The Last Boy Scout: Difference between revisions

The Last Boy Scout
The Last Boy Scout
	Theatrical poster
Directed by	Tony Scott
Screenplay by	Shane Black
Story by	Shane Black; Greg Hicks
Produced by	Joel Silver; Michael Levy
Starring	Bruce Willis; Damon Wayans; Chelsea Field; Noble Willingham; Taylor Negron; Danielle Harris; Halle Berry
Cinematography	Ward Russell
Edited by	Stuart Baird; Mark Goldblatt
Music by	Michael Kamen
Production; companies	Geffen Pictures; Silver Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	December 13, 1991;
Running time	105 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$29 million
Box office	$59,509,925

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The Last Boy Scout is a 1991 action film starring Bruce Willis as a former Secret Service agent, now working as a private detective, and Damon Wayans as a retired professional football player. The two join forces to solve the murder of Wayans' character’s girlfriend (played by the then-little known Halle Berry). The movie was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and Geffen Pictures, written by Shane Black (of Lethal Weapon fame) and directed by Tony Scott.

Plot

During haltime of a live-televised professional football game, L.A. Stallions star wide receiver Billy Cole (Billy Blanks) receives a phone call from someone named Milo (Taylor Negron), warning him to win the game or die. Cole ingests PCP and, in a drug-induced rage, brings a gun onto the field, shooting three opposing players to make it to the end zone. Cole then shoots himself in the head.

Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis), a disgraced former U.S. Secret Service agent-turned private investigator, discovers that his wife (Chelsea Field) is having an affair with his best friend and sometime business partner, Mike Matthews (Bruce McGill). Hallenbeck's indifference frustrates his wife, who only did it to get his attention. Outside Joe's house, Mike is killed by a car bomb, after giving Joe an assignment to act as bodyguard for a stripper named Cory (Halle Berry).

At the bar where Cory works, Joe crosses paths with her boyfriend, former L.A. Stallions star quarterback James "Jimmy" Alexander Dix (Damon Wayans), who was banned from the league for sports gambling. After an argument where Joe and Jimmy scuffle, an annoyed Jimmy takes Cory away. Joe decides to wait outside, when he is attacked by hitmen. As Joe turns the tables on his would-be assassin, Jimmy and Cory leave the bar in separate cars. When Cory is hit from behind and stops to confront the other driver, she is shot dead by hitmen in the car. Jimmy is fired upon and pinned down, but is saved by Joe.

The next day at Cory's house, Jimmy and Joe find evidence of a phone conversation between the chairman of the Senate committee to investigate gambling in sports, Sen. Calvin Baynard (Chelcie Ross), and L.A. Stallions team owner Sheldon "Shelly" Marcone (Noble Willingham). Joe reveals his hostile relationship with the Senator, having been assigned to him in the Secret Service and is the reason he is no longer an agent. When the recorded evidence is ruined in Joe's faulty car stereo, Jimmy sullenly realizes that Cory tried using the evidence as leverage against Marcone to get his job back on the team, prompting Marcone to send the hitmen. Jimmy leaves to drive home in Cory's other car, but Joe correctly assumes Marcone had her other car wired to explode. Two hitmen arrive wanting the evidence Cory had, and Joe tricks them into blowing up the car, killing themselves along with the rest of the evidence. Joe and Jimmy then form an unlikely alliance to bring down Marcone.

Joe takes Jimmy home and meets his abrasive daughter Darian (Danielle Harris). When Jimmy attempts to use illegal painkillers in the bathroom, Joe furiously kicks him out. As Jimmy leaves, Darian asks him to sign a football trading card featuring Jimmy Dix. As he signs, she reveals that Joe had been a fan of his before he got busted. He leaves her with the signed card, "To the daughter of the last Boy Scout."

The next morning, the police, having learned of Mike's affair with Joe's wife, decide Joe must have killed Mike for revenge and move to arrest him. But Milo, Marcone's top henchman, captures Joe first. Marcone explains to Joe that Baynard holds the deciding vote to legalize sports gambling, and when Marcone tried to buy his vote, Baynard blackmailed Marcone, demanding $6 million or he'd go to the police. Explaining it would be cheaper to kill the Senator, aware of Joe's history with him, Marcone informs Joe of his intention to frame him for Baynard's murder.

