#31: 48 Hrs. (1982)

My favorite Eddie Murphy film is still Beverly Hills Cop with Trading Places and Coming to America tied in second place. This movie, of course, is where it all started for Eddie's Hollywood career. I've been told the scene when he walks into the country and western themed bar and says, "There's a new sheriff in town," became an event in black cinema history because it marked the first time a black character was allowed to do that in a mainstream film. That whole scene was kind of ridiculous to me. I guess early '80s San Francisco is very different from modern day San Francisco because I can't imagine a bar like that anywhere in that city today. I feel for those dudes now. That's probably the worst place to live in the US if you're a redneck. I'm sure they've since moved and settled someplace else. The movie is classic buddy cop stuff - the rogue police detective that hates everyone being forced to work with a smartass convict in order to solve the case. It's very cliche. James Remar is interesting as the bad guy. I mostly know him as Samantha's asshole billionaire boyfriend on Sex and the City. It's a decent movie. Nothing to write home about, but it's the movie that made Eddie Murphy famous. That makes it special to me.