IMDb > Best Defense (1984)
Best Defense
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Best Defense (1984) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
3.1/10   2,697 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Willard Huyck
Writers:
Robert Grossbach (novel)
Gloria Katz (writer) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Best Defense on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 July 1984 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | War more
Tagline:
Unfortunately, they're both on our side. more
Plot:
Wylie is a lazy engineer. Landry is a Sergeant specialising in Armour. They have never met but their... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
Fairly amusing but the cross cutting between scenes occasionally gets tedious more (25 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dudley Moore ... Wylie Cooper

Eddie Murphy ... Lieutenant T.M. Landry

Kate Capshaw ... Laura Cooper
George Dzundza ... Steve Loparino

Helen Shaver ... Clair Lewis

Mark Arnott ... Harvey Brank

Peter Michael Goetz ... Frank Joyner
Tom Noonan ... Frank Holtzman

David Rasche ... Jeff the 'KBG' Agent
Paul Comi ... Chief Agent
Darryl Henriques ... Col. Zayas, San Salvador

Joel Polis ... First Agent
John A. Zee ... Col. McGuinn
Matthew Laurance ... Ali, Landry's Tank Crew
Christopher Maher ... Sayyid, Landry's Tank Crew
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Best Defence (UK) (poster title)
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Runtime:
94 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | UK:15 (DVD rating) | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-12 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Iceland:L

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
When Kate Capshaw is waiting in a pick-up truck, she is humming the theme song from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), a movie (also released in 1984) that she appeared in. more
Quotes:
Chief Padilla, Guatemala: Boom. Dead. Communista. more
Movie Connections:
References Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) more
Soundtrack:
CLOSE TO YOU more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful.
Fairly amusing but the cross cutting between scenes occasionally gets tedious, 28 October 2002
Author: soranno from Las Vegas, Nevada

Dudley Moore and Eddie Murphy are two entirely different looking actors who have two things in common. They were both hugely popular box office comedy stars throughout the 1980's and they were both part of the cast of this 1984 Paramount release. If these two comedy titans had any scenes together, that could've made the film really great but despite that setback, the film is not a total waste. Two stories are told in the film. One has to do with technology programmer Wylie Cooper's (Moore) chance encounter with a man who's on the run from some shady corporate criminals and how Cooper's life changes for the better and for the worse after the encounter. The other is set two years later and has to do with American soldier Landry (Murphy) test driving a faulty experimental tank that Cooper had invented and accidentally driving it into the middle of a battlefield. That tank (Cooper building it and Landry using it) is what the two stories have in common. The most major complaint about this film is its constantly shifting from one story to the other thus confusing some viewers. I managed to follow along though and if anybody who's thinking of seeing this one can too, you may find both leading actors in fine form. Just don't expect the comedy sparks of their far more successful individually starring vehicles including "Arthur" and "Beverly Hills Cop."

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