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Beverly Hills Cop II poster

Beverly Hills Cop II

year 1987decade 80sdirector Tony Scottgenre Actiongenre Comedygenre Crime

102 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Eddie Murphy Axel Foley
Judge Reinhold Billy Rosewood
John Ashton John Taggart
Jürgen Prochnow Maxwell Dent
Ronny Cox Andrew Bogomil
Brigitte Nielsen Karla Fry
Allen Garfield Harold Lutz
Dean Stockwell Chip Cain
Paul Reiser Jeffrey Friedman
Gilbert R. Hill Inspector Todd
Paul Guilfoyle Nikos Thomopolis
Robert Ridgely Mayor Egan
Alice Adair Jan Bogomil
Gilbert Gottfried Sidney Bernstein
Valerie Wildman Gun Club Receptionist
Todd Susman Foreman
Chris Rock Parking Valet
Frank Pesce Carlotta
Hugh Hefner Hugh Hefner

Beverly Hills Cop II | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanproducer Craig Horlbeck
Explore episodeClose episode

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Rosewood and Taggart spinoff; Axel Foley’s sexuality; unrealized franchise potential

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:33Read transcript
  • An early flag for this category asks whether Rosewood and Taggart could have been spun off into a TV series or limited series about bumbling LA cops solving rich people’s crimes.
  • The added-character and spinoff ideas are carried over, and Wesley’s question from the first film about whether Axel Foley was gay is revisited; this sequel ignores it.
  • A belated question asks whether the franchise had more legs; the sequels should have added new stars as Lethal Weapon and Die Hard did instead of running the same nucleus back.
  • The third film, the Disneyland one, is called an abomination that is not even fun-bad.
  • Adding characters is called the missed answer, and a Detroit-set sequel, perhaps with Rosewood undercover there, is endorsed.
  • An alternative sequel premise has a newly famous Axel hired as a consultant on a Hollywood cop movie that turns out to be laundering drug money.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:15Read transcript
  • Roger Ebert gave the film one star, calling Murphy a loud, arrogant bore and objecting to the assumption that he is funny by definition while anyone in his way is a fool.
  • One star is considered too harsh; two stars would have seemed reasonable.
  • Ebert may have been fed up with such comedies at the time, having criticized Spies Like Us on television, much as critics now tire of Marvel movies.

Most Rewatchable Scene

City Deposit robbery through the Playboy Mansion; Andersons’ house takeover or gun-club bag bit

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:37Read transcript
  • The short scene of Bogomil being gunned down after Brigitte Nielsen’s car cuts him off opens the category, including the wig removal and Mercedes convertible getaway.
  • Axel commandeering the Andersons’ house under construction is nominated, with the foreman’s exasperated no-right-angles reaction and the flow into Johnny Wishbone as highlights.
  • The gun club scene is praised for the Monique and Unique bit and Nielsen’s introduction, though shooting the screen with a real gun seems odd and the villain lineup feels overcrowded, including Dean Stockwell’s character.
  • The 385 North strip-club bit presenting a man as former President Gerald Ford remains funny, helped by the outfit and the crowd’s applause.
  • The fish-tank fingerprint visit to Rosewood’s apartment, with its Cobra poster, could have lasted twenty minutes.
  • The City Deposit armored-truck robbery is Tony Scott flexing, ending with a cement truck and Chris Rock as a valet; the whole Playboy Mansion sequence is called one of the most ‘80s scenes of the ‘80s.
  • The racetrack robbery is chosen for Tony Scott’s cross-cutting with running horses and Brigitte turning on her partner.
  • The Detroit scenes with the returning cigarette salesman and Paul Reiser’s strung-out Ferrari payphone calls are also named.
  • The final choice splits by genre: City Deposit through the Playboy Mansion for action, and the Andersons house scene for comedy, which the other host matches with the gun-club bag bit as an alternative.

What’s Aged the Best?

Taggart and Rosewood; Brigitte Nielsen; opening theme music; I Want Your Sex; Chris Rock; Simpson and Bruckheimer; deleted laser scene; Playboy Mansion filming; Alphabet Crimes concept; Paul Reiser’s Playboy’s Sisters magazine

