Our Rating: 3.50
Harrison Ford finally pulls that stick out of his ass, and his loose and self-deprecating performance is the best reason to see this sloppy but satisfying buddy picture from writer/director Ron Shelton (“Bull Durham,” “Dark Blue”). Ford is teamed with current H-wood hottie Josh Hartnett (“Pearl Harbor”) as a pair of mismatched Los Angeles cops (are there any other kind?) investigating the murder of a rap group. There are too many subplots–a supernatural twist should have been dumped–and hardly anything feels organic, but movies that cost this much money usually don’t feel so breezy and carefree. After the picture has established a casual confidence, it actually gets funnier as it rolls along. At heart, “HH” is just a pretty good TV pilot souped up with big stars, or maybe the first shot at a new film franchise for Ford’s flagging career. That said, I wouldn’t mind seeing the sequel. With the eternally scrumptious Lena Olin and a host of goofy cameos (Robert Wagner, Smokey Robinson, Frank Sinatra Jr., Lou Diamond Phillips in a dress), as if we needed reminding the whole thing’s a put on.
This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2003.