In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

I'm amazed that this eighty-five million dollar movie received such negative reviews. I'll admit that it also amazes me that anyone would spend such a huge amount. The movie's actual U.S. gross was slightly less than half the negative cost, so the movie ended up returning its investors less than fifty cents in the dollar. I realize that some viewers would have problems with the script. It didn't worry me that the movie could be classed as a suspenseful, hard-action comedy-thriller. In my opinion, there's no reason why a movie can't imitate real life, but there's no doubt that the juxtaposition of comedy and thrills worried many viewers. It certainly didn't worry me! I could cite many, many famous books – just about everything written by Charles Dickens, for instance – in which comedy and suspense are similarly blended. As for the movie, in my opinion, all the actors deserve commendation, particularly the leads, Eddie Murphy and Robert De Niro. Director Tom Dey did an absolutely magnificent job, and I thought the camera-work by Thomas Kloss was absolutely superb. Available on an excellent Warner Brothers DVD.

On paper, Showtime had the potential to be a hilarious comedy. On screen, the result is predictable and bland. Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy and Rene Russo had the potential to make Showtime work, but not even these talented actors can save this movie. The screenplay looked very promising, and I was looking forward to seeing Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy team up. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed with the end result.Robert De Niro plays Detective Mitch Preston, a no nonsense, humourless and gruff 28 year LAPD veteran who is partnered with Officer Trey Sellars played by Eddie Murphy who has life long aspirations to become an actor. Mitch Preston and Trey Sellars meet in unceremonious circumstances after Trey Sellars accidentally interferes in Mitch Preston's planned drug bust. Mitch Preston finds himself in further trouble when he angrily confronts a camera crew and shoots a camera. Mitch Preston is forced to appear on a police reality TV show called Showtime in exchange for the television network to drop the lawsuit against Mitch. Trey Sellars is recruited to appear on the reality show after he showcases his acting abilities and from there Mitch Preston and Trey Sellars are paired together by the show's producer Chase Renzi played by Rene Russo. While Trey Sellars drives Mitch Preston up the wall throughout the entire series, producers are strongly convinced the two make a great duo for entertainment purposes. Trey Sellars thrives in soaking up the limelight whereas Mitch Preston is very annoyed that the show is interfering with his life. Mitch and Trey must also track down the escaped drug dealers that evaded capture from Mitch at the start of the movie. William Shatner appears as himself as a technical adviser for the show.Robert De Niro finds himself out of place and going through the motions here in Showtime. While he has built his reputation on great movies such as The Godfather Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) and Heat (1995), he comes across cursing at himself like he has made a big mistake in appearing in this turkey. His character Mitch Preston is grumpy and not an interesting character in the slightest.Eddie Murphy in his prime is one of the funniest actors on screen. Look no further than 48 Hrs (1982), Trading Places (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), and Coming to America (1988). Even his stand up shows Eddie Murphy: Delirious (1983) and Eddie Murphy: Raw (1987) showcase his best R-Rated foul mouthed humour that audiences knew and loved. Eddie Murphy has since found himself drawn to family friendly comedies which has been very hit and miss. In Showtime, Eddie Murphy tries too hard to be funny but fails miserably. His character Trey Sellars comes across as a slapstick buffoon who would not look out of place in they Keystone Kops silent comedy era.The rest of the cast I felt they couldn't save this movie at all, particularly Rene Russo who is normally a decent actress who could do no wrong. William Shatner spoofing his T.J. Hooker character was just one big unfunny joke.Showtime does little justice to the buddy cop comedy genre and the entire movie was just a fizzer. It's a total shame that not even Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy could make this movie work, given the potential. What a total shame.4/10.

SHOWTIME is supposedly a spoof of reality TV. It is about a pair of mismatched cops are made to join forces in order to participate in a reality TV show.The problem is that, whilst it is supposedly a spoof, it actually follows the conventions so closely that it just comes off as a rather dull buddy cop flick. This interesting angle on a familiar genre is lamentably under used, descending into a cameo by William Shatner full of poor jokes about T.J. HOOKER. Like THE LAST ACTION HERO, it actually metamorphasises into the very thing it is mocking. Unlike that film it isn't entertaining.Robert De Niro looks tired and old, clearly in it for the cash. Eddie Murphy continues to be the most annoying man on film. Rene Russo gives it her best shot but is let down by weak characterisation and a lack of anything to do.The film takes over half its running time just to get the two cops set up, leaving them very little time in the latter half. To keep the running time down the investigation is made absurdly easy. The baddie is utterly generic, as is the McGuffin and the stakes are non-existent. The screenplay must take a lot of the criticism for this, being poorly paced, characterised and unfunny. A good car chase and a single good stunt involving a flood in a penthouse apartment fail to redeem the film. A poor effort.

I've read a lot of reviews about Showtime on IMDb and many seem to miss the mark. I've noticed a lot of reviewers calling this the typical "buddy" film. De Niro is in no way Murphy's buddy throughout most of this movie. In fact, part of the comedy of this film is De Niro's reluctance to be friends with anybody.Murphy really shines in this one. He is back at doing what he does best, acting like a complete ham. He is a cop who wants so much to be an actor and enjoys being in the reality show. De Niro is perfect as the straight man who thinks the entire thing is stupid. I thought the two of them had great chemistry and were a perfect casting choice. Rene Russo is also great as the TV producer. Of course, she loves everything Murphy does and tries so hard (along with Murhpy) to get DeNiro going too.A lot of reviewers have touched on the hilarious scene with William Shatner, reprising his role as TJ Hooker to train Murhpy & De Niro how to "act" like cops. But, my favorite scene involves Murphy in the "confessional" hoping he could get a Wesly Snipes-Like cop to team up with instead of De Niro. Man, that was hilarious! Comedies often depend on your personal tastes. Sure you could poke holes in the plot, most often you can with a comedy. I was psyched to see the pairing of Murphy and De Niro...I think it brought out the best in Murphy, which was nice to see him at the top of his game again. I can only imagine it was a great honor for Murphy to be paired with the great De Niro. Rating 8 of 10 stars.