In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:47Read transcript
  • Taggart and Rosewood are named first, with a wish that Beverly Hills Cop movies had kept coming every two years, seven in all, to add more of them.
  • Brigitte Nielsen is raised next, and this is judged the best part she ever had, better than her earlier Schwarzenegger film and definitely better than Cobra.
  • An opening song thematically drawn from the movie is praised as something no longer done.
  • Shakedown was reportedly meant for Glenn Frey until his voice gave out, so Bob Seger sang it; Harold Faltermeyer’s score is compared to 48 Hours, Escape from New York, Miami Vice, and Fletch.
  • Shakedown is called Bob Seger’s only number-one hit, a late peak after Springsteen pulled ahead of him around 1981.
  • George Michael’s I Want Your Sex is called an amazing ‘80s song used perfectly.
  • Chris Rock’s early appearance has aged best, especially in light of the Will Smith incident.
  • Asked about Jürgen Prochnow, the answer is lukewarm: he and Dean Stockwell step on each other as villains, and Paul Guilfoyle’s character is barely developed.
  • A scene at the villains’ apartment revealing their strange relationship is wished for, and the debt-driven alphabet scheme is called too cute by half.
  • Simpson and Bruckheimer have aged best; Simpson reportedly had Paramount pull writer Larry Ferguson off The Presidio to work on this film.
  • A deleted gun-club scene where Axel, Rosewood, and Taggart sneak past lasers should have been kept.
  • It was reportedly the first movie filmed at the Playboy Mansion after Hugh Hefner had long refused.
  • The Alphabet Crimes concept could be a Fincher-style limited Netflix series with one letter per episode; the crimes ran through the jewelry store, Bogomil, City Deposit, and the racetrack, and should have reached J.
  • Paul Reiser appears to be reading a Playboy’s Sisters magazine in several scenes, possibly a payoff for mansion access.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Eddie’s ad-lib comedy bits; missing first-film characters and Bronson Pinchot; asexual Axel

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:38Read transcript
  • Eddie’s ad-libbed comedy bits have aged worst; they worked better in the first movie.
  • Leaving out the first film’s female lead is lamented; even a four-minute art-gallery scene would have helped.
  • Bronson Pinchot’s absence also hurts, and Simpson should have gotten ABC to release him for a few scenes.
  • Axel is asexual again with not a hint of romance, unlike Reggie in 48 Hours.

Best Former That Guy / Former Joey Pants Award

Ronny Cox; John Ashton; Robert Ridgely; Robert Pastorelli; Paul Guilfoyle

The panel proposes a new category here.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:38Read transcript

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Chief Lutz; Bogomil’s daughter Jan

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:38Read transcript
  • It has got to be Gottfried as the obvious pick, but he has been like that for 40 years, so is he even overacting?
  • Chief Lutz really dials it up, and the mayor calls him abusive.
  • Bogomil’s daughter Jan is added for different reasons: her job and purpose are unclear beyond phone calls that suddenly produce inside information, and she has no real rapport with Axel.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Gilbert Gottfried; construction foreman, added later

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:53Read transcript
  • Paul Reiser, Gilbert Gottfried, and Chris Rock in his first movie are candidates.
  • Gottfried kills his one largely improvised scene, followed by a tribute to him.
  • After the categories, the Andersons’ construction foreman is proposed for this award. — Craig Horlbeck
  • The hosts agree the foreman nailed it and that they blew it by leaving him out.

Recasting Couch

Geena Davis as Bogomil’s daughter; new Lisa Bonet character

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:36Read transcript
  • Geena Davis is proposed as Bogomil’s daughter, which would force new scenes such as drinks with Eddie or being followed while jogging.
  • A new Lisa Bonet character at the strip club befriends Axel and is later killed, combining 48 Hours and The Last Boy Scout.
  • The sidetrack would give Axel a revenge motive, though that risks removing the comedy; this would be Angel Heart-era Bonet.

Half-Assed Internet Research

TV-series idea; 2GAT123 license plate; Richard James alias; Rambo and Cobra jabs; Axel gives away money; Don Simpson’s trunk guns; Nielsen’s romances

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:12Read transcript
  • Paramount wanted a TV series, which Eddie turned down.
  • The film’s license plate is reportedly a recurring placeholder plate, like 555 phone numbers, seen in L.A. Story, Go, Pay It Forward, Traffic, Drive, and Two and a Half Men.
  • Axel’s gun-club alias Richard James is linked to Rick James.
  • Taggart swears at Rambo while firing a rocket launcher and Rosewood has a Cobra poster, while Tony Scott reportedly had an affair with Stallone’s wife.
  • Axel never keeps money, handing $20 to Billy, $50 to Chris Rock’s valet, and $200 to the mayor’s charity dinner.
  • Rosewood’s trunk of guns was reportedly based on Don Simpson keeping guns in his trunk.
  • Nielsen’s reported romances with Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Tony Scott, Flavor Flav, and others are recounted as quite a list.