Joe is taken to a wooded area where he is photographed handing a briefcase containing money to Baynard's bodyguards. The money is then switched in the trunk with a wired briefcase. Joe is rescued by Jimmy and Darian and they manage to acquire both briefcases after running the bodyguards and Milo off the road; however, Milo survives and kidnaps Darian after Joe leaves her to wait for the police.

Heading to Marcone's stadium office to save Darian, they are caught, but Jimmy creates a diversion, allowing them to fight their way free. Knowing Milo will attempt to shoot Baynard, Joe goes after Milo while sending Jimmy to warn Baynard. Grabbing the game ball, Jimmy throws it at Baynard, knocking him down just as Milo starts shooting. Joe knocks Milo to the edge of the stadium light platform, where police shoot him several times, causing him to fall into the blades of a circling helicopter. Joe and his wife decide to reconcile. The suitcase of money is recovered and the fleeing Marcone, having escaped with the rigged briefcase, is killed when he opens it. At the end of the film Joe and Jimmy decide to become partners.

Cast

Bruce Willis as Joe Cornelius Hallenbeck, a private eye and former Secret Service agent and one of the main protagonists.
Damon Wayans as James "Jimmy" Alexander Dix, a former professional football player and one of the main protagonists.
Noble Willingham as Sheldon Marcone, owner of the fictional L.A. Stallions and the main antagonist.
Taylor Negron as Milo, Marcone's chief henchman, a secondary antagonist.
Danielle Harris as Darian Hallenbeck, Joe's daughter.
Halle Berry as Cory, a stripper and Jimmy's girlfriend.
Chelsea Field as Sarah Hallenbeck, Joe's wife.
Bruce McGill as Mike Matthews
Badja Djola as Alley Thug
Kim Coates as Chet
Chelcie Ross as Senator Calvin Baynard, who had Joe fired from the Secret Service.
Joe Santos as Benjamin Bessalo
Clarence Felder as McCoskey
Tony Longo as Big Ray Walston
Frank Collison as Pablo
Eddie Griffin as Club DJ
Bill Medley as Himself
Verne Lundquist as Himself
Dick Butkus as Himself
Lynn Swann as Himself
Billy Blanks as Billy Cole
Ken Kells as Head Coach
Morris Chestnut as Locker Room Kid

Awards

The film was nominated for two MTV Movie Awards.

Best Action Sequence - For the helicopter blade sequence
Best On-Screen Duo - Bruce Willis & Damon Wayans

Reception

The film performed under expectations given the star power and hype surrounding the then record price paid for the screenplay by Shane Black ($1.75 million).^[1]

Roger Ebert gave the film three stars, saying it was "a superb example of what it is: a glossy, skillful, cynical, smart, utterly corrupt and vilely misogynistic action thriller".^[2] It has a 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.7 out of 10 on the Internet Movie Database. Reviews were mixed, and some critics cited the Christmas time release for such a violent film as a reason for its somewhat underwhelming box office.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] It grossed $7,923,669 in its opening weekend, and the total gross was $59,509,925.^[7]^[8] Although the film was not a blockbuster, it helped Bruce Willis recover his star status after the disastrous Hudson Hawk, and both turned a profit at the box office and became hugely popular in the video rental market.^[9]^[10]

References

^ Adler, Leslie (1991-12-17). "Movie Studios Urgently Need Christmas Hits". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
^ "The Last Boy Scout". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
^ "The Last Boy Scout". Entertainment Weekly. 1992-01-10. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
^ "The Last Boy Scout". Washington Post. 1991-12-13. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
^ Last Boy Scout "The Last Boy Scout". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
^ "The Last Boy Scout". Variety. 1990-12-31. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
^ Fox, David J. (1991-12-23). "JFK, `Hook' Bring Out the Crowds `Hook' Stays Atop Weekend Box Office". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
^ Fox, David J. (1991-12-17). "Weekend Box Office Holiday Sweepstakes Starts This Week". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
^ Hunt, Dennis (1992-04-30). "Video Rental Chart : 'Last Boy Scout' Eyes First Place". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
^ Hochman, Steve (1992-05-14). "Video Rental Chart : A 'Boy Scout' Unseats a 'King'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-02-03.

