Dudley Moore and Eddie Murphy circa the early 80s should have been a recipe for blockbuster success. Add ace Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom screenwriters Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz as director and writer/producer. Best Defense should have been another Trading Places or 48 HRS. Alas, it remains a curiosity of half measured failure.
Middling Engineer Wylie Cooper (Moore) is handed a godsend in plans for a targeting system that will all but save his company and his family life. Too bad for Cooper that the plans were intended for a Russian Agent, Jeff (Davide Rasche) who wants those plans back at any cost. Though the plans won’t do Jeff any good as they’re as faulty as Cooper’s company’s original targeting system. Can Cooper fix the issues and save the Tank team led by Lieutenant Landry (Murphy) that is in the middle of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
Both Moore and Murphy do their best with the material, though at the end, their charms are not used effectively. As Cooper and Landry, the duo never meet nor share a single scene together. It would be fine if the film’s binary plots gave each something to do beyond pale versions of their best work. Murphy’s performance seems to be an echo chamber of his best work, but it grates rather than charms. Moore is better off as an everyman sort of nerd but he’s at least playing off of actors like Kate Capshaw, Helen Shaver, George Dzundza, and David Rasche. Rasche in particular is great, and steals the show, as a truly deranged KBG agent.
One would think that this is the sort of comedic cold war thriller that is as smart as it is action packed – with considerations to the creatives behind it. It is not. The film meanders between some marital infidelity comedy and good times in the army comedy. There isn’t pointed commentary or satire at its core. Best Defense is just situational comedy type set ups and payoffs, and that is being generous. At its worst it’s a film that from top to bottom does not work, a missed opportunity.
Best Defense could have been a crafty sort of Trading Places by way of the military industrial contracting. One that could have had Moore and Murphy trading barbs and gunfire against some nameless forces for the “good” of America and the big business of war. Alas, this isn’t that film. Not even close.
The Transfer
The all-new HD Master – from a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is the best part of the film on disc. The excellent transfer shows no signs of wear and tear. There isn’t a blemish, scratch or fleck of dirt through the runtime of the film. The grain structure, the clarity, the color are all perfectly balanced, giving us another wonderful transfer for 2025.
The Extras
They include the following;
NEW Audio Commentary by Screenwriter/Producer Alan Spencer and Author/Film Historian Justin Humphreys
Theatrical Trailer
The all-new Audio Commentary by Screenwriter/Producer Alan Spencer and Author/Film Historian Justin Humphreys opens with this much maligned film, which got this commentary track by Spencer and Humphreys. Some of the details include the sorted history of this film and how exhibitors felt misled by Paramount over how much Eddie Murphy was in the film and that it was a Dudley Moore/Eddie Murphy team up; the source material this film was based on Easy and Hard Ways Out and how different it was to the finished film; the infamous SNL monologue and he discussed this film; the history of this production and how it was incorrectly reported that Murphy’s sections were placed in later after a terrible test screening; a great discussion about the career of Dudley Moore leading up to Best Defense; a great story about the restaurant that appears in the film Mucho Mas (which is called Casa Chihuahua in the film) – you’ll hear Spencer’s hilarious imitation of a very famous actor (listen to this commentary track for Spencer’s imitation); a great discussion of the early drafts of the screenplay and the differences between the scripts and the final film; a discussion of Huyck and Katz’s earlier film Messiah of Evil – and a larger discussion of their career as a whole both successes and failures, including this film; a great discussion of the testing process and how it affects films and especially ending – using My Favorite Year and its original ending as an example; a lack of bite or satire in a film that feels like it should be; Spencer discusses his connection to this film and why he was tapped to do this commentary (Humphreys kids) – which is great if one hasn’t listened to the Sledgehammer commentaries (if my memories serves – it has been a while since I’ve listened to them, and do not have the DVDs for the show any longer much to my chagrin); a larger discussion of the shifting in comedy from the early 70s into the 80s and how that applies to this film and its development process; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear throughout the film; a larger discussion of the various locations the film used; and much more. Spencer and Humpherys give us a wonderful informative commentary track that is superior to the film itself. The commentary does give an argument to having more tracks for films that may have not been entirely successful, resulting in engaging commentaries.
Eddie Murphy and Dudley Moore star in Best Defense. The action military comedy makes its Blu-ray debut thanks to Kino Lorber.
