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The Last Boy Scout (1991)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 10/03, 11/05, 3/20

LastBS
11/05: The most memorable moment of The Last Boy Scout is when the football player pulled out his gun as he ran for a touchdown and shot at the defenders before saying, "Ain't life a bitch?" and blowing his brains out.

That's Billy Blanks who founded the Tae Bo exercise program. Anyway, it's another poorly directed movie by Tony Scott. Having great lines while sporting a terrible fake-looking hairpiece, Bruce Willis is perfect as Joseph Hallenbeck. Damon Wayans is okay but is more of an ornament. The chemistry between these two doesn't snap, pop, and crackle. Hence, they aren't funny enough. In fact, Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans hated each other and didn't get along well on the set.

All in all, the writing is the best part of The Last Boy Scout, but there's not much of excitement.

3/20: I have to hand it to Shane Black for penning a fine throwback neo-noir screenplay for The Last Boy Scout.

Not all of the jokes work, but some do stick; the more Bruce Willis keeps throwing them, the better the film is. I can feel the Dashiell Hammett/Raymond Chandler quality, but this time, it's crude and near the gutter.

The editing is good, and the story flows well. Memorable moments come from Billy Blanks, Kim Coates, Halle Berry, and Taylor Negron to give the film an interesting edge. Both Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans have good chemistry, but I'm surprised they couldn't pull off a sequel. The truth is that they didn't like working together.

All in all, it's easy to appreciate The Last Boy Scout, especially from a writing standpoint in terms of neo-noir.