Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
 

Heart Condition (1990)

Director: James D Parriott

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

This mismatched-buddy cop movie with a neat supernatural angle has Hoskins as an LA vice cop with a penchant for fast food, beer, smoking and using the 'N-word' when referring to his black brothers. So when he sees his old flame (Webb) being smuggled away from a crime scene by her new lover, a suave black lawyer (Washington), racist sparks fly. Hoskins' real problems start when he suffers a heart attack and, with Washington meanwhile dying, receives his black heart in a transplant. More problematically, Washington's ghost is along for the ride, complaining that he was murdered and coaxing Hoskins into smartening up his act. So Hoskins starts wearing flash clothes, driving a Merc, and asking awkward questions of a dead senator. Making effective use of its central conceit, this offbeat gem delivers the necessary plot twists and action, but never soft pedals on the racial angle. Chloe Webb contributes a finely balanced performance as a woman whose appreciation of both men's qualities finally finds expression in one composite male.

Author: NF 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Cast & crew

Director: James D Parriott

Producer: Steve Tisch

Cast: Bob Hoskins, Denzel Washington, Chloe Webb, Jeffrey Meek, Ray Baker, Roger E Mosley full cast

Genre(s): Comedy

Duration: 95 mins


Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.