Downtown is a 1990 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin. The film stars Anthony Edwards, Forest Whitaker, Penelope Ann Miller, and Joe Pantoliano. It was written by Nat Mauldin, produced by Charles H. Maguire, and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Plot
Police Officer Alex Kearney (Anthony Edwards) is a patrolman in Bryn Mawr, an affluent 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 believes the "by the book" suburban cop will get himself—and whoever is assigned as his partner—killed. Sergeant Dennis Curren (Forest Whitaker) draws the "babysitting" assignment. However, when Alex's best friend is killed investigating a stolen car, Alex abandons the rulebook to track 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
- Kimberly Scott as Christine Curren
- Danuel Pipoly as Skip Markowitz
- Ron Taylor as Bruce Tucker
- Vinnie Curto as Mr. Lopez
Production
This was the theatrical debut of screenwriter Nat Mauldin, who had previously written for Barney Miller and served as a writer-producer on Night Court. Principal photography began on April 17, 1989, with a scheduled wrap date of June 30, 1989.
Though the plot references the Philadelphia suburb of Bryn Mawr, most of the exterior filming was done within the City of Philadelphia. The beginning of the film features Cresheim Valley Road, Stenton, and Germantown Avenues in the Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods. Some early scenes were filmed in and around Los Angeles, including Claremont, Pasadena, San Pedro, and Woodland Hills, California.
Reception
The film received mostly negative reviews. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post criticized the film as 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 "relentlessly bland and hopelessly unfunny." The Washington Post described it as "just a B-grade movie, aimed at the lowest common entertainment denominator," while USA Today characterized it as "derivative, dull, dopey, degrading, dumb, deplorable."
Box Office
The film had an estimated budget of $10,000,000 and grossed $2,346,150 at the box office. It was released theatrically on January 12, 1990, with a running time of 96 minutes.
