Verdict
Summary
An edgy, almost plotless cop film that is more about seeing two world-weary cops on their daily grind, Busting follows a thread of a story, but it even ends on an open-ended note that suggests no satisfaction for the two heroes, despite working hard to keep the flow of slime and crime from completely drowning the city.
Plot:
Two vice cops in Los Angeles become weary with their daily grind.
Review:
Los Angeles vice cops Keneely (Elliot Gould) and Farrel (Robert Blake) are always high wired and filled with kinetic energy. Every day and night sees them chasing down pimps, hookers, and drug pushers. Some days they go after high-class call girls, while other days they’re hanging out for hours in park bathrooms waiting for the weirdoes to make a move. When they bust a porno shop bookseller for pimping out girls in the back in his “massage parlor,” they open up a can of worms: They get wind of a big fish drug dealer, an untouchable family man named Rizzo (Allen Garfield). Once they get Rizzo in their sights, they stop at nothing – even breaking all the rules and getting in trouble from their boss – to bring Rizzo down, but true to form, Rizzo proves that he’s in a league much bigger than either Keneely or Farrel can handle, and they know it. They get beat up, humiliated, and have their egos smashed, but will these two guys go over the edge to get their man … or will they just become demoralized and wither away on the job?
An edgy, almost plotless cop film that is more about seeing two world-weary cops on their daily grind, Busting follows a thread of a story, but it even ends on an open-ended note that suggests no satisfaction for the two heroes, despite working hard to keep the flow of slime and crime from completely drowning the city. It’s fun watching Gould and Blake bounce off of each other, and first-time director Peter Hyams (who would go on to make major Hollywood hits later on) does an admirable job of keeping things wiry and unpredictable with startling violence and sex. With good, ground level cinematography and a script that crackles, the movie makes its mark.
Kino Lorber’s now-out-of-print Blu-ray of Busting looks solid in a newly remastered HD transfer, and the disc comes with two audio commentaries – one with Hyams, and another with Gould and a film historian. The trailer is also included, as well as a slipcover.
