richspenc I tried a frog dog once. It wasn't from a place that sold them as such though, I bought the hot dog and fries separately and then mixed them and added the ketchup and mustard just like Moss did. OK, but messy. The scene where they're eating the frog dogs (with little frog croaking sounds being heard) must've taken numerous takes for them to have gotten it right without making the biggest mess. When I ate mine, it took me 17 takes to get it right, just kidding (those who seen the movie got that). I actually didn't care too much for Nick Lang (Michael J Fox) at the start of the film with him acting so bratty and spoiled at his Hollywood mansion to where it was hard to watch him. He then makes a quick transition to little suck up when he latches himself on to Moss (James Woods) at the New York police station. Part of me understands Moss' annoyance. I like the scene with Moss protesting his having to be with Lang ("not if you tied my tongue to your tailpipe and drove me 80 miles an hour naked across a field of broken glass!!"). And for some reason Moss' boss thinks Lang is the greatest (it almost looked like for a moment Moss' boss was gonna side with Moss with the "cheese ball" comment, but then quickly jumped back to loving Lang). I like when Moss sarcastically says "yes sir!" when he sees that his boss is going as far as to wearing a Nick Lang t shirt. The party crasher is a nice touch for the killer that Moss is after, a villain who does his killings at nightclubs and who likes challenges so much that he'll invite the police first to watch his next killing, and then he'll still end up getting away. Moss doesn't want to be taken off the party crasher case, especially to deal with an annoying a** kisser who is practically in love with him. I like the scene where Moss is crying to a (possible accomplice to the crasher) gun dealer about how he wants to get rid of Lang, and I liked the smart*** comments he made to the dealer's fat body guard ("you may wanna try skipping a meal sometimes, somewhere there's a small country going hungry"). I also liked the setup that Moss and his buddies from the station created in order to try to get rid of Lang (since Lang so badly wanted to know what it felt like to have killed an innocent bystander thought to have been a criminal, and then when Lang samples the feeling he quickly changed his mind about wanting it). Lang was just such a wannabe punk badass to where he was so ready to jump into crazy situations without even half reflecting what they really meant. All just to get a role in a movie that didn't have a g*****m roman numeral in the title. Just the way Lang looked at the whole thing like an exciting game (just look at the look on Lang's face the first time he pulls a badge out in front of some bad guys and says "NYPD", like a kid in a candy store). I liked the potential girlfriend of Moss (Annabelle Sciorra) who at one point actually believes Lang is a better cop than Moss (good thing she never saw his rubber gun. Lol). Also amusing is a scene in Moss' apartment when Lang, grossly against Moss' will, goes to stay with him (who initially says over the idea of Lang staying with him "maybe when my ***hole learns to chew gum"). Lang sees his billboard across the street, then is told by Moss "good, you'll be sleeping close to the one you love". The way Lang is so attached to and so fond of Moss, to where he tells him things like "I've counted, you have 17 different facial expressions" and "you're the greatest, you're a heavyweight, you're the "Yoda" among cops". I mean would you want someone you never previously met gluing themselves on to you and telling you those things? Even if they were doing it for a movie role? I still like some of Moss' lines, such as his comments to a reporter about the party crasher, "when his luck runs out, I'm gonna be on him like a bum on a bologna sandwich". And Moss'l to Lang "we live this job. It's something we are, not something we do. Whenever we pull someone over, we know we may have to kill someone, or be killed ourselves". Moss' lieutenant position on the force though never shows any signs of him ever doing any traffic duty and pulling anyone over. Still it was a good, interesting movie overall.

FlashCallahan Nick Lang is a famous actor, well know for his action movies.For the next film he needs the proper motivation and inspiration for his roll.Thus he teams up with the reluctant N.Y. cop John Moss.Not only does he have to put up with Nick who is laborious and out of touch with realities, but he also has to catch a cold-blooded murderer...Another John Badham movie that deserves more recognition for it's beautiful set pieces and wonderful non CGI stunts and explosions.Fox and Woods are great (if a little too profane) as the mismatched duo who never get on despite their similarities. Woods Moss is the typical eighties cliché of a cop, eating bad food, smoking, swearing and drinking, but has a heart of gold and a woman who loves him.But the good spin on this sub genre is the fact that Fox is playing a movie star pretending to be a cop, in order to grab the role of a cop. This would have been genius all on its own, but then add Lang as a psycho serial killer, you have something really special on your hands.The only problem with the film is that it's a little too dark to be an out and out comedy, which the trailers depicted it as, and a little too corny to be an out and out action movie, so it's stuck in the middle of a delicious limbo, which Badham makes the most of.The performances are wonderful, even if Fox starts to grate as the whiney star, and the supporting cast are fantastic.It's a shame that this movie hasn't had more recognition, it's hardly ever been on TV in England (In the last 5 years not once) and not many people have heard of it, which is a shame, as it's a delightful movie.

