Roger Murtaugh
| Roger Murtaugh | |
|---|---|
| Lethal Weapon series character | |
| Portrayed by | Danny Glover |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Police Officer |
| Title | Sergeant Captain (Lethal Weapon 4) |
| Spouse(s) | Trish Murtaugh |
| Children | Rianne Murtaugh Nick Murtaugh Carrie Murtaugh |
| Relatives | Lee Butters (son in-law) Unnamed grandson |
| Nationality | American |
Roger Murtaugh is a fictional character and protagonist in the Lethal Weapon films, played in all four by Danny Glover.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Lethal Weapon
Murtaugh was a lieutenant of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in the US Army, and served in the Vietnam war. He joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1967 (In the first film he mentions he has 20 years on the force). Murtaugh is a straitlaced veteran homicide detective sergeant and family man, who is considering retirement in the first film (hence his catchphrase, "I'm too old for this shit") when he is partnered with loose cannon who is also a fellow Vietnam war veteran Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson).[2][3] The two initially cannot stand each other and resent each other's presence, but grow to respect each other by the end of the film, when they foil a band of drug-dealing mercenaries who had threatened Murtaugh's daughter, Rianne.
At the start of this film, Murtaugh's family is getting ready to celebrate his 50th birthday.
[edit] Sequels
Throughout the rest of the series, Murtaugh and Riggs become close friends and save each other's lives many times. They also help each other through a various personal crises. Murtaugh helps Riggs track down the men who killed his wife, while Riggs helps Murtaugh forgive himself for killing a teenage drug dealer in self-defense, who was a friend of his son, and protects his family from the dealer's bosses. Through it all, Riggs teaches Murtaugh to relax and take more chances, while Murtaugh helps Riggs get over his wife's death and treat life as something worth living, even helping Riggs beat smoking by giving him dog biscuits over cigarettes. Their friendship can be playfully antagonistic, as Riggs finds amusement in pranking the high-strung Murtaugh.
[edit] Lethal Weapon 4
In the fourth film he and Riggs are both promoted to Captain, particularly because of all the past damage they have done in solving their cases, by the police department losing their insurance carrier. They are promoted instead of demoted or fired because they are veteran officers. By being captains, it is assumed that they would cause less trouble, but are later returned to the rank of Sergeant after the events of the film. Also Murtaugh's oldest daughter Rianne is pregnant with his first grandchild and is secretly married to Police Sgt Lee Butters but decides not to tell her father until after the baby is born but Murtaugh later on finds out through Riggs who found out from Lorna and who wasn't suppose to tell Roger but Riggs couldn't keep his mouth shut. When Murtaugh accidentally kills the brother of a ruthless crime lord, Riggs and Murtaugh engage in brutal hand to hand combat with the crime lord. When Riggs nearly drowns, Murtaugh saves his life. In the end Murtaugh accepts his daughter's marriage to Lee Butters and has a baby grandson.
[edit] In popular culture
Murtaugh's catchphrase "I'm gettin too old for this shit" has become associated with Glover, who uses the catchphrase (and variations of it) in other roles as well, such as his cameo in Maverick and his guest spot on Psych. In episode entitled "Murtaugh" on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother the character Ted Mosby, portrayed by Josh Radnor, has a "Murtaugh List" of things for which Mosby has gotten too old to eat, do, and enjoy.[4]
[edit] Reception
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Critics have given the character a mixed reception.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The Los Angeles Times described the character as being a sexless character from a sitcom.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ "Top 10 Movie Bromances". IGN. http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/964/964053p2.html. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ Eric Lichtenfeld, Action speaks louder: violence, spectacle, and the American action movie, Wesleyan University Press, 2007, p. 116.
- ^ "MOVIE REVIEW : A Lethal 'Weapon 2'". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1989-07-07/entertainment/ca-3330_1_lethal-weapon. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ "How I Met Your Mother: Murtaugh Review". IGN. http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/968/968319p1.html. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ Susan Jeffords, Hard bodies: Hollywood masculinity in the Reagan era, Rutgers University Press, 1994, p. 55.
- ^ Stanford M. Lyman, Color, Culture, Civilization: Race and Minority Issues in American Society, University of Illinois Press, 1995, p. 192.
- ^ Rachel Adams, David Savran, The masculinity studies reader, Wiley-Blackwell, 2002, p. 217.
- ^ Jim Collins, Hilary Radner, Film theory goes to the movies, Routledge, 1993, p. 205.
- ^ Jon Lewis, The new American cinema, Duke University Press, 1998, p. 184.
- ^ Sharon Willis, High contrast: race and gender in contemporary Hollywood film, Duke University Press, 1997, p. 37.
- ^ Kenneth Chan, Remade in Hollywood: the global Chinese presence in transnational cinemas, Hong Kong University Press, 2009, p. 111.
- ^ "MOVIE REVIEW : A Lethal 'Weapon 2'". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1989-07-07/entertainment/ca-3330_1_lethal-weapon. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
[edit] External links
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