The Last Boy Scout (1991)

Director:

Tony Scott

Writers (WGA):

Shane Black (story) &
Greg Hicks (story) ...

Release Date:

13 joulukuu 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The goal is to survive.

Plot:

A down and out cynical detective teams up with a down and out ex-quarterback to try and solve a murder...

Plot Keywords:

Stripper | Murder | Mob Hit | Shot In The Head | Dancing A Jig

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Bruce Willis	...	Joe Hallenbeck
Damon Wayans	...	Jimmy Dix
Chelsea Field	...	Sarah Hallenbeck
Noble Willingham	...	Sheldon Marcone
Taylor Negron	...	Milo
Danielle Harris	...	Darian Hallenbeck
Halle Berry	...	Cory
Bruce McGill	...	Mike Matthews
Badja Djola	...	Alley Thug
Kim Coates	...	Chet
Chelcie Ross	...	Senator Baynard
Joe Santos	...	Bessalo
Clarence Felder	...	McCoskey
Tony Longo	...	Big Ray Walston
Frank Collison	...	Pablo

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic violence and very strong language.

Runtime:

105 min | Germany:96 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (cut) | Finland:K-16 (cut) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | USA:R (certificate #31522) | Netherlands:16 | Netherlands:12 (TV version) (slightly cut) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - 3911 S. Figueroa Street, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Geffen Pictures

Trivia:

Number of times a character is struck by another character: 31 (nine being applied to Joe Hallenbeck).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Joe shoots at the limousine from the overpass he holds onto the chain-link fence with one hand. A safety cable is visible running up the sleeve of his jacket.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Locker Room Kid: Billy Cole. Billy Cole.
Head Coach: The first half stunk! Open the holes up! Get in there like hogs! Like pigs!
Locker Room Kid: Billy Cole. You got a call on line three.
Head Coach: Let's go out there in this half and kick some butt! Let's get out of this town as a winner! I hate Cleveland!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Doomsday (2008)

Soundtrack:

I Wanna Be A Cowboy

well written and directed

We watched this on an encore channel and given it's mediocre 2 star rating and age of 14 years we didn't really expect much. First, we aren't connoisseurs of the action flick and maybe it's too uneven to please people who really dote on the genre. There are a couple of places where the plot is advanced without much pretext other than the need to cut to an exciting bit of action. And there are a couple of action scenes that a good editor would simply have cut.

But Willis and Wayans give energetic and nicely tuned performances. Chelsea Field is just perfect in a limited role as the detective's wife. The villains are far better drawn than the usual bunch of lazy thugs. And Danielle Harris steals the show as Darian Hallenbeck, the feisty and foul-mouthed 13 year old daughter. She grows during the film with barely an effort – by either writer or actor. A part written with great comic creativity. Really the best thing about a film that has a lot of imaginative lines and action moments.

And there are lots of places in this film where the writers give us lines that are head and shoulders above typical film dialog – and way, way beyond the norm for most action movies. A quick guess would be that there were a dozen places where a good line turned up instead of the usual clichés.