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Downtown (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Downtown' is a 1990 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin. The film starred Anthony Edwards, Forest Whitaker, Penelope Ann Miller and Joe Pantoliano.
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
* Forest Whitaker as Sergeant Dennis Curren
* Penelope Ann Miller as Lori Mitchell
* Joe Pantoliano as White
* David Clennon as Jerome Sweet
* Art Evans as Henry Coleman
* Rick Aiello as Mickey Witlin
* Roger Aaron Brown as Lieutenant Sam Parral
* Ron Canada as Lowell Harris
* Wanda De Jesus 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 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 of 'The Washington Post' 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 "[r]elentlessly bland and hopelessly unfunny."
References
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