Jackson Booth-Millard From director John Badham (Saturday Night Fever), I was mainly attracted by it being a crime film with some good stars in it, so I decided to try it. Basically well-known actor Nick Lang (Michael J. Fox) is a after a role as a cop for a new movie, and to get motivation and inspiration for his character he decides to spend a fortnight with tough NYPD Detective Lt. John Moss (James Woods). The only problem is that Moss hates seeing him nearly everywhere he goes, and he is trying to concentrate more on catching a cold-blooded serial killer, the Party Crasher (Stephen Lang). So Lang, under the name Ray Casanov, is for a while cramping Moss's style, but they do slowly help each other out, Moss with Lang's character development (sort of), and Lang with following clues to catch the killer. Also starring The Hand That Rocks the Cradle's Annabella Sciorra as Susan, Delroy Lindo as NYPD Captain Brix, Luis Guzmán as NYPD Detective Benny Pooley, Mary Mara as NYPD Detective China, LL Cool J as NYPD Detective Billy, John Capodice as NYPD Detective Grainy, Christina Ricci as Bonnie, Big director Penny Marshall as Angie - Nick's Agent, Kathy Najimy as Lang's Girl Friday, Mos Def as Dead Romeos and Night at the Museum's Bill Cobbs as Raggedy Man. Woods and Fox make quite a good argumentative buddy duo, Lang is a good over-the-top villain, and there are a few good explosions and chases, so it is quite a worthwhile action comedy. Good!

missrljane The flimsy, barely-there plot of The Hard Way is about angry cop John Moss wanting to catch serial killer the Party Crasher but being unable to as he has been stuck with undercover actor Nick Lang, who is researching for a role. John and Nick irritate each other, John's fledgling relationship with Susan isn't working out and the Party Crasher, occasionally murdering people, hates John. That's the plot. There's no character development or detective work, two elements essential in buddy cop movies, and yet the film is heaving with clichés, which would work if handled in a tongue in cheek manner, after all the film does send up some cop drama clichés, but most are meant to be taken seriously.James Wood's performance as John Moss, angry, fast-talking and foul mouthed, does not come across as a real person, or a real detective as he doesn't do any police/detective work, just beats people up or threatens them, so he quickly becomes an irritating bore to watch. His mostly-off-screen relationship with new girlfriend Susan is also hard to believe. Neither seems to have any interest in the other's personality, and Susan gabbles and laughs nervously but doesn't appear to have anything else to her. Towards the end of the film she dumps John as it is too dangerous to date a cop, a fact she would surely have thought about sooner, she is then instantly proved correct when she is kidnapped by the villain, so why are John and Susan a couple at the end of the film? Set in a neon-filled, noisy, dirty, dark, overpopulated New York, The Hard Way is not enjoyable visually. Every scene in a public place is packed wall to wall with extras, with irritating cuts to street dancers in the middle of action sequences, and there are far too many supporting characters who at most get three scenes to have a line in, and all this gritty, dark, crowdedness makes a lot of the scenes hard to follow. The only visually interesting set is that of the giant Nick Lang billboard, Michael J Fox's enormous head, smoking a cigarette, which becomes involved in both the starting action sequence and the ending. This is advertising the film within the film, Smoking Gunn II, which amusingly spoofs action/adventure films. It is worrying that Smoking Gunn II looks a lot more enjoyable than The Hard Way. However, even this is overused and repetitive, as two action scenes at the end of the film, one following the other, parody Smoking Gunn II, one in a cinema and one on the billboard.It is difficult to understand, and unexplained, why the police have so much trouble catching the Party Crasher when they constantly witness him committing crimes, so it becomes tedious how many times he is caught/wounded/trapped but always magically escapes. This is also the worst performance of the film. What is Stephen Lang going for as the Party Crasher? He comes across as mentally disabled, his 'only kill bad people' crusade is never gone into and he is so underdeveloped that it makes no sense he is given scenes on his own.The Hard Way is a dull, clichéd cop thriller minus the thrills, held together entirely by Fox's amusing and energetic performance as actor Nick Lang. We have to wonder how similar Fox's own life at this time was to Lang's spoilt rich lifestyle.