National Security (2003)

Director:

Dennis Dugan

Writers (WGA):

Jay Scherick (written by) &
David Ronn (written by)

Release Date:

17 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

They only look like cops.

Plot:

Two mismatched security guards are thrown together to bust a smuggling operation.

Plot Keywords:

Buddy Comedy | Desert Eagle | Product Placement | Auto Impound Lot | Auto Theft

Cast

Martin Lawrence	...	Earl Montgomery
Steve Zahn	...	Hank Rafferty
Colm Feore	...	Detective Frank McDuff
Bill Duke	...	Lieutenant Washington
Eric Roberts	...	Nash
Timothy Busfield	...	Charlie Reed
Robinne Lee	...	Denise
Matt McCoy	...	Robert Barton
Brett Cullen	...	Heston
Cleo King	...	Woman in Car
Gerry Del Sol	...	Booking Clerk
Ken Lerner	...	Hank's Lawyer
Mari Morrow	...	Lola
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Billy Narthax
Joe Flaherty	...	Owen Fergus
Keith Cooke	...	Ang
Mike Brady	...	Smith
Troy Gilbert	...	Cain
Anthony G. Schmidt	...	Eddie (as Anthony Schmidt)
Joe Bucaro III	...	Bratton (as Joe Bucaro)
Carl Ciarfalio	...	Stanton
Bobby McLaughlin	...	Ashcroft
Robert Harvey	...	Cop at Impound Yard
John Henry Binder	...	Cop at Impound Yard
Margaret Travolta	...	Judge
Wayne Morse	...	Bailiff
Terry Logan	...	LAPD Cop
Mark Lonow	...	Detective at Interrogation
Jeffrey Ross	...	Security Guard
Jocko Marcellino	...	Sarcastic Cop
Jonathan Loughran	...	Sarcastic Cop
Noel Gugliemi	...	Latino Convict (as Noel Guglielmi)
Hiep Thi Le	...	McDuff's Secretary
Leslie Jones	...	Trucker Woman (Britney)
Dawn Lewis	...	Woman at Impound Yard
Jackie Flynn	...	Guard in Solitary
Hal Fishman	...	Himself
Andy Dugan	...	Student Driver
Mickey Gilbert	...	Driving Instructor
Richardson Morse	...	Detective
Ben Hernandez	...	Detective
Tom Forrest	...	Obnoxious Guy
Amy Aquino	...	Councilwoman
Amanda Van Roberts	...	Rich Lady
Michael Grasso	...	Training Cop (as Mike Grasso)
Bruce Franklin	...	Training Facility Officer
Daniel Sudick	...	Training Facility Officer (as Dan Sudick)
Maia Danziger	...	Jaguar Lady
Greg Serano	...	Carjacker
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Beard	...	Taylor (uncredited)
Frank Carlopio	...	Cadet Lopez (uncredited)
Joseph J. Dawson	...	LAPD Officer (uncredited)
Ray Huffman	...	Security Officer (uncredited)
Martin Klebba	...	Security Guard (uncredited)
DeAnna Steele	...	Dawn (uncredited)

Directed by
Dennis Dugan

Writing credits (WGA)
Jay Scherick		(written by) &
David Ronn		(written by)

Produced by
Moritz Borman	....	executive producer
Peaches Davis	....	co-executive producer
Sharon Dugan	....	co-producer
Guy East	....	executive producer
Andrew D. Given	....	co-producer
Michael Green	....	producer
Jeff Kwatinetz	....	co-executive producer
Martin Lawrence	....	executive producer
Robert F. Newmyer	....	producer
Susan E. Novick	....	associate producer
Jeffrey Silver	....	producer
Nigel Sinclair	....	executive producer
Scott Strauss	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Randy Edelman

Cinematography by
Oliver Wood		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Debra Neil-Fisher

Casting by
Felicia Fasano
Anne McCarthy
Mary Vernieu

Production Design by
Larry Fulton

Art Direction by
Christa Munro

Set Decoration by
Douglas A. Mowat

Costume Design by
April Ferry

Makeup Department
David P. Barton	....	sculptor lab work
Denise Fischer	....	makeup artist
Nadyne Peoples	....	key makeup artist
Rachel Solow	....	hair stylist: Martin Lawrence
JoAnn Stafford-Chaney	....	key hair stylist
Andrea Young	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Michelle Morrissey	....	production supervisor
Jeffrey Silver	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hans Berggren	....	assistant director
Deiter Busch	....	assistant director: second unit
Joan Cunningham	....	first assistant director: second unit
Susan M. Elmore	....	dga trainee
Bruce Franklin	....	first assistant director
Mickey Gilbert	....	second unit director
Conte Matal	....	assistant director

