For the second time this year, writer-director Ron Shelton has tackled the cop genre with the new film Hollywood Homicide. But unlike the February film Dark Blue, which had a gritty realism that worked, Homicide feels forced and spotty. Its appropriate that the film takes place in Hollywood, because its so all over the place you might need one of those Hollywood maps to figure out what kind of film its trying to be. On one level, Homicide is your standard buddy cop film, with Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett playing detectives investigating the murder of a rap group. If that was all that was going on in this film it would be simple enough, but Shelton has overloaded the script with comedy that appears to be satirical, yet never quite hits the intended target. Fords detective Gavilan moonlights as a real estate broker, while Hartnetts detective Calden is a yoga instructor who aspires to be an actor. This is supposed to be the set up for some of the films major punchlines, but the jokes never really click. The screenplay doesnt stop there. Gavilan is being investigated by a rival Internal Affairs officer (Bruce Greenwood), who also happens to be dating the same woman (Lena Olin) that Gavilan is. Caldens past includes his father, a cop, being killed by a dirty cop, and of course, wouldnt you know it, that cop somehow plays a role in the murders they are investigating. Shelton has shown the ability to deliver some quality films in the past. Bull Durham is still one of the best baseball films ever and films like White Man Cant Jump and Tin Cup are entertaining as well. But Shelton seems out of sync here. Its as if he wants to parody the buddy cop genre, but cant quite figure out the best way to do it. Ford and Hartnett are fine for what they are given to work with, having some chemistry, but not enough to overcome the films flaws. It may have helped the script more if we came in on this duos partnership in the opening stages instead of being thrown into the relationship five or six months later. The rest of the cast doesnt have much to do, but its interesting to find a film with roles for rappers Master P and Kurupt, as well as Martin Landau and Dwight Yoakam. Even with the smorgasbord cast and plot threads, Homicide still dissolves into the standard chase cliche that further flattens any of the films few strengths. By the end of the film, it feels so overloaded that even the audience is worn out. If you feel the need to see Homicide, I suggest a much better film in the genre the underrated Adventures of Ford Fairlane. At least that film had enough of an identity to entertain. Sportswriter/movie reviewer Micheal Compton longs for the days when Harrison Ford was a spaceship-flying, terrorist-pummeling Hollywood tour de force, and when cuties like Josh Hartnett were relegated to the ranks of boy bands. Anywho, if youd like to comment on Mikes reviews, e-mail him at mcompton@bgdailynews.com.