People always seem to sneer at Mel Gibson's Maverick, but I've always had a special place for it on my DVD shelf. As television remakes go, Maverick is pretty slick and clever, and gently spoofs the Western genre while remaining true to its 1960s roots. (If you own the special 2-disc
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copy of Unforgiven, you need to go watch the Maverick episode that's included as a bonus feature. It's hilarious! Also, James Garner was a dreamboat.)
Nevertheless, Maverick threatened to be too silly for its own good when it decided to capitalize on Richard Donner's friendships and franchises, and invite Danny Glover in for a cameo. (There's also a Goonie making a cameo in his gang, see if you can spot him.) This is the kind of wink-wink-nudge-nudge joke that should completely annoy me, but it doesn't here. Maybe my love of Lethal Weapon runs too deep, or maybe I get too into meta-references and expanded universes, but I think it's a fun parody. Sure, parts of it are eye-rolling and obvious ("I'm getting too old for this sh*t!"), but they could have been really lame and cast Glover as a straight-laced sheriff or Texas Ranger.
Instead, they let him play on the other side of the law, and it's a nice touch to let Glover set off a bomb for once, and let the explosion mirror the smoke and debris that the loose cannon cops always leave behind. I also love how Glover's look of greed upon beholding Geoffery Lewis' stuffed pocketbook mirrors the scene in Lethal Weapon 2 when Riggs and Murtaugh find the Alba Varden cache. It's a classic cameo, if only for the delightful implication that Riggs and Murtaugh have run into each other throughout American history.
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Remakes and Sequels, Trailers and Clips
Continue reading Classic Cameos: Danny Glover in 'Maverick'
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