Apex Mountain

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:55Read transcript
  • Eddie Murphy is not at Apex despite Cop 2 and Raw in the same year; the first Beverly Hills Cop was his apex, though the film’s success shows his star power.
  • Brigitte Nielsen is a yes; a long career seemed likely after this film.
  • Judge Reinhold is a yes, getting starring parts after Fast Times and Ruthless People before Vice Versa failed to launch him.
  • Tony Scott, Hugh Hefner, Harold Faltermeyer, and the Playboy Mansion are nos; Hefner’s peak is placed around the late ‘70s.
  • Cement trucks are floated jokingly, prompting a recollection of a Twitter correction about missing the long pee scene in The Naked Gun.

Picking Nits

Distinctive front woman; no sex for Axel; cement truck edit; needless extra villain; simplistic name clue

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:07Read transcript
  • An Amazonian blonde woman is questioned as the best front for crimes obscured by a cipher-based code. — Chris Ryan
  • She wears no mask, and every witness, from Bogomil to the jewelry store, remembers a six-foot-one blonde, making her the most distinctive-looking woman in Los Angeles; she then turns up at the gun club.
  • Axel again has no sex life.
  • A cement truck appears seconds after Axel tells Billy to get a car, one of the worst edits in a Murphy movie, and such a truck could hardly catch anything.
  • Dean Stockwell’s character is a needless hat on a hat, and the Carlos-is-really-Charles clue feels too simple for 1987.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Alphabet Killer series; Rosewood and Taggart sitcom; Rosewood and Taggart in Detroit

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:54Read transcript
  • A Netflix version would be built around the Alphabet Killer, while Rosewood and Taggart could have been a sitcom.
  • The original England plan reportedly paired Eddie with Sean Connery at Scotland Yard, seen as a backbone for The Rock.
  • A better third film would send Rosewood and Taggart to Detroit as the fish out of water, even with limited Eddie scenes.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Detroit Lions jacket; Ferrari Testarossa

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:36Read transcript
  • Eddie’s Detroit Lions jacket is the easy choice and was a big deal at the time; a sweatshirt from the first film is also mentioned.
  • The Ferrari Testarossa is taken as another choice, and Dean Stockwell’s mustache is jokingly wanted.
  • The Lions jacket is the final call for one host.

Who Won the Movie?

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:02Read transcript
  • A case is made for Rosewood and Taggart, and for Tony Scott because the film is so distinctively his, yet it is hard to name anyone other than Murphy.
  • The answer is affirmed as Eddie Murphy while agreeing that others have credible claims.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Eddie Murphy

Producer review

Loved it; favorite moment is the house takeover

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:50Read transcript
  • Producer Craig, born years after the film’s release, loved both films though he is unsure the sequel beats the first. — Craig Horlbeck
  • His favorite Eddie moment is stealing the Andersons’ house. — Craig Horlbeck

