The Last Boy Scout

Buy This Item The Last Boy Scout by Warner Home Video  Available from Amazon  $7.99  on 9-23-2008     In giving 1991's <I>The Last Boy Scout</I> a three-star review, critic Roger Ebert was properly performing his duty as an objective reporter, praising the filmmakers' professional skill while observing that "the only consistent theme of the film is its hatred of women." For the purposes of this capsule review, there's no such obligation to level-headed fairness; the simple truth is, this ultraviolent, action-packed vehicle for Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans is disgustingly rotten to the core. Not only is it fueled by a bitter and spiteful attitude toward women, it's also the kind of profanely vulgar movie that doesn't hesitate to put foul-mouthed children in the path of vicious thugs and potentially deadly situations. Willis plays an ex-secret service agent turned private detective who is hired to protect a stripper (Halle Berry) and then teams up with the stripper's boyfriend (Wayans), a disgraced NFL star who was kicked out of football for gambling. They catch on to a criminal plot leading all the way up to a corrupt football team owner who wants to legalize gambling on pro football. Willis and Wayans get in and out of all sorts of trouble along the way, and naturally there are plenty of explosions to go along with the brutal beatings, gunfire, and constant cussing. Shane Black (of <I>Lethal Weapon</I> infamy) set a Hollywood record (since broken, several times) for the sale price of his slick but vile screenplay, and <I>Top Gun</I> director Tony Scott handles the action with his trademark gloss and high-impact style. But, seriously, is this a movie that anyone could bear to watch twice? <I>--Jeff Shannon</I> Reader Reviews I love Bruce Willis - despite the fact that his characters tend to be one-dimensional, and the movies he's in tend to be heavy on explosives and light on plot. I am a hard core Die Hard fan (even the third and fourth installments). However, I was not thrilled with "The Last Boy Scout" This movie was basically a Die Hard sequel with more gore and with a slightly less likable lead character. Cop-like character down on his luck - check. Same character having problems with wife - check. Same character spending most of the movie killing people, shouting one liners, and eventually saving the day - check, check, check. I also DID find this movie to be misogynistic. I'm a little frustrated that most of the other reviewers didn't notice this aspect. The first woman we see (apart from cheerleaders) is a bare-breasted woman being held under water by a football player. We then get close-ups on a stripper's body parts while she dances - and is then killed. One main male character admits to cheating on his woman (said stripper) early in the movie. Finally, the "romantic" one liner is Bruce Willis saying "f#ck you" to his wife. Not really the most woman loving of films ... However, I did occasionally laugh, and I did enjoy the surprise ending of the first football game we got to watch (though I was not sure how this played into the rest of the movie). And, of course, I do love snarky Bruce Willis ...

The Last Boy Scout Available from Amazon Price: $7.99 Updated on 9-23-2008.

SPONSORED LINKS