good action and comedy blend in this movie

High energy , never boring, but the two leads are too wacky crazy to create any rooting interest, The stuff they do really strech credibility, Alot of their banter is unintelligible, That said, there are top notch large scale car stunts , with hundreds of San Franciscan extras fleeing the destruction, Movie's tone goes hard core dark at the end, Valerie Harper adds comic class, and is the only appealing character, Alot of the stunts, the filmmakers make no effort to hide the obvious stuntmen who look nothing like James Caan and Alan Arkin

Alan Arkin and James Caan shoot a bunch of people and destroy half of San Francisco. When this movie first came out I thought it was hilarious. Not so this time around; it's safe to say that a teenager's sense of humor is not the same as an old man's sense of humor. Still, it was entertaining enough.

Two plain clothes San Francisco cops with New York accents do incredibly violent things for two hours while acting incredibly stupid and immature. Zany hi-jinks and wanton disregard for human life are combined at a level of uncontrolled idiocy. It is absolutely unfunny and completely rudderless in terms of story of plot. A collection of dumb sketches and poorly written scenes held together by some loosely defined police business the main characters are pursuing. All of the characterizations are totally inane. Alan Arkin yells at people all the time for no reason. James Caan is a wise cracking, affable doofus. They kill people, and laugh about it. Valerie Harper is Mexican, unconvincingly. The action scenes are complex and very well edited. That is the best and only well made thing about this movie. If you like extended car chase and insane bar room brawl-esque scenes in the context of a very bad film, this is your dream come true.

Alan Arkin and James Caan play a couple of renegade goofball 70s San Francisco police detectives trying to take down a local crime boss. The plot is not what makes the film terrific, it's the hilarious banter and chemistry between Caan and Arkin that's irresistible and is what makes this a classic. But besides the amazing chemistry between the tightly wound Arkin and wild-man Caan, which they have in spades, there's an edge to their jabs and jibes, which is missing in most films today, which makes FREEBIE AND THE BEAN stand out as something special. Outside of a few contemporary filmmakers, such as Shane Black (THE NICE GUYS, KISS KISS BANG BANG) or Quentin Tarantino (INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, THE HATEFUL EIGHT), most movies now are too polite and cautious about being offensive, and when you come across something like FREEBIE AND THE BEAN that revels in its offensiveness, even by 1970s standards, it's something of a rare unicorn. Admittedly, if every movie was as wildly 1970s non-PC it would normalize that sort of offensive speech, which would not be a good thing, but I do have to confess to enjoying comedy that dares to shock and offend (I mean, THE BAD NEWS BEARS is freakin' hilarious, but would never get made today). This film is also unique and ahead of its time in its casual treatment of some pretty extreme violence that predates Tarantino, Elmore Leonard, or Carl Hiaasen's depictions of violence done for laughs. It's a movie that's so gleefully socially irresponsible and is completely comfortable getting the audience pumped for impending violence that it's so bold as to encourage the audience to then laugh at the mayhem. A perfect example of this is a scene where Caan and Arkin have a hitman cornered in a bowling alley restroom and director Richard Rush (THE STUNT MAN) films what seems endless close-ups of the two getting out their guns, loading their weapons, adjusting them in their belts, giving a funny and exciting build up to what's about to happen. The scene goes on for so long that it becomes absurdly hilarious in the most wonderful of ways, as well as gives what happens next great build-up. Critically panned when it was first released for its senseless violence, FREEBIE AND THE BEAN ended up being a major hit that spawned a short-lived 온라인카지노추천 series and was originally slated for a sequel that was to be directed by Arkin. Making great use of San Francisco locations, not even mentioning some of the hair-raising car chases (that train close call is unbelievable!), FREEBIE AND THE BEAN is an action/comedy classic that paved the way for the likes of 48HRS, LETHAL WEAPON, and their modern-day ilk. Seriously, I endlessly could watch this movie over and over again.

One of my top 10 cop movies of the 70s!

Genius Buddy movie, not very PC, thin plot, VERY funny! Go see!

Sometimes, a movie should just be seen as mindlessly enjoyable fun. Critics seem to miss that point and don't write for the majority of normal film watching public. On other occasions we may want something challenging in what we watch, and other times just to chill and have an easy time………… This is a classic example of exactly that.

Anyone who doesn't give this film five stars just on the sheer audacity of it- should quit wasting their time going to cinema.

