Plot: What’s it about?
Ray Hughes (Gregory Hines) and Danny Costanzo (Billy Crystal) are police officers in Chicago, who know their way around the streets, to be sure. The partners have tagged a lot of criminals in their careers, but they are also reckless and ruthless, which means they’ve been in some tough scrapes, to say the least. The latest one has been the worst one however, as they’re almost killed in a botched operation to catch Julio Gonzalez (Jimmy Smits), a big time drug dealer. As a result of their actions, the two are forced to take some time off and since they come from chilly Chicago, warm Key West is just that much warmer. Ray and Danny fall in love with Key West’s atmosphere and women, so much so that they decide to leave their police positions, to settle down in this lush, scenic tropical paradise. But then they decide to finish up some business back home first, with a certain drug pusher named Julio…
The “buddy movie” genre is packed with duds and misses, but also some solid entertainment. I think Running Scared is on the positive side to be sure, thanks to good performances, solid writing, and terrific direction. The story is a basic one, but has a lot of interesting quirks, most of which are found within the two lead roles. Those characters are played very well by Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines, both of whom seem to be having a good time here. The film moves at a brisk pace, has a lot of humorous moments, and director Peter Hyams (End of Days, Sudden Death) ensures that it all looks good and flows well. In other words, this is a fun movie and of course, is more than recommended. This disc has minimal supplements, but it does have a very low price and as such, the value is more than reasonable. If you’re a fan of the flick, there’s no reason not to pick up this release.
As usual, Billy Crystal is able to steal most of the scenes, with a hilarious, but often subtle performance. He is not normally known for subtle humor, but he uses a lot of it here, which enhances his character more than a little. He has most of the better lines and even when he doesn’t, he elevates his own to make them match the others around him, very impressive stuff. In this flick, he has to work some light action scenes and does well enough, but of course, he shines when he is able to do comic work. This is not his finest performance, but Crystal does turn in one heck of an effort, one which makes the movie that much better. Other films with Crystal include The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Throw Momma from the Train, City Slickers, and Analyze This. The cast also includes Gregory Hines (The Cotton Club, The Tic Code), Steven Bauer (Traffic, Scarface), and Joe Pantoliano (The Goonies, The Fugitive).
Video: How does it look?
Running Scared is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The image here looks good, but shows a lot of grain, though no other errors seem to surface. I was a little let down, but as the picture is better than any version I’ve seen, I couldn’t be too disappointed. The grain is thick at times and causes some softness, but the image is still decent in the end. As a result of the softness, the colors and contrast are thinned out, but if you’ve suffered through VHS editions, this disc offers a welcome improvement in all respects.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included 2.0 surround option won’t dazzle your ears per se, but it covers the bases and in this case, that proves to be enough. The speakers light up at times to enhance the more action driven scenes, but most of the audio resides in the front channels, as expected. The music sounds clean, sound effects come through without a hitch, and dialogue is clean & crisp from start to finish. Not the most memorable track out there, but it handles the material and that’s what counts. This disc also includes language tracks & subtitles in French and Spanish.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc contains a selection of outtakes, as well as the film’s theatrical trailer.