External links

The Last Boy Scout at IMDb
The Last Boy Scout at the TCM Movie Database
The Last Boy Scout at AllMovie
The Last Boy Scout at Rotten Tomatoes
The Last Boy Scout at Box Office Mojo

[1] Adler, Leslie (1991-12-17). "Movie Studios Urgently Need Christmas Hits". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.

[2] "The Last Boy Scout". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.

[3] "The Last Boy Scout". Entertainment Weekly. 1992-01-10. Retrieved 2010-12-12.

[4] "The Last Boy Scout". Washington Post. 1991-12-13. Retrieved 2010-12-12.

[5] Last Boy Scout "The Last Boy Scout". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)

[6] "The Last Boy Scout". Variety. 1990-12-31. Retrieved 2010-12-12.

[7] Fox, David J. (1991-12-23). "JFK, `Hook' Bring Out the Crowds `Hook' Stays Atop Weekend Box Office". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.

[8] Fox, David J. (1991-12-17). "Weekend Box Office Holiday Sweepstakes Starts This Week". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-12.

[9] Hunt, Dennis (1992-04-30). "Video Rental Chart : 'Last Boy Scout' Eyes First Place". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-02-03.

[10] Hochman, Steve (1992-05-14). "Video Rental Chart : A 'Boy Scout' Unseats a 'King'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-02-03.

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@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 ==Plot==
 {{plot|date=January 2010}}
-During haltime of a live-televised [[professional football]] game, L.A. Stallions star wide receiver Billy Cole ([[Billy Blanks]]) receives a phone call from someone named Milo ([[Taylor Negron]]), warning him to win the game or die. Cole ingests [[Phencyclidine|PCP]] and, in a drug-induced rage, brings a gun onto the field, shooting three opposing players to make it to the end zone. Cole shoots himself in the head.
+During haltime of a live-televised [[professional football]] game, L.A. Stallions star wide receiver Billy Cole ([[Billy Blanks]]) receives a phone call from someone named Milo ([[Taylor Negron]]), warning him to win the game or die. Cole ingests [[Phencyclidine|PCP]] and, in a drug-induced rage, brings a gun onto the field, shooting three opposing players to make it to the end zone. Cole then shoots himself in the head.
 Joe Hallenbeck ([[Bruce Willis]]), a disgraced former [[U.S. Secret Service]] agent-turned [[private investigator]], discovers that his [[wife]] ([[Chelsea Field]]) is [[Adultery|having an affair]] with his best friend and sometime business partner, Mike Matthews ([[Bruce McGill]]). Hallenbeck's indifference frustrates his wife, who only did it to get his attention. Outside Joe's house, Mike is killed by a [[car bomb]], after giving Joe an assignment to act as [[bodyguard]] for a [[stripper]] named Cory ([[Halle Berry]]).

v t e Films directed by Tony Scott
Feature films	Loving Memory (1970) The Hunger (1983) Top Gun (1986) Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) Revenge (1990) Days of Thunder (1990) The Last Boy Scout (1991) True Romance (1993) Crimson Tide (1995) The Fan (1996) Enemy of the State (1998) Spy Game (2001) Man on Fire (2004) Domino (2005) Déjà Vu (2006) The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) Unstoppable (2010)
Short films	One of the Missing (1968) Agent Orange (2004)
Related	Unrealised projects

v t e Films by Shane Black
Written and directed	Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) Iron Man 3 (2013) The Nice Guys (2016) The Predator (2018) Play Dirty (TBA)
Written only	Lethal Weapon (1987) The Monster Squad (1987) Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) The Last Boy Scout (1991) Last Action Hero (1993) The Long Kiss Goodnight (1998)