BEVERLY HILLS COP II

(May 1987, U.S.)

I'd like to take a moment to reminisce about the Summer of 1987. It was an interesting time for me. To begin with, I already had a ticket for the upcoming Pink Floyd reunion concert for September in Toronto, Canada, I was (unknowingly) just a few months away from finally losing my virginity (yes, I was a little late!), I had a kick-ass summer job as an architectural intern and Dune Road in Westhampton Beach, Long Island was experiencing some intense political drama. On the radio, the latest albums from Boston, Genesis, U2 and Whitesnake were going strong. On the movie screen, the was a brand new James Bond, Elliot Ness was bringing down Al Cappone, Jack Nicholson was playing the Devil, Robocop was soon to be the latest science fiction badass, and Eddie Murphy was back as Axel Foley in BEVERLY HILLS COP II.

Back in my college youth, I was usually eager to see just about every hot new sequel that came around. Most of them never paid off. BEVERLY HILLS COP II not only paid off, in my opinion, but it's one of the rare sequels that I actually think surpasses the original. There are many reason one could consider the second film better than the first; the second one has more action sequences (what else would you expect from the director of the previous year's TOP GUN, Tony Scott?), Axel's character is more polished and there are more hot looking California babes in this one. These are all valid reasons, but for me, the sequel surpasses the original simply because I think it's a funnier film, and when you're dealing with a comedy franchise, funnier is always better.

I should also point out that Judge Reinhold's character, Billy Rosewood, is far more enjoyable in this film. He's not only loosened up, but he's become a badass cop of destruction (at least in his own mind). The man not only feels comfortable around heavy firepower, but also has two movie posters for Stallone's RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD-PART II and COBRA on his apartment walls. Anybody who would put those duds on his walls HAS to be interesting, right?

By the time BEVERLY HILLS COP III rolled around in 1994, all the characters and premises of the entire franchise had not just fizzled out, but had died horrible, horrible deaths.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Harold Lutz: "Who the hell are you?"
Axel Foley (Caribbean accent): "Uh, my name is Johnny Wish-Wishbone. Johnny Wishbone. And I am a psychic from the island of St. Croix. Yes, I am psychic from the island of St. Croix. And I read in the St. Croix Gazette that the Beverly Hills Police Department having some trouble figuring out crimes. So, what I did was come to Beverly Hills to help the police out. They tell me they don't want my help, they don't need my help, so I'm gonna go on my merry way. I'm a psychic! I am a psychic phenomenon. Watch this. I don't know who you are, but watch this. Ummm...your name is, ummmm, Lutz! Right? Chief Lutz. That's your name. See? The name pop inside my head like that. And your name is, ummmmm, ummmmm..."
Biddle: "Biddle?"
Axel: " Biddle! Yes, see? I...you...two more seconds, I would have said it myself. I don't need no help from no one, because I'm Johnny Wishbone, psychic extraordinaire. And if you need me, just think "Johnny Wishbone" and I come running. Lutz and Biddle, it's like Kibbles n' Bits, but different."