Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. Tonight, Monday December 30th, we’re watching 48 HRS. starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy.
So why did I pick 48 HRS., you might ask?
- It’s quite simply one of the best “Buddy-Cop” action comedies of all time! If you love tough, violent, badass action, as well as laughing your ass off, 48 HRS. is the perfect movie for you.
- Eddie Murphy made one of the great film debuts of all time with 48 HRS. After establishing himself as a comic genius on Saturday Night Live with roles like Mr. White, Buckwheat, and Mr. Robinson, Murphy absolutely steals his debut film. Nick Nolte is also great as the tough, grizzled cop, but it’s Murphy’s performance that turned this into a classic.
- Walter Hill directed 48 HRS. and he’s one of my favorite directors. My personal favorite film as I type this is Hill’s directorial debut, HARD TIMES (1975), starring legendary tough guy icon, Charles Bronson. Hill has such a great resume of top-notch films including THE DRIVER (1978), THE WARRIORS (1979), THE LONG RIDERS (1980), SOUTHERN COMFORT (1981), CROSSROADS (1986), EXTREME PREJUDICE (1987), and RED HEAT (1988). And 48 HRS. is probably the best of the bunch.
- I love the songs in the film. Of course it starts with Eddie Murphy’s rendition of “Roxanne” by The Police. And then you can’t help but want to dance when the BusBoys are singing “The Boys are Back in Town” and “New Shoes.” Heck, I love “Torchy’s Boogie” by Ira Newborn as well, setting the stage for Murphy’s rousting of the redneck bar, one of the movie’s best scenes!
So join us tonight to for #MondayMuggers and watch 48 HRS. It’s on Amazon Prime.
Through the Shattered Lens 
It is indeed one of the great movie debuts ever! A tough, funny and profane action film from one of the most under-rated Directors ever! Perfect choice!
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You’re speaking my language, John!
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If I had to describe my favorite movie type, it would be ‘buddy-action’ and this one is a perfect template. Some trivia that came to mind, The Bus Boys were an L.A. act that were more popular with industry types than music fans. They would play around town, and were fun but they never caught on (like most acts and almost all of the ones I liked!). But! The inspired cover of Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” has a small history. The solo writer of the song was Phil Lynott, and he made more money from 1982 (the year of 48 Hours release) than he did any year playing/recording music with Thin Lizzy. Thin Lizzy broke up in 1983 and Lynott died in 1986 from rockstar disease. One of the screenwriters, Steven DeSouza, wrote ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Die Hard 2′ (which was based on a Walter Wager novel ’58 Minutes’). A Hollywood truism is that ‘the plots stay the same, but the studio executives keep getting younger’. Steven DeSouza is asked to go in and pitch in the 2000s, and the studio executive tells him “we’re looking for ‘Die Hard’ but in an office building.”
Also, I had not seen that ’48 Hours’ poster before! Can’t imagine it getting approved today. Hard to ignore! Thanks, Brad!
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I had not seen this poster before yesterday myself. I didn’t believe it was real at first. I like the BusBoys. I’ve always thought they were great!
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Oops! BusBoys’ (stylized as one word with second ‘B’ capitalized) guitarist Vic Johnson has been playing with Sammy Hagar since 1999, was chosen because he can read/write music and was a Montrose superfan and could play all that catalogue.
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I ate at Hagar’s Cabo Wabo restaurant in Vegas a couple of months back. My friend who we were on the trip with is a huge fan of his.
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