Freebie and the Bean (1974)

Directed by

Richard Rush

Genre

drama film, action film, crime film, LGBTQ-related film, buddy cop film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 54m

Rated

R

Rating

6.1 of 10 from 71 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Two police detectives in San Francisco chase an organized crime boss while causing a lot of damage and chaos in the city. The movie is a buddy cop comedy that relies on the actors' off the cuff banter and physical comedy.

chaoticraucousfast-pacedcomicimprovisationalgrittybantering

What happens

Freebie and the Bean is a 1974 American buddy cop black comedy action film starring James Caan and Alan Arkin, and directed by Richard Rush. The film follows two police detectives who wreak havoc in San Francisco attempting to bring down an organized crime boss. The film, which had been originally scripted as a serious crime drama, morphed into what is now known as the "buddy-cop" genre due to the bantering, improvisational nature of the acting by Caan and Arkin. Reportedly, by the end of filming, both actors were confused by the purpose of the movie, not knowing that they had stumbled into a successful character formula. The film was popular enough to spawn various other successful film franchises such as, Lethal Weapon, 48 Hours and Beverly Hills Cop. Loretta Swit and Valerie Harper appeared in supporting roles. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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