectives watch and wait across the street from the hotel in an unmarked car, Axel places a late supper order with room service to be delivered to them. He then coaxes a waiter (Damon Wayans, in his film debut) to give him some bananas from a party tray, which he stuffs into the unmarked car's tailpipe while Rosewood and Taggart are distracted by the room service waiter. When Jenny and Axel leave the hotel, Taggart and Rosewood try to pursue, but their vehicle stalls, thanks to the bananas in the tailpipe.






PART 1
PART 2