Showtime

Not the comic highlight of the universe’s brief history – in fact, quite cheerfully crappy – there’s something perversely likeable about this low-brain buddy comedy. Throw in a couple of half-decent car chases, and the result, while no classic, is far from the catastrophe it threatened to be.

The plot teams grouchy, irascible cop Mitch (deNiro) with hopelessly incompetent beat-mate Trey (Murphy), matched together as comrades for the purposes of a new reality-TV cop show entitled Showtime. Rene Russo and William Shatner turn in semi-decent support, and though the narrative’s a mess, there’s the occasional bellylaugh on offer.

Your tolerance of the film, of course, will depend in huge part on your feelings towards Eddie Murphy and Robert deNiro, who carry the whole thing. Much of the interplay between them has the potential to be heinously irritating, depending on your mood, but there are times here when it’s surprisingly effective.

DeNiro, an undeniably great actor whose CV is pockmarked by several dreadful stabs at comedy, appears to have finally realised that he is far more effective as the ‘straight man’ – and paired with the eternally hyperactive Murphy, both parties seem to enjoy the sparring, making Showtime a far more enjoyable affair than we’d any real right to expect.