Hasn't it been a long time since Hollywood has given us a good laugh at a stuffed-shirted white guy? Granted, we law school students have been interviewing with seemingly endless waves of stuffed-shirted white guys this month, but really, there's been a drought of late. And it's guaranteed to work: When in doubt, make fun of the white guy.
Blue Streak definitely subscribes to that line of thought. Martin Lawrence plays Miles Logan, the most talented thief this side of Thomas Crown. The movie begins with Miles and his gang attempting to steal a diamond worth $20 million. The heist goes bad, but before Miles gets his two years, he manages to hide the diamond at a construction site.
Cut to Miles getting out of jail free two years later (shades of Eddie Murphy singing "Roxanne" in 48
Most of us would probably give up on the diamond and pursue a career as a taxidermist or perhaps an attorney, but this is Martin Lawrence: He's a Bad Boy! So he steals a cop's ID, and armed with badge and fake papers, Miles (now Detective Malone) returns (not unlike General MacArthur to the Philippines) to the police precinct to reclaim the diamond. Malone plans to get in and out with the diamond, but of course he accidentally captures an escaping prisoner and bada-bing, bada-boom, he's a new hot-shot detective at the LAPD with a street beat.
The rest of Blue Streak is charmingly predictable. Malone gets partnered with Detective "White Guy" Carlson (played by Luke Wilson). White Guy drives slowly, operates by the book, and buttons his top button, while Malone blasts hip-hop in the squad car, drives like a Blues Brother, and breaks every police rule because, as the tag-line says, he's a cop that's not. Malone starts solving crimes left and right by relying on his criminal instinct and soon becomes the toast of the LAPD.
In the meantime, White Guy starts picking up some soul by osmosis. Malone even meets one of his old misdemeanor-perpetrating buddies (David Chappelle) and the resulting scenes are among the funniest.
Blue Streak is a riot: Watch it for Martin Lawrence and David Chappelle, watch it to see if Malone ever gets his diamond, but most of all, watch it to laugh at White Guy.
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