Chris has chosen a 1995 action classic this week! Produced by action-movie heavyweights Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, Bad Boys marked Michael Bay’s feature-directing debut after cutting his teeth on commercials and music videos. Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Téa Leoni, Tchéky Karyo and Joe Pantoliano led the cast, with Miami’s sun-soaked streets providing the film’s glossy backdrop. Estimates place the production budget between $19 million and $23 million—remarkably restrained considering the quantity of gunfire, explosions and expensive-looking shirts on display.
Reviews were mixed, but audiences were considerably more enthusiastic: the film opened at number one in North America and ultimately earned approximately $141.4 million worldwide. Its combination of buddy-cop banter, music-video swagger and unapologetic ’90s excess helped turn Smith and Lawrence into major film stars, established Bay’s unmistakably explosive style and launched a franchise that was still filling cinemas nearly three decades later.
TRAILER GUY PLOT SYNOPSIS
IN A CITY where the sunshine is relentless, the suits are immaculate and even routine police work requires several hundred rounds of ammunition... two Miami detectives are about to have a very bad week.
Mike Lowrey is smooth, wealthy and dangerously confident. Marcus Burnett is a devoted family man who would quite like to survive until retirement. When a fortune in seized heroin disappears from police custody, the mismatched partners must recover it before their careers—and possibly their entire department—go up in smoke.
This time, they’ll have to swap identities, protect a vital witness and rediscover the sacred meaning of partnership. Will Smith. Martin Lawrence. Fast cars. Loud guns. Absolutely no cup holders. Bad Boys.
FUN FACTS
The project was originally developed at Disney under the title Bulletproof Hearts, with Saturday Night Live alumni Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz considered for the leading roles.
Arsenio Hall was approached to play Mike Lowrey before Will Smith and later described turning down the role as one of his biggest career mistakes.
The black Porsche 911 Turbo seen in the opening sequence belonged to Michael Bay. The production could not afford to rent one, and Porsche initially declined to supply a car. Car and Driver
Bay reportedly used $25,000 of his own directing fee to pay for additional crew time needed to complete one of the movie’s climactic action sequences.
Both lead actors were still television sitcom stars during production: Smith was making The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, while Lawrence was starring in Martin.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air later slipped in a cheeky reference to the film when young Nicky Banks mentioned that his parents would not let him watch Bad Boys.
Much of the dialogue between Smith and Lawrence was improvised, including portions of the memorable opening carjacking scene. Apparently, chemistry cannot always be found in a screenplay.
The familiar “Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?” refrain comes from Inner Circle’s reggae track “Bad Boys,” already famous as the theme music for the television series Cops.
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