the hard way

Director: john badham

Actor: michael j. fox,james woods,stephen lang,annabella sciorra

Data Published: Fri Mar 08 1991

Genres: Action,Comedy,Crime

Key Words: movie star,actor,detective,film within a film,buddy cop

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102004/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hard_Way_(1991_film)

Description: The Hard Way is a movie starring Michael J. Fox, James Woods, and Stephen Lang. An action movie star researching a role is allowed to tag along with a hardboiled New York City policeman, who finds him superficial and irritating.

Plot: A serial killer known as the "Party Crasher" telephones the police, notifying them that he is about to kill another person at a night club, daring them to stop him. Police converge on the night club, but the officers, including cynical NYPD Lieutenant John Moss, are unable to stop the murder. The Party Crasher flees in the ensuing chaos, and Moss is thrown off a car while trying to stop the killer. While Moss has his injuries tended to, he makes obscene comments to the media. In Hollywood, Nick Lang is a pampered movie star who is best known as "Smoking" Joe Gunn, the title character in a series of highly popular action films. In order to be taken more seriously as an actor, he is vying for the leading role in the heavy cop drama Blood on the Asphalt. Nick vows to "prepare" for the role by attempting to be an actual police officer. After seeing Moss's outburst on TV, Nick pulls strings with New York City Mayor David Dinkins to be assigned as Moss's new partner. Moss wants no part of the deal, but is forced to comply by his captain, who is a Nick Lang fan. To make matters worse, looking after Nick means that Moss will have to be removed from the Party Crasher case. Moss defies orders by continuing the investigation and repeatedly trying to ditch Nick, whose constant questions and attempts to mimic Moss's movements frustrate Moss. Nick wants to know what it feels like to be a cop, while Moss constantly reminds him that this is not a movie. Meanwhile, Moss is also trying to juggle a new romance with Susan. The divorced Moss is unable to communicate with her or open up, and Nick offers advice to him on how to interact with women. Moss takes Nick to a dark building to catch a perp, ordering him to stay put and giving him a real gun in case of an emergency. Nick, however, enters the building and shoots a man who he believes is a criminal chasing Moss. The man is revealed to be a bystander, leaving Nick terrified. Moss agrees to cover up the act, and urges Nick to leave town immediately. Nick returns from the airport to the police station to confess, only to see that the "dead man" is actually a cop. Moss choreographed the stunt to get Nick out of town. Nick tracks Moss down and stumbles into a confrontation between Moss and The Party Crasher, during which he saves Moss's life. The Party Crasher is wounded, but he kills several people and escapes. After Moss is told by Susan that his unstable life as a cop will never allow them to have a relationship, he is visited by Nick. Nick predicts that The Party Crasher will follow storytelling protocol and seek out Moss's loved ones in the third act of their story together. Nick is right, and Susan is abducted. Moss and Nick confront The Party Crasher on a billboard, advertising Nick's latest movie Smoking Gunn II, and a brawl ensues. Susan is saved after Nick intervenes and is shot in the chest. Moss throws the Party Crasher off the roof to his death. Several months later, Nick has recovered and filmed The Good, The Badge and The Ugly. Moss, reunited with Susan, attends the movie's premiere with the rest of the department and comments that all Nick's lines were originally his.