Calculated ‘Downtown’ Shows Off Its Stars

In the slick, punchy “Downtown” (citywide), Anthony Edwards plays a suburban Philadelphia by-the-book rookie who’s transferred to the City of Brotherly Love’s roughest precinct after he tries to give a speeding ticket to a plutocrat (David Clennon) who turns out to be the underworld villain of the plot. In very short order, both Edwards and his cherished vintage VW convertible end up stripped.

But Edwards’ Alex Kearney is no quitter and is particularly dogged in his determination to become a pal of Diamond Street Precinct’s toughest cop, Dennis Curren (Forest Whitaker), a truculent loner. Of course, Alex and Dennis are going to end up good buddies, but Alex will first have to be put to some very severe and protracted testing in order to win the respect not only of Dennis but of an all-black precinct (except for a Latina officer), headed by an amusingly explosive Art Evans, in a black ghetto that resembles nothing so much as the most devastated areas of the South Bronx.

Despite the starry presence of Edwards and Whitaker, both of whom are terrific, and a clearly substantial budget that allows for plenty of razzmatazz action, “Downtown” was not previewed to the press. Although the film has the look and feel of a big commercial picture, it never achieves a satisfactory blend of fantasy and reality.

The baldly calculated script of Nat Mauldin, a writer on the old “Barney Miller” TV series and the writer-producer of “Night Court” in his theatrical debut, makes Alex a figure of credibility-defying naivete and even obnoxiousness. This allows Edwards plenty of range with which to show off his comic abilities and exercise his considerable charm, but it clashes with the reality with which Dennis is drawn, both on the job at home and in his solid marriage to a witty, secure woman (well-played by Kimberly Scott).

Mauldin is at his most inspired in suggesting that Alex is turned on by the constant excitement and danger of Diamond Street, something that is sensed by his alarmed live-in girl friend (Penelope Ann Miller) who thinks it’s time for him to return to his original plan to attend Penn Law School. But whatever reality Edwards and Whitaker establish is sent up by the derring-do and demolition-derby shenanigans expected of the comedy-action cop fantasy formula.

Even so, “Downtown” does show off its stars to advantage. Whitaker, so superb as Charlie Parker in “Bird,” is really too good for such standard fare, yet he does need some mainstream movies to consolidate his stardom. The film also shows that director Richard Benjamin can handle action with dexterity. “Downtown” (rated R for typical cop picture violence) benefits by the dynamic and flexible camera work of Richard Kline, but this does not disguise the fact that a substantial portion of the film was shot in Los Angeles.