BEST DEFENSE (1984) - Andy's Kino Lorber Review
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2025 12:00 pm
4/10
Cinematic horror of the comedic variety is on-hand via Kino Lorber’s release of the 1984 Dudley Moore vehicle BEST DEFENSE (94 mins., R; Kino Lorber).
This forgettable war comedy was one of several mid-'80s releases to deal with crazy military shenanigans, following the busted William Friedkin “satire” “Deal of the Century,” while the likewise-forgettable James Garner-C. Thomas Howell flick "Tank" was this picture's counterpart from 1984. Separated from that sub-genre, the picture’s most memorable element by far was its unusual credit billing "Strategic Guest Star: Eddie Murphy" above the title.
As you might expect, Murphy's appearance is fleeting in this Gloria Katz-Willard Huyck production, which signaled both an uneven road ahead for Murphy's then-blossoming movie career (he cashed this sizable check inbetween “Trading Places” and “Beverly Hills Cop”) while confirming Moore’s downward trend at the box-office. It was also a harbinger of things to come for the filmmakers: "Howard the Duck" would follow just a couple of years later in what would become an even more infamous failure (though, in reality, it's a much better movie than "Best Defense").
In Katz and Huyck’s adaptation of a Robert Grossbach novel, Moore plays a government engineer who builds a war machine coveted by the KGB -- and is subsequently tested out by you-know-who. Kate Capshaw appears in a thankless part as Moore’s wife along with Helen Shaver – as Moore’s co-worker and peripheral love interest – in a very dated yet watchable comedy that boasts a Mancini-like Patrick Williams score and a few minor laughs during its 94 minute running time.
Jarringly uneven, “Best Defense” jumps between two time frames with the second one, featuring Murphy, cropping up every so often, reminding you he was in the picture. This lead to a fabricated story, still prominent on Wikipedia, that the movie was shot and completed with Murphy’s role added in after bad test screenings.
Alan Spencer refutes that story in his commentary here, recorded with Justin Humphreys, which also offers a number of terrific anecdotes about the film and the stars. They also attempt to be diplomatic about the professionalism of the cast and crew here, noting most reviews went overboard in their critique of the film, but they’re also on-target in assessing its weird tonal shifts and obvious post-production cuts. No matter how much the “Guest Star” billing was intended to diminish Murphy’s involvement, audiences expected more of a teaming between Moore and Murphy as it was sold – yet they don’t share so much as a single scene together in a busted Paramount comedy from the summer of ‘84.
Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray offers another strong Paramount remaster, a 4K scan (1.85) of the OCN featuring precise detail and nice color, with the trailer and the movie’s original mono soundtrack on-hand.
Speaking of the trailer, it's terrible!
Cinematic horror of the comedic variety is on-hand via Kino Lorber’s release of the 1984 Dudley Moore vehicle BEST DEFENSE (94 mins., R; Kino Lorber).
This forgettable war comedy was one of several mid-'80s releases to deal with crazy military shenanigans, following the busted William Friedkin “satire” “Deal of the Century,” while the likewise-forgettable James Garner-C. Thomas Howell flick "Tank" was this picture's counterpart from 1984. Separated from that sub-genre, the picture’s most memorable element by far was its unusual credit billing "Strategic Guest Star: Eddie Murphy" above the title.
As you might expect, Murphy's appearance is fleeting in this Gloria Katz-Willard Huyck production, which signaled both an uneven road ahead for Murphy's then-blossoming movie career (he cashed this sizable check inbetween “Trading Places” and “Beverly Hills Cop”) while confirming Moore’s downward trend at the box-office. It was also a harbinger of things to come for the filmmakers: "Howard the Duck" would follow just a couple of years later in what would become an even more infamous failure (though, in reality, it's a much better movie than "Best Defense").
In Katz and Huyck’s adaptation of a Robert Grossbach novel, Moore plays a government engineer who builds a war machine coveted by the KGB -- and is subsequently tested out by you-know-who. Kate Capshaw appears in a thankless part as Moore’s wife along with Helen Shaver – as Moore’s co-worker and peripheral love interest – in a very dated yet watchable comedy that boasts a Mancini-like Patrick Williams score and a few minor laughs during its 94 minute running time.
Jarringly uneven, “Best Defense” jumps between two time frames with the second one, featuring Murphy, cropping up every so often, reminding you he was in the picture. This lead to a fabricated story, still prominent on Wikipedia, that the movie was shot and completed with Murphy’s role added in after bad test screenings.
Alan Spencer refutes that story in his commentary here, recorded with Justin Humphreys, which also offers a number of terrific anecdotes about the film and the stars. They also attempt to be diplomatic about the professionalism of the cast and crew here, noting most reviews went overboard in their critique of the film, but they’re also on-target in assessing its weird tonal shifts and obvious post-production cuts. No matter how much the “Guest Star” billing was intended to diminish Murphy’s involvement, audiences expected more of a teaming between Moore and Murphy as it was sold – yet they don’t share so much as a single scene together in a busted Paramount comedy from the summer of ‘84.
Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray offers another strong Paramount remaster, a 4K scan (1.85) of the OCN featuring precise detail and nice color, with the trailer and the movie’s original mono soundtrack on-hand.
Speaking of the trailer, it's terrible!