Art Department
Ben Bocell	....	art department production assistant
Adam Braid	....	set dresser
Lorrie Campbell	....	set designer
Tony Castagnola	....	greens coordinator
Dennis DeWaay	....	construction coordinator
Chad S. Frey	....	assistant art director
Lanny Henson	....	location foreman
Ian Kay	....	property master: second unit
Gregg Pallini	....	art department coordinator
Lynda Reiss	....	property master
Bruce Richter	....	art special effects
Graham Robertson	....	set dresser
Tom Sharp	....	drapery/floor coverings
Ron Shulem	....	leadman
Eric Steinway	....	set dresser
Marc Tantin	....	propmaker
Angela M. Whiting	....	assistant property master
Ryan Blank	....	props (uncredited)
Christopher Morente	....	key greens foreman (uncredited)

Sound Department
George H. Anderson	....	supervising sound editor
Todd Bassman	....	boom operator
Gary C. Bourgeois	....	sound re-recording mixer
Alek Bromke	....	adr assistant recordist
Lane Burch	....	foley mixer
Bill Burns	....	assistant sound editor
Matthew Dettmann	....	foley artist
Joseph Geisinger	....	production sound mixer
Steven D. Grothe	....	additional utility sound (as Steven Grothe)
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley artist
Larry Kemp	....	adr supervisor
Jonathan Klein	....	foley supervisor
Howard London	....	adr mixer
Cindy Marty	....	sound effects editor
Michael O'Farrell	....	sound effects editor
Greg Orloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brian Power	....	adr recordist
Cherie Tamai	....	first assistant sound editor
Jon Taylor	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Robert L. Olmstead	....	special effects foreman
David A. Poole	....	special effects
Daniel Sudick	....	special effects coordinator
Robert Cole	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
David D. Johnson	....	visual effects supervisor
Mike Leben	....	motion control operator
Chris Paxson	....	motion control technician
Bill Church	....	visual effects (uncredited)
John R. Ellis	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Anne Graham	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Thomas Mathai	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Payam Shohadai	....	visual effects supervisor: BWVFX (uncredited)

Stunts
Kevin Beard	....	precision driver
Kevin Beard	....	stunt driver
Michael T. Brady	....	stunts
Charlie Brewer	....	stunts
Joe Bucaro III	....	stunts
Matt Byrne	....	stunts
Tony Donno	....	stunts
J. Armin Garza II	....	stunts
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunt coordinator
Troy Gilbert	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Hollis Hill	....	stunts
Kris A. Jeffrey	....	stunts
Michael Justice	....	stunts
Joel Kramer	....	stunt coordinator
Paul M. Lane	....	utility stunts
Stan Lee Rice	....	stunt coordinator
Pat Romano	....	stunt rigger
Errol Sack	....	stunts
Jeff Sanders	....	stunt double
Matthew Taylor	....	stunts
Garrett Warren	....	stunt double: Colm Fiore

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Birk	....	electrician
Douglas Busby	....	additional second assistant camera
Mike Cahoon	....	assistant camera
Joe Chess	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Joe Chess	....	steadicam operator
James B. Crawford	....	gaffer
Aaron Katz	....	video assist operator
Scott Kidner	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Ken Little Jr.	....	assistant camera
Christopher Lucchese	....	grip: second unit
Joe Macaluso	....	company grip
Stan McClain	....	aerial camera operator
Jim McComas	....	electrician
Don McCuaig	....	director of photography: second unit
Duane Mieliwocki	....	assistant camera
Ray Milazzo	....	second assistant camera
Maricella Ramirez	....	key first assistant camera
Maricella Ramirez	....	steadicam assistant
Joseph T. Terranova	....	set lighting technician
Michael T. Travers	....	best boy grip
Shane D. Kelly	....	gaffer: re-shoots (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sarah Grace Monson	....	casting assistant (as Sarah Monson)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
David Ferry	....	costumer
Philip Maldonado	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
David S. Clark	....	first assistant editor
Patrick J. Don Vito	....	associate editor
Jeff Ervin	....	assistant editor
Chad Rubel	....	apprentice editor

Music Department
Elton Ahi	....	score mixer
Elton Ahi	....	score recordist
John Finklea	....	music editor
Michelle Kuznetsky	....	music supervisor
Wendi Morris	....	music coordinator
Mary Ramos	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Phil Balani	....	driver generator operator
Rob Byer	....	driver
Alan Kaminsky	....	transportation
Hugh Kelly	....	transportation
Kevin Warendorp	....	driver
Christopher Weippert	....	driver: base camp trailer
Jerome Wheeler	....	driver
Wayne Williams	....	transportation captain
Jay Wylie	....	driver: second unit
Bill Young	....	precision driver coordinator