More from the conversation

The film is called a borderline pick despite being the second-biggest movie of 1987, with a complicated legacy: over budget, a sequel, and a product of the cocaine-and-excess era.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:31Read transcript
Eddie Murphy is quoted calling it the most successful mediocre picture in history, a half-assed $250 million rehash; the hosts disagree and say they love it like an old sweater.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:07Read transcript
Tony Scott is described as approaching Fincher territory for number of Rewatchables episodes, but the film feels more like a Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer production.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:52Read transcript
A Premiere magazine piece is summarized: six writers, dozens of rewrites finished three weeks before shooting, improvisation replacing choreographed scenes, ten weeks of shooting becoming twenty, and about $4 million over a $25 million budget.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:22Read transcript
Murphy reportedly earned $8 million plus profits; paying him far more would still have been worth it, likened to getting LeBron in 2013.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:33Read transcript
The movie is built around letting Eddie walk into rooms and do bits (Johnny Wishbone, building inspector, pool cleaner, Playboy Mansion), compared to a heliocentric basketball offense like Luka's.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:55Read transcript
It is trapped between imitating the first film and Tony Scott's own LA crime-movie instincts; one wish is that the Alphabet Crimes had continued further through the alphabet.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:02Read transcript
Heist scenes where robbers call out elapsed time and police response time are a recurring rewatchable trope.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:28Read transcript
The first film feels like an extension of 1970s cop movies while this one is glossier, louder, and super-80s; Axel is in fourth or fifth gear rather than second.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:36Read transcript
Sequels were rarer in 1987; this was reportedly the only sequel in the year's top 20 domestic box office until Police Academy 4 at 44th.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:14Read transcript
A high-school friend named Gus reported after seeing it first that Rosewood and Taggart were the big winners; the pair are elevated to near co-leads.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:32Read transcript
Rosewood is reimagined as a new-age plant guy with a Soldier of Fortune-level trunk of guns and a Cobra poster.
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:33Read transcript
Per Premiere, Murphy's only story ideas were the Alphabet Crimes, a Testarossa or Ferrari, and a Beverly Hills Gun Club scene; England/Scotland Yard and a TV series were considered and rejected.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:04Read transcript
Tony Scott, fresh off Top Gun, reportedly met Murphy in New Jersey, where Murphy left mid-rematch in a pool game and sent people to say Scott had the job; Scott then negotiated a bigger contract and profit share.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:30Read transcript
Shooting reportedly started in LA without a finished script or locations; the 1985-87 star era featured big trailers, friends in bogus jobs, and music-video demands, likened to Bruce Willis doing music.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:45Read transcript
Premiere describes Murphy's entourage and habitual lateness followed by on-set ad-libbing; the hosts see a limited window before that approach wore out, citing The Distinguished Gentleman.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:35Read transcript
The set behavior is compared to reports about Vin Diesel shaping Fast sequels and Stallone on Cobra, framing this film as an early domino for star-driven productions.
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:15Read transcript
Murphy reportedly bought cars when depressed and staged a trailer sit-in over keeping the Ferrari, which a producers' spokesman denied; Paul Reiser gets to drive it briefly.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:07Read transcript
Prior Eddie Murphy Rewatchables are listed (48 Hrs., Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America); Trading Places remains undone and is called still kind of perfect, while 48 Hrs. is a personal favorite but dated.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:12Read transcript
Raw also landed in 1987's top 20, and Another 48 Hrs. (1990) is discussed, including Nolte looking skinnier than Murphy and the biker-gang villain.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:33Read transcript
Earlier Murphy performances were subtler and sold his scene partners; here he mostly sells Rosewood and Taggart.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:16Read transcript
The film reportedly made $276.5 million worldwide on a roughly $27 million budget.
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:16Read transcript
One host recalls a rollicking theater despite mixed reviews; the other was too young for a theatrical viewing but saw it constantly on cable while growing up in Philadelphia.
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:16Read transcript
Cop 2 is judged not better than the first film but more rewatchable because it is sleeker with better action and no dead spots or unresolved relationship questions.
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:58Read transcript
Martin Brest directed the first film; Tony Scott is placed among the best action directors despite geographic jumps between locations like a horse track and an oil field.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:35Read transcript
The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for Bob Seger's Shakedown.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:15Read transcript
Murphy's scarcity after SNL, with few talk-show appearances and no social media, made each movie an event; his Beatles-esque fandom could not be matched by a comedian today.
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:55Read transcript
Reading the 1987 top 20 box office shows Murphy as the only Black star in it, carrying outsized cultural importance, so audiences forgave plot holes.
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:55Read transcript
The house takeover prompts a joke that flashing a badge at a construction site in LA should work more often, plus a New York bedbug-scare comparison.
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:07Read transcript
A younger-listener primer on Brigitte Nielsen covers Red Sonja, Rocky IV, Cobra, relationships with Schwarzenegger and Stallone, a reported affair with Tony Scott during filming, and marriage to Mark Gastineau.
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:01Read transcript
Her later reality-TV turn and short run are discussed, with suggestions she belonged in a Seagal movie and lacked a Soderbergh-style champion like Gina Carano had in Haywire.
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:20Read transcript
In today's landscape she might be making Charlize Theron-style films such as Atomic Blonde or Furiosa.
Approx. transcript time · 00:39:38Read transcript
Simpson and Bruckheimer's producing run is listed for younger listeners, from Flashdance through Top Gun, Days of Thunder, Bad Boys, Crimson Tide, Dangerous Minds, and The Rock.
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:47Read transcript
The Recasting Couch digression is framed as the movie being able to run much longer; one host is told he could have been hired repeatedly to rewrite this film had he arrived in LA a decade earlier.
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:32Read transcript
Beverly Hills Cop 4 is reported to be in pre-production, possibly with the Bad Boys reboot directors, but the hosts will believe it when they see it; a gritty remake in the vein of the Bel-Air reboot is imagined.
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:23Read transcript
Austin Powers 4 rumors and Mike Myers's poorly reviewed Netflix show are mentioned.
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:03Read transcript
Beverly Hills is said to retain its mystique for visitors alongside Sunset Boulevard, the Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, PCH, and Santa Monica Pier.
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:15Read transcript
The closing credits Craig Horlbeck (ASR Horlebeck) as producer and teases upcoming episodes, including Internal Affairs and a Dirty Cop June theme following an earlier February theme.
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:02Read transcript