The Hard Way (1991) on Netflix
Nick Lang, a Hollywood action star, wants a serious police role, so he pulls strings to ride along with Lt. John Moss, a New York detective chasing a serial killer.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb6.4/1024,197 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes75%
Trailer
Plot summary
When a New York lieutenant named John Moss loses his temper on camera during a live broadcast, the Hollywood action hero Nick Lang sees the model for the cop part he wants. Nick, a former child star, is after a serious role in a police drama and believes that studying Moss at close range will show him how to play it. He uses his connections to be attached to Moss as a ride-along partner, posing as a seasoned officer. Moss's supervisors take him off the Party Crasher investigation and send him on low-risk assignments instead. Moss resents the diversion and lectures Nick about what police work costs. Nick keeps asking questions and copying him, and he notices Moss's difficulty with Susan, a divorced single mother, and he offers suggestions of his own.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Hard Way (1991)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Ted Danson and Jack Nicholson were approached to star in The Hard Way early on, and a pairing of Kevin Kline and Gene Hackman was also considered; when Michael J. Fox signed on, it was Fox who suggested James Woods as his co-star.
- James Woods tore his rotator cuff when he fell off a truck while filming the chase that opens The Hard Way.
- To prepare for his role, James Woods followed his near-namesake, NYPD lieutenant James Wood, on the job in a bulletproof vest; Wood had previously been shadowed by Treat Williams and Robert De Niro, and De Niro recommended him for The Hard Way.
- LL Cool J made his true acting debut in The Hard Way as Billy, a part that began as a single-line cameo tied to a package deal for the use of his music and was expanded by John Badham and Rob Cohen.
- The film's cinema setpiece was staged at the historic Beacon Theatre on Broadway, while Fox's Malibu house in the film was actually located in nearby Deal, New Jersey.