Other crew
Crisoforo Aguilar	....	key set production assistant: second unit
Gioia Bearden	....	assistant: Mr. Lawrence
Elizabeth A. Bergman	....	payroll accountant
Susan Bierbaum	....	script supervisor
Randolph Bookman	....	production assistant
Alexander Yves Brunner	....	executive assistant: Nigel Sinclair
Mady Manson Burza	....	post-production accountant (as Madalyn Burza)
Jim Chizmar	....	dive master
James M. Chizmar Jr.	....	diver
Bruce Chudacoff	....	location scout
Michael Clark	....	assistant: Mr. Silver
Sam M. Cobb	....	production medic
Nicky Craft	....	payroll accountant: re-shoots
Abby Emmett	....	production assistant
Jesse Felsot	....	assistant to producer
Chris Silver Finigan	....	production accountant
Steven L. Franklin	....	craft service
Michael Grasso	....	police technical advisor: NineOneOne.net (as Mike Grasso)
Mark Heidelberger	....	creative assistant to producer
Michael Heithaus	....	stand-in: K. Cooke
Michi Jones	....	assistant: Mr. Given
Jim Kamm	....	assistant: Mr. Newmyer
Gretchen Kampschroeder	....	production assistant
Paul Kenney	....	first assistant accountant
Alex Lerner	....	second assistant production accountant
Carol McConnaughey	....	unit publicist
Peter McKernan	....	aerial coordinator
Blair Mealing	....	assistant to cast
Eddie Merino	....	key assistant location manager
Debbie Merritt	....	production secretary
Murray Miller	....	location manager
Leslie A. Morrow	....	key assistant location manager
Matthew H. O'Connor	....	marine coordinator
Doug Rice	....	assistant: Steve Zahn
Meg Sheehan	....	assistant: Mr. Dugan
Mark Swenson	....	production coordinator: second unit
Daniell Taff	....	production assistant
Derek Jan Vermaas	....	production office coordinator
Troy Waters	....	marine coordinator
Whitney Yapp	....	assistant: Mr. Dugan
Stephanie Lee Berger	....	weapons handler (uncredited)
David Michael Quiroz Jr.	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Outlaw Productions (I)
• Intermedia Films
• Firm, The

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2003) (worldwide) (all media)
• Columbia Pictures (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2003) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Cascade Film (Russia)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (Argentina)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (video)
• Columbia TriStar Italia (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Jelly's Jams LLC  music publisher
• Jellybean Music Publishing  music publisher
• Picture Mill, The  titles
• Rockbottom Rentals  cell phone rentals

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, language and some sensuality.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Hungary:14 | South Korea:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Malaysia:18PL | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38105) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Fire Station 23 - 225 E. 5th St., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Earl's automatic pistol, "Earl Jr.", is a Glock 18C.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the police car slams through the billboard and comes crashing to the ground, the rim falls off of the police car. Then when it is shown later on, the rim is back on the car.

Quotes:

Hank Rafferty: [a tall lady is holding Earl up with one hand] Okay, put him down.
[she looks questioningly at him]
Hank Rafferty: In a minute or, two. Don't hurry.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

It's lighthearted, fun and goofy --- I like it!

Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn star in this funny comedy as two ill-fated security guards who team up to bring down a dangerous criminal organisation and a crooked cop. It may not be an excellent film, but it is a lighthearted, fairly fresh take on the classic "buddy cop" formula that's been used over and over again (Shanghai Noon, I Spy, etc...) This time, most of the laughs come from Lawrence, who does a good job of being the wise-assed, smart-mouthed partner as Steve Zahn does his stuff as the impatient lead character.

The plot of the film seems a bit rushed, and not developped to its extent, but that's no matter. What DOES matter are the laughs; and though "National Security" isn't the funniest film in the world, the comedy is sharp --- although, at times, it does seem a bit recycled. Come on, we've seen this sort of stuff WAY too many times before...

The point is, "National Security" provides some laughs and is an all-around good film, though not great. For those of you lookin' for a familiar, smile-inducing cop film, you can't go wrong with "National Security". I'm a bit put off, though --- a 4.3 rating for this flick is just way too low, and I don't think the film deserves the bad reviews it's been getting. The same thing seems to have happened to "I Spy" as well...

Come on, you guys need to lighten up. Of course these films aren't Shakespeare --- and they don't want to be! Sooner or later, you'll learn that a movie doesn't have to be perfect in order for it to be an enjoyable experience. Most movies don't aim to be Oscar-material, so they opt to bring to the general public the things we want from this sort of film: comedy, action, wise-cracks, and, if at all possible, a decent plot. We can't compare movies like these to, say, "Star Wars" or "Casablanca" or "Titanic", because they're in totally different leagues. I try to review each film while considering the different intentions of the producers. If a film is a clear Oscar contender, I may be a bit more harsh in my review --- but with most comedies and action pics, I give credit where credit is due.

And that's the moral of this story: GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE! "National Security" is a decent flick and is well worth the price of admission, at least in the eyes of this reviewer.