I love a good buddy cop film, and that’s what Freebie and the Bean delivers. It’s a crazy comedy about two partners who are trying to make a case against a local crime lord in order to earn promotions. The problem is, they aren’t the best cops around, and spend a lot of time bickering with one another and destroying a lot of public property. It’s a type of action comedy that has been duplicated many times since 1974, but this feels like a classic that is better than many that would come after it. What makes this movie enjoyable are the performances of Alan Arkin and James Caan. They have great chemistry with one another, and I liked seeing them work together. Despite the fact that they were kind of goofy, they also have a harder edge that makes it feel like they could be real detectives. Some of the things that happen are almost pure slapstick, but the story they get involved in is more dramatic and has real stakes. I tried not to think too much about how ridiculous it was that these guys were not being reprimanded for the reckless endangerment of civilians, the destruction of so many parts of the city, and a number of murders, because it’s not the kind of movie where you’re supposed to worry about those details. I struggled in the beginning of Freebie and the Bean because they take some time before establishing what is happening or what they are trying to do. It feels like these early scenes would make more sense if I watched the movie again, but I wish they had just paused early on long enough to deliver some exposition and explain who they were chasing, why, and how it affected their case. There were a couple other scenes like this in the movie where I was puzzled by the identity or significance of a particular character, but it always seemed to get back on track where I understood what was going on. The movie does get bogged down in one subplot involving The Bean’s relationship with his wife that adds to his character, but detracts from the film. I usually like when a movie takes some time to develop the protagonists, but it needs to fit into the narrative of the story, not be a completely separate story that pauses all the rest of the action of the film. Freebie and the Bean definitely has some flaws in structure, but I still enjoyed the time with these characters, and wish this had become a franchise so I could enjoy some more adventures with Alan Arkin and James Caan.

Silly but also very funny. Alan Arkin and James Caan put in grea over-the-top performances and somehow the film just works as a comedy.

I don't get this one at all. I don't know if I've ever seen a more aimless action film in my life? But I guess that's sort of the point... none of this makes sense. It's just a weird politically incorrect vehicle for insanity. Smash three cars, push people down the stairs, kill a man while in drag, like whatever works. I mean like, why the hell are they called "Freebie" and "the Bean" to begin with? "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" not racist enough? (Funny enough those both came out the same year...#the70s) Arkin and Caan bicker, wrestle, and talk over each other like an Altman movie on speed. At certain points in the film it almost seems like they're MST3King their own movie as it happens... snide comments and running commentary on weird shit they're still just doing even though they know better. Casting Arkin as Mexican is truly a bizarre detail... and the whole side plot with his (also overtly not Mexican Valerie Harper) wife feels so out of place and weird. Like I'm sincerely having a hard time wrapping my head around this movie. I barely laughed at all-and when I smirked it was because of Alan Arkin yelling or jumping full belly flop into people (all classic). But this was so anarchistic it was hard to enjoy. And yet.............. like the fact that it's so batshit is kind of endearing??????? Like when I think of its more serious counterparts I'm kind of like yeah fuck it, stop pretending, this is a movie about cops so just go on a racist rant and then drive your car off Yerba Buena gardens or wherever and whatever cops do in downtown San Francisco. But see the problem with that logic is like tbh a movie like Dirty Harry was honestly weirder than this one so now I'm back in this conundrum loop of confusion. So I guess like.... maybe this just wasn't for me at the end of the day. Alas.

Snuck from one theater to another to watch this when I was young...I don't know what my original movie choice was, I do know I was too young for this one haha.

Who truthfully knows what's going on in this wonderful buddy-buddy cop movie? The pleasure is in watching two great screen actors riffing as they pursue the bad guys and smash several cars. The whole film has a cartwheeling improvisatory feel which is infectious, but it's impossible to deduce what it's ultimately about. No matter, what a great ride!

Good cast. Valerie Harper as a Latino chick is great. First buddy movie.

What was an interesting idea at the time has much of it's plot edited out to show extreme & expensive chase scenes with lots of damage to various properties. This could have been a critical success with different director & editor & script - and another 12 minutes of Swit and Harper.

James Caan and Alan Arkin are a couple free wheeling cops in San Francisco going after a local crime boss. With two great leads who have a great comic chemistry and smart director with Richard Rush, I'd have thought this film would have been better. Reportedly the director and stars clashed, with the stars wanting the film to be more of a comedy and the director wanting it to be more of an action film. The action is solid but sadly the comedy isn't all that funny, although watching the banter between Arkin and Caan is easy and both come across as very likable. A disappointing missed opportunity that should have been a whole lot better. And Evel Knievel did an uncredited appearance in the film as a motorcyclist.

An original cop partnership for the ages. A little far fetched, but worth a few laughs.

A clever buddy cop movie that focuses on the interaction between two individuals more than it does the actual story line--Don't take it so seriously!!

Awesome action comedy from the 70s, the first buddy cop film before the likes of Lethal Weapon and Rush Hour came along. Definitely one of the best of it's kind.