The Film
Dudley Moore and Eddie Murphy circa the early 80s should have been a recipe for blockbuster success. Add ace Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom screenwriters Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz as director and writer/producer. Best Defense should have been another Trading Places or 48 HRS. Alas, it remains a curiosity of half measured failure.
Middling Engineer Wylie Cooper (Moore) is handed a godsend in plans for a targeting system that will all but save his company and his family life. Too bad for Cooper that the plans were intended for a Russian Agent, Jeff (Davide Rasche) who wants those plans back at any cost. Though the plans won’t do Jeff any good as they’re as faulty as Cooper’s company’s original targeting system. Can Cooper fix the issues and save the Tank team led by Lieutenant Landry (Murphy) that is in the middle of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
Both Moore and Murphy do their best with the material, though at the end, their charms are not used effectively. As Cooper and Landry, the duo never meet nor share a single scene together. It would be fine if the film’s binary plots gave each something to do beyond pale versions of their best work. Murphy’s performance seems to be an echo chamber of his best work, but it grates rather than charms. Moore is better off as an everyman sort of nerd but he’s at least playing off of actors like Kate Capshaw, Helen Shaver, George Dzundza, and David Rasche. Rasche in particular is great, and steals the show, as a truly deranged KBG agent.
One would think that this is the sort of comedic cold war thriller that is as smart as it is action packed – with considerations to the creatives behind it. It is not. The film meanders between some marital infidelity comedy and good times in the army comedy. There isn’t pointed commentary or satire at its core. Best Defense is just situational comedy type set ups and payoffs, and that is being generous. At its worst it’s a film that from top to bottom does not work, a missed opportunity.
Best Defense could have been a crafty sort of Trading Places by way of the military industrial contracting. One that could have had Moore and Murphy trading barbs and gunfire against some nameless forces for the “good” of America and the big business of war. Alas, this isn’t that film. Not even close.
The Transfer
The all-new HD Master – from a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is the best part of the film on disc. The excellent transfer shows no signs of wear and tear. There isn’t a blemish, scratch or fleck of dirt through the runtime of the film. The grain structure, the clarity, the color are all perfectly balanced, giving us another wonderful transfer for 2025.
The Extras
They include the following;
The all-new Audio Commentary by Screenwriter/Producer Alan Spencer and Author/Film Historian Justin Humphreys opens with this much maligned film, which got this commentary track by Spencer and Humphreys. Some of the details include the sorted history of this film and how exhibitors felt misled by Paramount over how much Eddie Murphy was in the film and that it was a Dudley Moore/Eddie Murphy team up; the source material this film was based on Easy and Hard Ways Out and how different it was to the finished film; the infamous SNL monologue and he discussed this film; the history of this production and how it was incorrectly reported that Murphy’s sections were placed in later after a terrible test screening; a great discussion about the career of Dudley Moore leading up to Best Defense; a great story about the restaurant that appears in the film Mucho Mas (which is called Casa Chihuahua in the film) – you’ll hear Spencer’s hilarious imitation of a very famous actor (listen to this commentary track for Spencer’s imitation); a great discussion of the early drafts of the screenplay and the differences between the scripts and the final film; a discussion of Huyck and Katz’s earlier film Messiah of Evil – and a larger discussion of their career as a whole both successes and failures, including this film; a great discussion of the testing process and how it affects films and especially ending – using My Favorite Year and its original ending as an example; a lack of bite or satire in a film that feels like it should be; Spencer discusses his connection to this film and why he was tapped to do this commentary (Humphreys kids) – which is great if one hasn’t listened to the Sledgehammer commentaries (if my memories serves – it has been a while since I’ve listened to them, and do not have the DVDs for the show any longer much to my chagrin); a larger discussion of the shifting in comedy from the early 70s into the 80s and how that applies to this film and its development process; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear throughout the film; a larger discussion of the various locations the film used; and much more. Spencer and Humpherys give us a wonderful informative commentary track that is superior to the film itself. The commentary does give an argument to having more tracks for films that may have not been entirely successful, resulting in engaging commentaries.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Best Defense (2:46); Gotcha! (1:35); Fletch (1:35); The Experts (1:32); Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (2:01); DC Cab (2:33); Running Scared (1:30); Holy Man (1:53)
The Final Thought
Best Defense is an interesting failure. Kino Lorber has given this a truly wonderful edition with a truly interesting commentary.
Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray edition of Best Defense is out March 11th
Share this:
Like this:
Discover more from The Movie Isle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.